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RE: Translation: simplified English or controlled language tools such as MAXit

Subject: RE: Translation: simplified English or controlled language tools such as MAXit
From: Bill Burns <bburns -at- scriptorium -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 08:34:22 -0600

Steve Hudson writes:

Translation memory systems can use fuzzy logic. Simplifying the extent of
vocabulary greatly increases the fuzzy matches, greatly reducing
hand-translation and thus the primary cost.

I don't think simplifying the vocabulary by itself helps. Consistency at the sentence level is more important when you're working with TM; you make the gains on repetition at the segment level, not at the word level.

Simplified and controlled English are not simply vocabularies (unless by vocabulary you mean a collection of phrases rather than individual terms). They also include specific grammatical constructions and constraints. As I understand, the intent is not necessarily to enhance readability but to enhance machine translation processes. For those processes, you need rigorous control of sentence construction and terminology. For translation memory, that could certainly increase matches (exact and fuzzy), but the constructions used in simplified and controlled English (at least, some of the existing standards) are not always what we as technical writers would consider good usage.

If you're using translation memory, I think it's more important to focus on using clear, consistent terminology and sentence constructions. You don't need controlled-language tools for that?just decent editors.


Bill Burns, Director - Northwest Office, Scriptorium Publishing
The WebWorks Publisher Cookbook now available
http://www.scriptorium.com/books/wwpcookbook.html
bburns -at- scriptorium -dot- com - 208-484-4459



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References:
RE: Translation: simplified English or controlled language tools such as MAXit: From: susan larsson
RE: Translation: simplified English or controlled language tools such as MAXit: From: Steve Hudson

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