Technology & CAT Tools Archives - Terra Translations

24/01/2023

Why the Education Sector Should Embrace Digital Transformation

Posted on 24 enero, 2023 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

The pandemic pushed many traditional educational organizations to enter the online world of digital education. They all dipped their toes into the water by moving classes to Zoom and Google Meet, but the truth is that it takes a lot more than that to meet the demands of a digital generation.

There’s no time like the present for education to catch up with technological advancements to better serve and engage their users—aka learners. There is also a high percentage of teachers leaving traditional education institutions to work in the eLearning industry as of late, which is another factor the education system needs to take into account as they look to the future. Let’s take a closer look at why the education sector should embrace digital transformation.

What Does a Digital Transformation Look Like?

A digital transformation greatly surpasses typical software or hardware upgrades. A true digital transformation is just as philosophical as it is physical. For education institutions, a digital transformation may look like creating a learning environment that connects in-person education resources to digital ones so that students can belong to a robust ecosystem that combines security, technology, and education services.

A digital transformation can help create a more personalized, collaborative, and interactive learning experience.

How to Digitally Transform Education

So, how exactly can the education sector undergo a digital transformation? Let’s look at a few paths education institutions can take to enhance their digital presence in a meaningful way.

Multimedia digital textbooks. Heavy textbooks will soon be a thing of the past, as students can now access source materials from their digital devices wherever they are whether that be at home, the library, or in the classroom.
Bring your own device (BYOD). Enabling students to use the digital device they work on best in the classroom to take notes and work on their assignments can help foster engagement and retainment.
Personalized curriculum. With artificial intelligence, it’s now possible to create customized learning experiences for students by using artificial intelligence.
Game-based learning. Not only does game-based learning help encourage students to study, but it can actually help them better retain the information they’re being taught. This is a concept known as gamification and it’s very commonly used in e-learning materials.

The Benefits of Digital Transformation on Education

Why would education systems invest ample time and money in a digital transformation? To start, doing so actually increases access to education from students because the education experience becomes less reliant on one specific geographical location. This accessibility just adds to the convenience associated with a digital transformation. From being able to access source materials from any device, to collaborating and sharing notes digitally, to more spaces for interaction between teachers, students, and peers with their instructors and fellow students, there are tons of valuable benefits of a digital transformation for students.

The Takeaway

Through a digital transformation, educators can help enhance students’ learning experiences by fostering better communication and connecting them to more educational resources and materials.

Digital transformation in education is bringing down geographical barriers, allowing learners worldwide to choose what they want to learn regardless of location. Localization can help expand the target audience of whatever educational program that is already online. In addition, students can benefit greatly from localization as learning in their native language can greatly boost their engagement with the education materials, how they understand it, and how they retain the information.

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29/11/2022

How to Become Your Localization Team’s Hero

Posted on 29 noviembre, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

A strong localization kit is made up of multiple elements that vary in accordance with the complexity of a particular project. In general, localization kits contain a translation memory, glossary, termbase, style guide, and reference materials. Having a well-built out localization kit is a great way to get a project headed in the right direction. That being said, there is much more you can do to help your localization team do their best work and to ensure they have a great experience working with you.

Let’s look at a few ways you can become your localization team’s hero!

Provide editable files

Your localization team will save a lot of time if you provide them with an editable file as a source file to kick off their translation. Having an editable file helps avoid file conversions, which can look rather unpolished. If you do have to pursue a file conversion because the editable file is unavailable, the localization team will need to create a polished final document and DTP will be necessary, which can extend the project timeline.

Determine the file extension you want to receive

If your localization team is aware of the type of file extension you want to receive, they’ll be able to choose the best translation tools for the specific project. Using the correct tool will help them prevent unnecessary exports and imports into different tools. If the content consists of loose strings of text, which is usually the case with software, then it’s important to organize it in a logical way that everyone on the team can understand.

Add comments to the files

Adding comments to the file can help translators make sense of content. For example, if a translator is working on translating a video game, they may need context surrounding a character’s gender. Leaving a comment indicating what the gender of each character is, is super important as in some languages, adjective choices are affected by gender. Leaving comments throughout the file that provide additional context can help your localization team make the best word choices.

Share a demo or beta version

When it comes to apps, video games, and software, sharing a demo or beta version can really help a translation team get a feel of the product. If you aren’t able to share an advanced copy of the product, perhaps you can share watermarked screenshots instead, so the team isn’t working blindly.

Stay on top of formatting

If you want the formatting of the target document to mirror the formatting in the original document, you need to share that desire with your localization team in advance so that they can allocate the correct amount of time and resources to formatting the target document properly.

Determine timeline expectations and be flexible

While your localization team will always do their best to meet your desired deadline, be open to being flexible on your deadline if it helps the team avoid rushing and allow them to assess the project and confirm if the amount of time needed in order to provide a high-quality deliverable is in line with your expectations.

Be available and ready to answer questions

Your team will need to be able to come to you with questions in order to create the best possible final product. You don’t need to be available to answer questions 24/7, but you should make it clear how and when they can get in touch with you if they have questions. To help answer any major questions they may have, you can establish a query sheet as a way to streamline communication.

All of that being said, you’ll still need to be available to answer questions from time to time, so they can move forward with confidence.

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15/11/2022

Brazil & Mobile Apps: A Growing Market

Posted on 15 noviembre, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

If you’re an app developer or company that benefits by having customers download your mobile app, then you will want to pay more attention to the Brazilian market. The extensive use of mobile phones, and consequently apps, in Brazil makes this one of the hottest mobile app markets in the world. Localizing your apps into Brazilian Portuguese in order to capture this huge market that loves apps so much is a gold mine of opportunity.

Let’s examine exactly why Brazil has so much mobile potential.

High Amount of Time Spent Using Apps

According to recent research, Brazil spends more time on mobile apps than any other country. When it comes to time spent on mobile apps, Brazilians spend an average of 5.4 hours each day connected to apps. This leaves app developers with a very captive audience if they take the right approach to localizing their apps for the Brazilian market.

Access to smartphones in Brazil has been growing over the years, which is contributing to this high usage of mobile apps. In 2019 alone, Brazil’s smartphone growth exploded by 11%. With expected continued growth in regard to smartphone access, the potential to thrive in this market is seemingly endless. By 2023, cell phone sales in Brazil are expected to expand massively, with four million Brazilians owning a smartphone.

An Affinity for Mobile Shopping

One way Brazilians utilize their mobile devices is by shopping from them. In 2019, mobile sales surpassed $7.6 billion in revenue and accounted for 32% of all ecommerce payments in Brazil. With the majority of Brazilians preferring to make purchases over an app (78%), because of how efficient and straightforward the process is, it’s safe to assume that this trend of shopping from smartphones will continue to make an impact.

All of that being said, you need to get the mobile shopping experience right if you want loyalty from Brazilian customers. More than half (53%) of Brazilians are willing to pay more for a product or service if the user experience is better, this is 12% higher than the global average. If you can properly localize your apps in a way that makes the mobile shopping experience easier and less stressful for Brazilians, you’re off to a really strong start.

A Deep Love of Mobile Games

While mobile app usage varies, Brazilians are particularly enamored with mobile games. Brazil is the world’s largest Portuguese-speaking country and only one in 20 Brazilians speaks English. Because the majority of the Brazilian population does not speak English and really values localized content, it’s important for mobile game developers to have a localization and culturalization strategy in place. In order to make a mobile game appeal to Brazilian gamers, and to ensure they have a high quality experience, you must localize your mobile game specifically into Brazilian Portuguese (as opposed to European Portuguese). This is especially important if you hope to attract younger audiences.

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01/11/2022

Do I need my website translated into Spanish?

Posted on 1 noviembre, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

If you have an English speaking website for your business, you could easily leverage the work you’ve already put into building an effective website by translating your website into Spanish. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits that come with translating your website into Spanish and the important considerations to keep top of mind regarding Spanish variants.

Reasons to Translate into Spanish

There are many benefits associated with translating your website into Spanish, here are a few of them.

Increased audience. A study by Common Sense Advisory found that most consumers only spend time online visiting websites in their preferred language. By not having your website translated into Spanish, you risk Spanish-speaking visitors leaving your website confused and frustrated, and without them converting.
Number of Spanish speakers. There are 41.8 million Spanish speakers in the US and more than 559 million people globally. That’s a massive audience you can tap into by investing in translating your website into Spanish.
Loss of revenue. Speaking of the millions of U.S. Spanish speakers, they have major buying power and your revenue can face limitations if you don’t present information about your business in a way that is accessible to them.
Get an edge over the competition. You’re not the only business that has yet to take the time and effort to translate their website into Spanish. If your competitors are sleeping on the potential of a translated website, you can get a leg up on them and build brand loyalty with a massive audience.
Demonstrate commitment to diversity, inclusion, and your community. A professionally translated website is a strong way to show your brand’s commitment to diversity and inclusion while serving more members of your community. Not only are you doing right by your customers, but you’re doing right by your brand’s reputation.

Important Considerations Regarding Spanish Variants

Where your business is located will affect how you translate and localize your website’s content. It’s important to keep Spanish variants in mind when you’re translating your website.

Since Latin American Spanish will cover the most territory, your business will benefit greatly if you choose to translate into the Spanish variant that the bulk of your Spanish-speaking audience speaks. If your company is based in the U.S., then you can adapt your website content to the U.S. Spanish variant. If you think your product or service is a good fit for a European audience, then you can translate it to European Spanish.

If you don’t know which variant best suits your Spanish speaking customers, take a look at your website’s Google Analytics data. You can see which parts of the world your traffic is coming from and can focus on translating your website content into the Spanish variant that aligns with the bulk of your Spanish speaking website visitors.

Not sure what the different types of Spanish variants are? We break down the differences between the following Spanish variants in this blog post!

LATAM Spanish
Mexican Spanish
U.S. Spanish
European or Iberian Spanish
Neutral Spanish

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04/10/2022

CAT tools: Desktop vs. Browser-based

Posted on 4 octubre, 2022 | by Marisol Pérez Laglaive | Leave a Comment

Computer assisted translation (CAT) tools can integrate multiple and complex solutions, modules, menus, and features, but they also can adapt to be as simple as to fit in a browser’s tab. Basically, within the range of software solutions that assist translation and localization workflows, we can distinguish two types. The first includes software applications users need to install and run locally on their computers. The second group is online browser-based editors that project managers and linguists can access via an internet browser. Each type of CAT tool has its pros and cons, and we’ll sum up the most important below.

Ease of Use and Accessibility: in the Cloud

The main advantage of browser-based CAT tools, like XTM, Memsource, SmartCat, or Wordbee, among many others, is their accessibility. Since users don’t need to install any application, they can work on different computers by following a shared link. This makes projects more easily allocable, given that there are fewer hardware and operating system constraints (no need to install, more flexible requirements, user can borrow equipment, etc.). Furthermore, web-based solutions imply lower costs for clients and for linguists in terms of licensing and hardware.

However, browser-based CAT tools depend strongly on the quality of Internet connectivity. This is one of their major cons, because bad connectivity really affects the performance of the platform and of the resources involved. Work is slower, online resources can’t be accessed, such as Translation Memories (TMs) or Term Bases (TBs), and there may be difficulties saving progress.

Integral Solutions: Desktop Based CAT Tools

Desktop applications for localization, like memoQ, Trados Studio, or Wordfast, offer comprehensive and complex solutions, and cover almost every need supporting different formats and documents. They allow linguists and localization managers to manage in detail TBs, TMs, and quality assurance (QA) features, in contrast with online editors, that sometimes support simpler configurations. Their comprehensiveness and customization make desktop tools ideal for complex and high-volume projects, where clients and managers need to leverage as many IT resources as possible.

Desktop apps support offline work, so they are good allies for users with connectivity issues. Yet, they are more expensive and, as they need installation and specific requirements, they are not as versatile as web-based editors. However, most of these CAT tools provide browser-based online solutions, like memoQ WebTrans or Wordfast Anywhere, for instance. Likewise, some browser tools offer desktop applications, like Memsource Editor.

Quality Assurance Insight

Both types of CAT tools open up the possibility of exporting and importing finished documents or XLIFF files, which allows users to work in another environment or run QA checks with specialized software, whenever possible. However, this prospect tends to be more limited in browser-based editors. Some tools offer limited exporting options, while in some occasions, the possibility may be deprecated by project managers or clients, as well as other functions. Nevertheless, most browser-based tools integrate some kind of quality check. Choosing between one type of tool or the other must be really an informed choice, since both can add different kinds and degrees of value.

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20/09/2022

What is a Translation Term Base and Do You Need One?

Posted on 20 septiembre, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for ways to improve your translation team’s workflow, to have more consistent results, and to boost the overall quality of a translation project, you may find that a translation term base is a valuable tool to add to your toolkit.

Keep reading to learn about what a term base is and what the benefits of using one are.

What is a translation term base?

A translation term base is a tool used to house industry, company, and product related terms that a translation team needs to be aware of. A term base acts as a central hub for this detailed information and it can evolve over time as you add new terms. You may choose to start with a monolingual term base and evolve it to a multilingual term base over time.

A translation term base may include:

Source terms or phrases
Approved translations
Contextual information
Definitions of terms
Usage notes
Parts of speech
Grammar
Terms that should remain in the source language (such as a brand name)

The key benefits of a translation term base

There are many benefits associated with having a well maintained translation term base, such as:

Saving time and confusion. Because a translation term base serves as a terminology guide for a translation team, when there is ambiguity surrounding what term to use, they can quickly reference the term base to save time and to make sure they use the correct term. This is especially helpful when working across multiple departments or with freelance translators. A solid term base helps cut down on research time, which improves workflow.
Improving accuracy, quality, and consistency. Language can be subjective. The use of a term base can nail down the correct words or phrases to use so that the current spelling and terminology is used across all translated materials, which improves the quality of the text.

How it differs from a translation glossary

It’s easy to confuse a translation term base with a translation glossary, but these are two different resources. A translation term base integrates with CAT tools, whereas a translation glossary is usually just a spreadsheet. A translation glossary is a great place to start, but a translation term base is a much more effective tool to use during translation projects.

Managing and maintaining a translation term base

A translation term base is only a helpful tool if it’s maintained properly. Working with an outdated translation term base can cause easily avoidable mistakes. Term base management involves combining terminology work and database administrative tasks to support the collection, description, processing, presentation, and distribution of information about the terms and any linguistic units used in an organization.

To properly manage and maintain a good translation term base, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Avoid repetition. You will only want each term to appear in the termbase once, unless a term has more than one meaning. In which case the secondary meaning and approved translation appears in the same entry. You want your term base to be easy to navigate and to cut down on confusion.
Keep it tight. You should only include terms in your term base that require definition, you don’t want to include unnecessary terms that aren’t used or that don’t require explanation. Large term bases can be difficult to use and maintain.
Review the terms. It’s important to confirm that changes or additions to a termbase are checked and reviewed by a native-speaking subject-matter expert.
Update it regularly. Your translation term base should grow and change over time as the company releases products, new technologies emerge, and languages change. You’ll want to add new terms to the translation term base and remove any unnecessary ones from time to time.

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24/08/2022

CAT Tools Comparison: memoQ, Trados Studio and Wordfast Pro

Posted on 24 agosto, 2022 | by Marisol Pérez Laglaive | Leave a Comment

A wide variety of technology solutions supports the many and different needs of localization projects. There are tools that focus on large-scale translation management, while others offer more specific services, like terminology or quality assurance (QA) management. However, among this diversity of software solutions, four applications are ubiquitous in the industry, and their names ring a bell with anybody involved in localization workflows. Trados Studio, memoQ, Memsource, and Wordfast are four of the most popular Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools in the business, preferred by Language Service Providers (LSPs) to manage their projects and by linguists to carry out their daily work.

These tools offer the core functions, such as translation memories (TMs), compatibility with usual formats, term bases (TB), and web-based editors. Yet, they do have their differences. Here we’ll break down some strengths and weaknesses of these four translation allies.

SDL Trados Studio

There is a general consensus that Trados Studio is the most comprehensive CAT tool in the industry, supporting a wide range of formats and workflows. SDL offers a series of products and solutions for different needs with the additional option for users to buy and download plugins or add-ons. However, its comprehensiveness comes with a complex user interface (UI) that’s not as intuitive as others, sometimes resulting in a rough user experience.

Furthermore, another strength is its relative universality in the industry, and its versatility to integrate all kinds of formats (e. g., subtitles, HTML, InDesign, etc.). As a downside, in order to manage terminology, users need another application not included in the main product, called Trados Multiterm.

memoQ

This application also presents a comprehensive desktop version and a limited web-based editor. It allows LSPs and freelancers to manage documents, TBs, TMs, alignment pairs, and references, among many other features. memoQ also incorporates a QA solution in the same product, without the need of purchasing add-ons or extensions. Its UI is more friendly and intuitive for linguists and project managers, and it’s a ready-to-go solution for various needs. As a con, workflows, features, and layout are not as customizable as in other tools, but overall it’s a flexible and complete product for starters and veterans.

Wordfast Pro

Lighter and more affordable than the other two tools, Wordfast has the advantage of being compatible (and having official support) not only with Windows, but with Mac and Linux, so users can dispense with virtual machines or emulators. Its UI looks simpler and cleaner, but Wordfast Pro isn’t compatible with as many formats as the other tools. On another note, Wordfast Pro can integrate with Wordfast Server, an application for secure online translation memories and glossaries that allow real-time collaborative work among linguists. Despite being practical and useful, this feature can hinder integration between other CAT or QA tools, since users can’t have access to the TMs and TBs as editable files.

Memsource

While the three tools above are more focused on desktop-based solutions, Memsource is one of the most popular translation management systems based on the cloud. It has a lightweight editor and portal, offering TMs, TBs, quality management, and a preview mode. It has mobile integration through mobile apps for PMs and linguists, and a user-friendly interface that makes the software intuitive for both vendors and managers. One of its cons is that Memsource exports MXLIFF files, their native file, which is not easily supported by all the other localization tools.

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Deciding which tool best suits your needs can be a tough call sometimes, since the choice depends on the client’s needs, usual workflows, resources used, etc. It’s always better to ask for advice from your localization partner before starting working on a certain tool. This way, everybody prevents potential setbacks and comes up collectively with the best solution.

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19/07/2022

The Role of Technology in the Translation Industry

Posted on 19 julio, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

Technology has impacted all areas of our lives greatly and the translation industry is no exception. In the past, translators did their work using paper and pen, typewriters, and dictionaries. As you can imagine, without the aid of technology, the translation process took a lot of time to complete. Fortunately, much has changed since the rise of the computer and the internet—word processor, access to many more digital resources (dictionaries, glossaries, corpus), reduced research time (no need to go to the library and flip through big books), faster communication with clients and between peers, and access to the best talent in the world make translation work easier and more effective.

Let’s take a closer look at how technology has impacted the translation industry.

How Technology Has Impacted the Translation Industry

The advancement of computer technology and the internet created a wide range of tools and convenience for every industry, but the translation industry specifically started its road of exponential growth when technology stepped in. As technology expanded, so did our access to other corners of the world. Given the amount of content that needed to be translated to reach other markets and audiences, technology also needed to provide enhanced productivity, communication, and quality assurance tools.

CAT tools were the first big revolution in the translation field and absolutely changed how translators worked thanks to the implementation of translation memory, term bases, and QA checks. While at the beginning CAT tools were deemed to be a threat to human translators, it soon became clear how much they had to offer. Linguists became more efficient and productive, and found in them ways to reduce human errors. Now it seems inconceivable to work without them.

Machine Translation (MT) can be considered the next big revolution. This technological solution was created to help meet that vast demand for fast translation services at a cheaper cost. While the quality standard with MT can be questionable and there’s a lot of room for improvement, there’s no denying that to some extent and in some fields the use of MT can prove to be invaluable.

As demand for translation services grew, other technological tools came to the rescue in order to keep track of everything. Translation Management Systems in particular provide a wide variety of solutions to common translation struggles. This tool organizes all kinds of translation and localization workflows. Some of the benefits of a Translation Management System include:

24/7 access
Automation of workflows
Assignments by AI
Centralized linguistic assets
Easy collaboration
Progress tracking

Simple integration
Built-in accountability
Scalability
Deadline management
Improved translation quality
Transparent ROI

The Takeaway

Technology has its faults—there’s no doubt about that—but in the translation industry it has been an enabler for progress. As long as all parties involved in the process understand that technology has its limitations, it can be used to do more, better, and faster work. In a world where access to information in a language everybody understands has become critical, having technology on our side is an enormous help.

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04/05/2022

Planning a Voice-over Project? Here’s What You Need to Know!

Posted on 4 mayo, 2022 | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment

If you’re planning a voice-over project, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the work that lies ahead of you. One of the best ways to efficiently tackle a voice-over project is to have a clear plan in place. These are some of the important elements you need to know about, so you can properly manage a voice-over project from start to finish.

Script

Before you can begin recording a voice-over, you need a solid script. This text document, created for the purpose of a voice-over recording, contains the text that needs to be recorded. A script can also provide additional comments to be taken into account, like special instructions or clarifications for a specific utterance (we’ll dive into this issue further in a minute).

The script can already be in the language you need it to be or you may need to translate it first. For example, if you have already created an e-learning course in English that you want to translate into Spanish, the script will need to undergo translation first. It’s recommended that the client reviews the final translations and approves of the translated script before the recording step begins. This will prevent future updates to the script and recordings.

Synchronization

If your voice-over project corresponds to a video, you’ll need to confirm whether or not the audio needs to be synchronized with the video. This process is referred to as timed vs untimed voice-over and will play a factor in how the script reader paces themselves while speaking. Determining this beforehand can help provide an accurate quote since these two types are quoted differently. Timed-voice is generally a little more expensive because it takes more time to make and to time it perfectly.

Samples

Still, looking for the right voice-over talent for your project? This video shares some helpful tips for finding the right fit!

It’s important that you select the right voice-over talent for your project. Not all voices will necessarily be suitable for your specific type of project, so make sure you align the project purpose with the right voice. Let’s say the target audience of your project are children, then the selected voice should sound appealing to them. In this case, a woman with a soft and soothing voice may be better suited for the job. Requesting samples of the talent’s work will help you gauge whether or not they are the best voice for your project.

File Names and Formats

If you prefer using a specific naming convention, label, or file format, it’s important to stay consistent. Some projects require several audio files to be recorded, which can be challenging to keep organized. Continuing with the example of the e-learning course, you may have an audio recording for each slide. Having a naming convention will enable easy identification and prevent time spent searching for the right file later on.

Instructions or Clarifications

You want your voice-over project to be as effective as possible, so you should always communicate your expectations to the voice-over talent. What might be a given for you, might not be for them. Your voice talent should know your preferred pronunciation for acronyms and special terms, if numbers on a list should be read or not, and if special emphasis is needed somewhere, among other important details. You can create a document with two columns, where the first one contains the text to be recorded, and the second one states any necessary clarifications the voice-over artist talent should be aware of.

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14/02/2022

Translation Memories: Create, Use, Maintain

Posted on 14 febrero, 2022 | by Marisol Pérez Laglaive | Leave a Comment

Translation memories (TMs) are a recurring star in localization workflows. They can help both clients and translators save time and costs, ensure consistency, and serve as a consultation source. They may be a giving resource, but TMs need to be managed carefully and systematically in order to leverage their utilities and potential. Let’s take a look at how a TM develops throughout time and the best practices for dealing with it.

Too Many Cooks Won’t Spoil the Broth

On some occasions, a TM begins when translators start working on a document from a client or account. While translating, the source segments and their corresponding target text are stored in the same bilingual databases TMs are stored. In other instances, it’s possible to create a TM using past translations with the alignment function or reusing old TMs. With the alignment feature, the CAT tool compares an original document with its translation, finding alignment pairs and storing them in a TM.

After their creation and during the course of projects, a lot of people can have access and modify the TM. For example, not only translators or editors, but also project managers (PMs) may be in charge of overseeing it. Sometimes, due to compatibility, a PM exports, imports, or exchanges TMs, changing formats or settings. The client’s reviewers can also proofread and insert changes in TMs. To keep a useful and healthy resource despite the many people that work with it is possible through good practices of TM management.

Maintaining a TM

In regard to linguistic quality, the role of quality assurance (QA) managers and editors is crucial. By defining stylistic preferences and reviewing projects, they ensure that documents and hence TMs are consistent, which reduces risks and errors. It’s also possible to entrust TMs proofreading for important clients or accounts, to keep them updated and free of typos and omissions.

Additionally, to avoid error propagation, PMs and vendors need to be cautious with locked segments and context matches that sometimes are not under scope. It’s important to unlock and correct them or let the PMs know there are errors so they can evaluate the course of action.

Most TMs can be exported as bilingual files in xliff formats, which allows running QA checks in CAT Tools or in QA automation software to fix consistency or terminology errors, numeric mismatches, typos, tags, etc.

Best Practices

A TM can store years of work, the effort of localization professionals, hours of research, translation, and review. So such a valuable resource implies it’s not affordable to lose it. Keeping backups is mandatory when dealing with TMs, such as saving a copy on more than one cloud-based storage or a local disk. Moreover, being organized with TMs, term bases, references, style guides, or whatever resource is available, we’ll help make them readily available. Defining a naming convention for TMs can be a great place to start: will you organize TMs by account, language pair, or domain subject? What’s the best fit for your workflows? Besides, filling in metadata info thoroughly will keep TMs classified and easy to find.

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