Glossary of Terms Related to Localisation
Source: eCoLoRe
Alignment
The process of comparing a source text and its translation, matching the corresponding segments, and binding them together as translation units in a Translation Memory.
DTP, desktop publishing
Using computers to lay out text and graphics for printing in magazines, newsletters, brochures, etc. A good DTP system will provide, among other things, facilities to fit text into irregular shapes in a variety of fonts and sizes. (FOLDOC: Free On-Line Dictionary Of Computing)
eContent
Digital information with an electronic lifespan, i.e. material created, distributed, used and eventually discarded in electronic form. In eCoLoRe the term is used somewhat broader and includes material that is created electronically, even if it is to be distributed or used in printed form, as is the case with many user manuals for software products.
eContent localisation
The translation and cultural adaptation for local markets of digital information.
Embedded object
An object (e.g., an image or a flow chart) created with one software application and embedded into a document created by another application. Embedding the object, rather than simply inserting or pasting it, ensures that the object retains its original format. In fact, you can modify the embedded object with the original application. (Adapted from Webopedia)
Exact match
A perfect character by character match between a source segment currently to be translated and a source segment stored in a Translation Memory.
Export
To save a copy of the current file into the file format required by a different application. Note that the conversion process may not be perfect. See also: import. (Bowker 2002, 146)
External repetitions
Segments that appear more than once across two or more source texts but have not yet been translated, i.e., they are not yet contained as translation units in a Translation Memory. See also: internal repetitions, exact match and statistical source text analysis.
File format
The layout and organization of information in a file. There are hundreds of proprietary formats, and specific applications typically need a file to be organized in a certain way in order to be able to read the information in it. (Bowker 2002, 146)
Fuzzy match
Any match between a source segment currently to be translated and a source segment stored in the TM database that is not an exact match.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The markup language used to define the document display format for the World Wide Web. Web pages are built with HTML tags, or markup symbols, embedded in the text. HTML defines the page layout, fonts, and graphic elements as well as the hypertext links to other documents on the Web. (Bowker 2002, 147)
Import
To read a file in a format that was created by a different application to the one in use. See also: export. (Bowker 2002, 147)
Internal repetitions
Segments that appear in a source text more than once but have not yet been translated, i.e., they are not yet contained as translation units in a Translation Memory. See also: external repetitions, exact match and statistical source text analysis.
Localisation (L10N)
Adapting a product to meet the language, cultural and other requirements of a specific target market locale (FOLDOC: Free On-Line Dictionary Of Computing). See also: eContent localisation.
Localisation vendor
A service provider offering eContent localisation services.
Match value
The degree of similarity between the source text segment to be translated and a translation unit retrieved from a Translation Memory measured as a percentage value.
Revision
The task concerned with checking a target text against the source text for accuracy, by focusing on errors, omissions, additions, names and titles, figures and tables, etc.
Segment
A predefined unit of a text that can be aligned with its corresponding translation. Typically, the basic unit of segmentation is a sentence, but other units can also be defined as segments, such as headings, items in a list, cells in a table, or paragraphs. (Bowker 2002, 152)
Segmentation
The process of subdividing a text into segments.
Tag
A sort of label attached to a data element that contains information related to that element (e.g., information about what it is or how it should be displayed. A set of tags is sometimes referred to as markup, and in the HTML and XML markup languages, tags are enclosed in angle brackets (e.g., <ITALICS>). (adapted from Bowker 2002, 153)
Term
A designation of a defined concept in a special language by a linguistic expression. Terms can consist of single words or be composed of multiword strings. The distinguishing characteristic of a term is that it is assigned to a single concept, as opposed to a phraseological unit, which combines more than one concept in a lexicalized fashion to express complex situations. (ISO 12620 (1999): Computer Applications in Terminology - Data Categories. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization)
Termbase (also: terminology database)
A collection of term entries that can be searched electronically. (adapted from Bowker 2002, 154)
Terminology management system (also: terminology management program, terminology management software)
A software application that allows users to create, store, and retrieve term entries. (adapted from Bowker 2002, 154)
Terminology setup
The creation of project-specific termbases during project preparation.
TMX (Translation Memory eXchange format)
A standard exchange format for translation memories developed by the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) to allow easier exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors. For details see the TMX homepage.
Translation kit
A set of all translation-relevant material compiled by the localisation vendor. Besides the source material to be translated this includes all relevant technical and linguistic information like translation memories, termbases or glossaries, style guides, etc.
Translation Memory (also: Translation Memory database, TM)
The idea behind TM is to store the originals and their human translations of eContent in a computer system, broken down into manageable units, generally one sentence long. Over time, enormous collections of sentences and their corresponding translations are built up in the systems. TM systems allow translators to recycle these translated segments by automatically proposing a relevant translation from the memory as a complete (exact match) or partial solution (fuzzy match) whenever the same or a similar sentence occurs again in their work.
Translation Memory system (also: Translation Memory application, Translation Memory program, Translation Memory suite)
A software application integrating a set of translation support tools. Apart from Translation Memory these include terminology management and word processing, editing, project management and quality control tools.
Translation unit
In a Translation Memory: a source text segment and its corresponding translation (adapted from Bowker 2002, 155).
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
A markup language designed to improve the functionality of the Web by providing more flexible and adaptable information identification. It is called extensible because it is not a fixed format like HTML (a single, predefined markup language). Instead, XML is actually a "metalanguage" - a language for describing other languages - which lets you design your own customized markup languages for limitless different types of documents. (Adapted from Peter Flynn "The XML FAQ")
Source of this glossary: eCoLoRe
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