Tomedes Blog

Monthly Archives: December 2009

iLingual – Language translation with a smile

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 16, 2009 – 10:00 am

There are so many language translation apps for the iPhone so why should one consider yet another new one? Well, one can certainly consider iLingual which executes its translations in a somewhat comic manner. iLingual comes with a library of 400 phrases in Spanish, German, French and Arabic. What makes it unique is its ability to sound out translations through the lips of the user! Well almost. The user can take a picture of his/her lips with the iPhone and then select the same in iLingual. After that whenever the app is used to provide translation of a pre-selected phrase, it is spoken out through the animated picture of the lips on the big and clear screen of the iPhone.

Although iLingual does not have much to go for when weighed against more serious and substantial language translation apps that are already available in the app store, what steals the deal is the comic touch provided by the app which can help break the ice in a foreign land – imagine yourself traveling in a country whose language you do not know and you need to get some information from a local resident; you can approach a friendly native, select a phrase in iLingual that is relevant to your question, put it in front of your mouth and let the app do its job. It would appear weird and funny and most probably help put the native at ease. Moreover, iLingual is free so it doesn’t hurt your pocket either.

Iranian Bomb Secrets Revealed

Posted by Tomedes Translation Expert on December 16, 2009 – 7:20 am

Filed under Translation Stories, Translation Tea Break

This is a story about an opportunity I had to reveal the secrets of the Iranian bomb.
Being a professional translator, you get to read highly confidential materials of businesses, organizations and governments around the world.

Most of them are highly sensitive financial, technological or marketing data for which we, as translators, are obliged to provide an accurate translation and forget about its content once completed.
More than that, the people at Tomedes, smart human translations ( http://www.tomedes.com ) where I currently work, have been making sure no computer files or printed materials are left once the translation is completed.

I have signed a non disclosure agreement and I have never had any doubts about the confidentiality of the materials I work with until one day a few years back.

It was a standard working day. I was flooded with translation requests and worked around the clock to provide accurate translations for each and every one of them.

One was a German to English 3,000 words translation. It was detailed description of a big Asian country developing its own nuclear bomb and deceiving the world. I remember it was written quite poorly but included some non trivial scientific terms.

For some reason I could not manage to forget this translation. I’ve even remembered the name of the German author.

About a month ago I’ve decided to make a move. After notifying the translation I’ve worked for at that time, I’ve opened my Google Chrome browser and typed the name of the author in the address bar. After a few minutes going over the Google results page, I had found the answer.

Apparently the writer was not an Iranian nuclear scientist but a German science student who has an habit of writing short stories and has a dream of publishing them worldwide. Well, in a sense his dream came true, wasn’t it?

White House calls for improved machine translation

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 15, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Translation News

It seems that somebody within the inner circle of President Obama’s administration is taking a good amount of interest in machine translation. This probably explains the contents of a paper titled “Strategy for American Innovation” recently released by the White House. Included among the recommendations contained in the paper was the challenge for providing automatic, real time and highly accurate language translation across all major global languages.

Although the above recommendation was tucked in towards the end of a 22-page paper, the very fact that language translation technology is being viewed as one of the elements that could improve the quality of life, as well as lay out the way for businesses, industries and future jobs, goes on to show that the present US administration understands the importance of language translation and the critical role it plays in facilitating international business.

This places the spotlight on the current state of machine translation. The technology used for automatic translation of languages has come a long way, and apart from significantly reducing translation time it is also cost effective. However there are certain areas which need further improvement. This includes significant improvements in natural language processing. Initiatives like the one taken by the Obama White House would help provide more funding to scientists and linguists who are working on machine translation technology and hopefully accelerate the progress.

nFluent – The language translation project at IBM

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 14, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Translation News, Translation Tools

IBM has a team of almost 100 employees working on the development of an automatic language translation tool that would be quick, as well as highly accurate to the extent that it would facilitate instant messages between the speakers of two distinct languages. The project is nFluent and at present it is being developed with the intention of teaching computer terminology related to the businesses of IBM. The programmers working on the nFluent project are trying to get a computer to look for and identify statistical patterns that exist between sets of translated content, as well as those which exist among the words.

The company has encouraged its 400,000 work force across over 170 countries to contribute to nFluent. It began by presenting its employees with a worldwide translation challenge in which each employee’s contribution would be measured with the help of a points-based system and the points earned would later be converted to charitable donations. The process involves employees correcting translations produced by nFluent. The challenge mobilized around 6,000 employees to suggest improvements in over 2 million words worth of data for 11 languages that was translated by nFluent. According to an IBM researcher, the parallel data produced by the employees is used to update the models. Until now nFluent has only been used by the employees of IBM, but looking into the future, the company intends to create a finished product that can be sold to other organizations.

Technical translation – Requirements

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 11, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Language Translation Advice, Translation Services

The world has shrunk so much more with the increasing proliferation of the Internet. We are living in fortunate times where information about progress in any part of the world can readily be made available everywhere for the benefit of the masses. Since our age is characterized by rapid progress in technology, a considerable amount of new information revolves around technological stuff. Now such information cannot be translated by a translator who is only an expert in the required language pair. Technical translation is a highly specialized job and its requirements change according to the needs of the project.

Technical translators should be evaluated on the basis of the given translation project. They should have thorough knowledge of the subject area of the translation and should also be good at research. Technical content can easily become unreadable and boring, while an expert in the subject and the language can easily turn out translations of technical matter, he/she cannot ensure that it is easy to read and interesting. This is important if the targeted readership of the translated document is going to be large and comprised of laymen, like in the case of manuals for various gadgets and software. It is not only important that the technical translator understand the terminology, he or she should also be adept at selecting terms that not only convey the meaning of the original but are also simple. This is why while working on technical translations it is always recommended that one work with experienced translation providers with a track record of turning high quality technical translations in their language pair/subject area.

Name translation anyone?

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 10, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Translation News, Translation Services

As a name “Suri” sounds unconventional and quite nice. Perhaps that’s why Hollywood’s star couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes named their daughter so. But how would they feel when they came to know that the word Suri means pickpocket in Japanese, “horse mackerels” in Italian, “red” or “fire” in Farsi and “turned sour” in French. David and Victoria Beckham have also muddled up somewhat with their son’s name Cruz, which in Spanish means ‘withers’ - the ridges between a horse’s shoulder-bones.

Generally most parents go the conventional way when it comes to naming their children, and many do check out the meanings of names at least in their own language. But with people increasingly getting interested in christening their babies with exotic sounding names, (probably inspired by the celebrities) it was just a matter of time before a service came into being to check out the various meanings that an unconventional name could have in different languages and contexts. Today Translation, a British company has began offering such a service. It will investigate the various meanings of unconventional names chosen by couples so that their children don’t end up with a name that might mean something negative or embarrassing in another language.

The company is charging about $1,700 for the service which it calls ‘Name Translation Audit’. It will involve the company’s linguists checking the meaning of the given name in 100 languages. The appeal of this service may not be restricted to people who would like to name their children unconventionally but also interest those who want the names to have substantial and positive meanings.

Increasing demand for niche translation services

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 9, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Language Translation Advice, Translation News

The demand for language translation services is increasing with every passing day is old knowledge; recent developments in the field of language translation shows that translation buyers are increasingly looking for professional translators who can provide translation services for highly specialized areas. Niche translation, as it is commonly known is the way to go for professional translators who are feeling the heat of increasing competition.

The president of American Translators Association, Nicholas Hartmann reinforced this during the 50th convention of the association, when he said that language skills were not the sole requirement from translators today; they needed to have expertise in subject matter as well. The convention itself saw an attendance of 2,300, which was a thousand more compared to last year.

According to Hartmann, the demand for translation and interpretation services providers was expected to grow by 15% next year, spurred by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the global green movement and of course, globalization. All of these developments are taking place in various parts of the world and hence a lot of original information is getting generated in languages that are spoken by relatively smaller groups of people. Moreover, language translations in these areas frequently demand a great deal of specialized knowledge and awareness of the background. It does not only require understanding the context of words and phrases, but also the applicable legal and technical issues. Any error can not only cause great embarrassment but also create serious trouble for the people involved.

Banking translation – An overview

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 8, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Translation Services

The banking sector has seen many changes in the recent years. The latest trend being the acquisition of small banks by larger ones, a strategy, with the help of which huge international banks are making their presence felt in various parts of the world including both developing and developed countries. Now these big banks frequently acquire smaller banks located in regions where people speak a different native language, in order to function smoothly in these regions such banks need high quality language translation services on a regular basis.

Banking translation involves translation of classified documents like foreign exchange information, documents of acquisitions, mergers, liquidation, loans, receivables, securities, debts, overdrafts, creditors, disposals and repayment schedules among others. It is extremely important that the confidentiality of such documents is protected. Other types of documents that come under the purview of banking translation include the monthly reports of management information system which need to be translated into a language that the main office of the bank will be able to understand and localizing the information available at ATMs and other similar outlets.

Banking translation requires a substantial understanding of banking concepts, associated legal background, and also the formal style of writing associated with the industry, as well as the typical formatting of various documents. The consequences of mistakes in banking translation can range from plain embarrassment to damage of the reputation of the bank, as well as monetary loss. For banking translation reputed translation companies are recommended over independent translators as not only do they make provisions for confidentiality but can also mobilize the man-power required for high-volume and ongoing translation projects.

Internet Freelancing Practical Guide for Translators - Book Review

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 7, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Freelance Translators, Language Translators, Translation Reference

Recently I had the good fortune of reading this wonderful book called Internet Freelancing: Practical Guide for Translators written by Oleg Rudavin. It’s not only insightful but also quite entertaining. Internet Freelancing gives a very clear overview of the issues faced by most freelance translators working internationally. While reading the book I got the strong feeling that it was written by someone with a driver’s point of view. The fact is Oleg Rudavin is a survivor of brutal competition faced by someone working with a language pair that is characterized by super-competitive pricing. And it was quite inspiring to witness (although second-hand) the way Rudavin not only survived but also achieved success while learning from experience and using his wits.

The book is written in a first-person narrative and it mentions many examples taken from real life which provide it with credibility. Rudavin touches upon many issues ranging from translation rates to the complications associated with international banking. Freelance translators living outside US and Western Europe would find this book not only highly educative but also a critical business survival guide. Reading Internet Freelancing: Practical Guide for Translators is like having a wise mentor or trainer who guides you through optimizing your business strategies. Get a copy and read it from cover-to-cover, then start again moving slowly this time using it more as a reference.

Literary Translation – The Dilemmas

Posted by Faisal Kalim on December 4, 2009 – 10:00 am

Filed under Language Translation Advice, Translation Musings, Translation Reference, Translation Services

Literary translations have always been a thorny topic and will probably remain so because language translation is a combination of art and science and it does not come with any tools that can exactly evaluate a translation. Literary works are generally heavily grounded in the culture and language they represent and they project a lot of thoughts and ideas implicitly which makes them very difficult to translate satisfactorily.

An enduring issue in language translation concerns the author’s role. How does a translator figure out what the author was really trying to convey through a sentence/paragraph or the entire book. As mentioned earlier, literary works – in parts, as well as whole, can be subject to multiple interpretations. What’s the author’s place in this scheme of things? The translator cannot assume the author’s intentions, even if he or she does so, there’s no guarantee that the assumption would be correct. So is it then all right to judge the text on its own merits? The situation might be resolved to a certain extent if the author and translator work closely on the project. But this is not always possible, many authors either don’t have the time to allocate to a translation project, else they are not inclined to do so.

There might never be a perfect solution to literary translation dilemmas, the safest way to go is probably to live with the book for a sufficient period of time, read and re-read it and then if possible discuss it with the author, before getting into the actual translation process.