STAR TS Translation Services Blog

November:
Swansea council made the ultimate translation faux pas with a Welsh sign recently.

The original Sign read “No Entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only”. The sign was to be erected close to a supermarket near a residential area.

The text was sent for translation but unfortunately the translator was not in the office. Instead his email sent an automated response.

The automated email stated…

“Nid wyf un y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw wiath i’w gyfieithu.”

Which in English means…

“I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated”.

As the original messages was two sentences and so was the response the sender assumed this was the translation and forwarded the translation to the sign makers for printing. The sign was duely printed and erected.

Swansea council said the sign would be corrected as soon as possible. A new sign is now in its place.

So the moral of the story is always proofread before you print.

Damian Scattergood, Managing Director of STAR Translation commenting says: “People rely on email all too often for basic communication on projects. When a translation is only 2 lines people tend to treat it with indifference. We have found people who translate 2 liners like safety stickers, signs and posters using free translation tools and expect them to be perfect. For us every translation whether 2 or 2 million words should to be handled with the same due care and attention. A simple phone call in this case would have saved money and embarassment for all.”

WELCOME TO TRANSIT NXT

It is with great pride and pleasure that we announce the release of Transit ^NXT – the new generation of STAR’s translation memory platform.

STAR is a leading supplier of language technology with more than 20 years of experience in the field. Sustainable ideas, enthusiastic users and the continuous development of the tools are the most important reasons why Transit, TermStar and WebTerm have enjoyed lasting success in the market.

In parallel to the enhancements of the current version Transit XV, the product managers have had intensive collaboration with the development team and many power users regarding which new functions and innovations would be needed in the field of translation and localization. The ideas and concepts, as well as the performance, have been tested with numerous prototypes and the new version has matured via the help of our internal professional users.

At the tekom conference last autumn, the public was given the first preview of the new look and feel. The internal and external user groups have contributed to the further enhancement and optimization of the product with their feedback and demanding questions. During the past eight months, Transit ^NXT has been tested in production work both inside and outside the STAR Group. The tests focused on compatibility between the current Transit generation and the next generation due to Transit’s new functions, interface and role-based model. The new localization features (resource editor), the new mark-up-strategy (automation) and the target language fuzzy matching have all had to prove their usefulness and usability.

20 years of know-how with a new look and feel, an appealing and user-friendly interface and even more powerful new functions combine to define the concept Transit ^NXT. The well-balanced combination of proven ideas and principles, innovation and focus on the needs of the users has been the desired end result. It is a mature product that satisfies the most stringent demands. The software is now available in Uk and Ireland from STAR translation.

New features include:

DLL, EXE Editors

You now have the ability to edit and translate DLL’s and EXE’s.

Bubble Windows

Bubble windows, providing a dynamic representation of fuzzy matches, allow you to make even more efficient use of the Transit editor.

Fuzzy Term

Transit’s tried-and-tested ‘Fuzzy logic’ is now also available in TermStar NXT. Fuzzy search in TermStar NXT not only finds items which precisely correspond to your search term, but also all similar entries contained in the dictionary.

Dual Fuzzy

Your reference material now has even more value. Dual Fuzzy logic in Transit NXT not only takes account of the source text when searching for translation suggestions, it now also looks at the target text.

Synch View

Using the PDF viewer for FrameMaker, QuarkXpress, InDesign and PowerPoint, the translator, reviewer or terminologist can display the fully structured source text in synchronisation with the language pair.

Advance to the NXT Level of translation technology:

Enrollment is now open

The fourth annual Localization Certification Program and Localization Project Management Certification will be offered in San Francisco and Cologne in 2009.

The program was developed to answer a need for trained localization professionals. It has evolved to include project management certification, recognizing that organizational structure and discipline are necessary skills in any localization project. More than 300 professionals have now received localization certification through the program.

Localization Certification Program

23-25 March 2009
Hosted by San Francisco State University downtown campus, San Francisco, USA

11-13 May 2009
Hosted by Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Köln), Cologne, Germany

Localization Project Management

26-27 March 2009
Hosted by San Francisco State University downtown campus, San Francisco, USA

14-15 May 2009
Hosted by Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Köln), Cologne, Germany

To enroll or learn more, please visit the program website.

Dublin, Ireland:

Effective December 1st 2008, the standard rate of VAT will be increased from 21% to 21.5%. This rate applies, for example, to supplies of motor vehicles, petrol, electrical supplies, furniture, carpets, adult footwear and clothing.

All translation invoices after this date will have the new VAT rate of 21% applied.

For more information on the VAT changes please refer to the revenue site.

Information by Star Translation Services 

ASLIB:  Translating and the Computer 30
27-28 November 2008 Camden Lock, London, UK

The longest-running conference series in the world dealing with translation automation holds its 30th anniversary session this year. 

Topics include the wikifization of translation and crowdsourcing, the African Network for Localisation, quality assurance and hybrid translation automation solutions.

Special panels will discuss the past and the future of MT with contributions from world-leading experts, translators and developers.

More details: http://www.aslib.co.uk/conferences/

To register: http://www.aslib.co.uk/conferences/booking.html