TRANSLATION MEMORIES

What is a translation memory?
A translation memory is a linguistic database that continually captures your translations as you work for future use. All previous translations are accumulated within the translation memory (in source and target language pairs called translation units) and reused so that you never have to translate the same sentence twice. The more you build up your translation memory, the faster you can translate subsequent translations, enabling you to take on more projects and increase your revenue.
A translation memory (TM) is a database that stores "segments", which can be sentences, paragraphs or sentence-like units (headings, titles or elements in a list) that have previously been translated, in order to aid human translators. The translation memory stores the source text and its corresponding translation in language pairs called “translation units”. Individual words are handled by terminology bases and are not within the domain of TM. Software programs that use translation memories are sometimes known as translation memory managers (TMM). Translation memories are typically used in conjunction with a dedicated computer assisted translation (CAT) tool, word processing program, terminology management systems, multilingual dictionary, or even raw machine translation output.

We maintain a good number of Chinese translation memories (TM) for a wide range of specialties. These TMs are from your language to Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Mandarin & Cantonese.

Websites. Product documentation. Sales tools. Marketing messaging. Branding. Customer support guides. What do they all have in common? They all contain similar, if not identical, carefully-crafted language and messages, recurring phrases and statements that can make up 40% or more of the text within your customer’s communications. Without using a translation memory to capture this repeated content for future re-use, you will be localizing the same phrases time and time again. This can slow down project completion, as well as reduce the quality of your work, potentially leading to customer dissatisfaction. Translation memories can aid the localization process, dramatically improving both quality and efficiency. All of your previous translations can be stored for future re-use so that the same sentence never needs to be translated twice. Furthermore, the acceleration of project completion will mean that you will be able to accept more work and increase your revenues.

Different translation memory formats and related standards:

TMX
Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) is a standard that enables the interchange of translation memories between translation suppliers. TMX has been adopted by the translation community as the best way of importing and exporting translation memories[citation needed]. The current version is 1.4b - it allows for the recreation of the original source and target documents from the TMX data.

UTX
Universal Terminology eXchange (UTX) format is a standard specifically designed to be used for user dictionaries of machine translation, but it can be used for general, human-readable glossaries. The purpose of UTX is to accelerate dictionary sharing and reuse by its extremely simple and practical specification.

TBX
TermBase eXchange. This LISA standard, which was revised and republished as ISO 30042, allows for the interchange of terminology data including detailed lexical information. The framework for TBX is provided by three ISO standards: ISO 12620, ISO 12200 and ISO 16642. ISO 12620 provides an inventory of well-defined “data categories” with standardized names that function as data element types or as predefined values. ISO 12200 (also known as MARTIF) provides the basis for the core structure of TBX. ISO 16642 (also known as Terminological Markup Framework) includes a structural metamodel for Terminology Markup Languages in general.

SRX
Segmentation Rules eXchange (SRX) is intended to enhance the TMX standard so that translation memory data that is exchanged between applications can be used more effectively. The ability to specify the segmentation rules that were used in the previous translation may increase the leveraging that can be achieved.

OLIF
Open Lexicon Interchange Format. OLIF is an open, XML-compliant standard for the exchange of terminological and lexical data. Although originally intended as a means for the exchange of lexical data between proprietary machine translation lexicons, it has evolved into a more general standard for terminology exchange.[6]

GMX
GILT Metrics. GILT stands for (Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and Translation). The GILT Metrics standard comprises three parts: GMX-V for volume metrics, GMX-C for complexity metrics and GMX-Q for quality metrics. The proposed GILT Metrics standard is tasked with quantifying the workload and quality requirements for any given GILT task.

XLIFF
XML Localisation Interchange File Format (XLIFF) is intended to provide a single interchange file format that can be understood by any localization provider. XLIFF is the preferred way[citation needed] of exchanging data in XML format in the translation industry.[7]

xml:tm
Main article: xml:tm
The xml:tm (XML-based Text Memory) approach to translation memory is based on the concept of text memory which comprises author and translation memory.[9] xml:tm has been donated to Lisa OSCAR by XML-INTL.

TransWS
Translation Web Services. TransWS specifies the calls needed to use Web services for the submission and retrieval of files and messages relating to localization projects. It is intended as a detailed framework for the automation of much of the current localization process by the use of Web Services.[8]

PO
Gettext Portable Object format. Though often not regarded as a translation memory format, Gettext PO files are bilingual files that are also used in translation memory processes in the same way translation memories are used. Typically, a PO translation memory system will consist of various separate files in a directory tree structure. Common tools that work with PO files include the GNU Gettext Tools and the Translate Toolkit. Several tools and programs also exist that edit PO files as if they are mere source text files.

The main benefits of translation memories
Translation memory managers are most suitable for translating technical documentation and documents containing specialized vocabularies. Their benefits include:
• To ensure that the document is completely translated (translation memories do not accept empty target segments)
• Enabling translators to translate documents in a wide variety of formats without having to own the software typically required to process these formats.
• Ensuring that the translated documents are consistent, including common definitions, phrasings and terminology. This is important when different translators are working on a single project.
• Reducing costs of long-term translation projects; for example the text of manuals, warning messages or series of documents needs to be translated only once and can be used several times.
• Accelerating the overall translation process; since translation memories "remember" previously translated material, translators have to translate it only once.
• For large documentation projects, savings (in time or money) thanks to the use of a TM package may already be apparent even for the first translation of a new project, but normally such savings are only apparent when translating subsequent versions of a project that was translated before using translation memory.
The main obstacles of translation memories
The main problems hindering wider use of translation memory managers include:
• The concept of "translation memories" is based on the premise that sentences used in previous translations can be "recycled". However, a guiding principle of translation is that the translator must translate the message of the text, and not its component sentences.
• Translation memory managers do not presently support all documentation formats, and filters may not exist to support all file types.
• Translation memory managers do not easily fit into existing translation or localization processes. In order to take advantage of TM technology, thetranslation processes must be redesigned.
• In cases where all or part of the translation process is outsourced or handled by freelance translators working off-site, the off-site workers require special tools to be able to work with the texts generated by the translation memory manager.
• There is a learning curve associated with using translation memory managers, and the programs must be customized for greatest effectiveness.
• The costs involved in importing the user's past translations into the translation memory database, training, as well as any add-on products may also represent a considerable investment.
• Full versions of many translation memory managers can cost from US$500 to US$2,500 per seat, which can represent a considerable investment (although lower cost programs are also available). However, some developers produce free or low-cost versions of their tools with reduced feature sets that individual translators can use to work on projects set up with full versions of those tools. (Note that there are freeware and shareware TM packages available, but none of these has yet gained a large market share.)
• Maintenance of translation memory databases still tends to be a manual process in most cases, and failure to maintain them can result in significantly decreased usability and quality of TM matches.
• The quality of the text recorded in the translation memory is not guaranteed; if the translation for a particular segment is incorrect, it is in fact more likely that the incorrect translation will be reused the next time the same source text, or a similar source text, is translated, thereby perpetuating the error.
• As stated previously, translation memory managers may not be suitable for text that lacks internal repetition or which does not contain unchanged portions between revisions. Technical text is generally best suited for translation memory, while marketing or creative texts will be less suitable.
• There is also a potential for the translator to deal with the text mechanically sentence-by-sentence, instead of focusing on how each sentence relates to those around it and to the text as a whole.
• There is also a potential, and, if present, probably an unconscious effect on the translated text. Different languages use different sequences for the logical elements within a sentence and a translator presented with a multiple clause sentence that is half translated is less likely to completely rebuild a sentence.

How does translation memory software differ from machine translation?
Machine translation automatically translates a document without any human input. These kinds of tools are fast, but result in a poor quality translation as a machine cannot understand the subtleties or contexts of language. As a result, quality and accuracy tend to be around 50% - 70%, therefore it is not advisable to send the raw form directly to your customers. In addition, machine translation can only be used for a limited number of supported languages. With translation memory software, such as SDL Trados Studio, the number of supported languages is unlimited, and the actual translation is performed by a professional translator. The translation memory assists by presenting "100%" and "fuzzy" matches from the legacy translation database, so that you can work with increased efficiency, consistency and quality.

We are professional human Mandarin translators for top-quality English to Mandarin translation service. We leverage the TM to enhance our productivity and ensure maximum consistency.

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