Clarified Communications WebWorks
Chapter 1 Who We Are WebWorks was founded due to the electronics industry s requirement for User Guides in Danish. The History WebWorks was founded in 2004 as a direct consequence of the introduction in Europe of EU s machinery directive 89/392/EC valid from June14, 1989. Among other things the Machinery Directive basically stated that if machinery was intended to be used in Denmark, it should be accompanied by a User s Manual in Danish. For a small language area as Danish this resulted in an increasing demand for Danish translations of User s Manuals as these were typically not already translated by the manufacturer when importing machinery from e.g. the U.S. or Japan. The founder of WebWorks, Morten Rindsig, has years of experience in the localization, IT and engineering industry and in 2004 WebWorks was established. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Economics and a background in SMBs and large corporations, previously holding positions as product manager, marketing manager and presales manager. The combination of IT and engineering industry knowledge from within, technical qualifications, and translation experience is the leading force behind WebWorks. Since the foundation the number of services provided by WebWorks has also increased, as shown in this Company Profile. 2
The Business Areas Regardless of which services we offer, they are all centred around our business areas, being: Electronics Production Automotive Equipment Household Appliances Other Machinery Tools IT - Hardware IT - Software We also work with the translation of Material Safety Data Sheets, Sarbanes-Oxley accordance and documents related to plant safety and even moved into specialized markets within the movie industry and translation of audio based communication. The Competencies With our focus on specific business areas and our hands-on experience from the same industries we are ideally suited to translate any type of document within these areas. Our base of in-house translators is ready to translate and/or proofread your documents. From translation of websites, technical manuals, and user manuals, to safety sheets or even standalone documents, WebWorks can provide your translation, whatever the deadline. Please read more about our competencies in the following chapter. WebWork s core competence is translations related to general engineering, hardware/software and all sorts of User s Manuals for machinery. 3
Chapter 2 What We Do Technical Translation Translation of technical documents is our core competency. From translation of websites, technical manuals, and user manuals, to safety sheets or even standalone documents, WebWorks can provide your translation, whatever the deadline. For technical translations it is crucial that technical terms are translated correctly. If the source text is a User s Manual for a potential dangerous piece of equipment the translation must be spot on. This is why you must select a translation company with experience within your specific area. For this reason we do not offer translation of documents within business areas like Law or Medical Science as we do not have the necessary in-depth knowledge within these areas. For technical translations - as for all translations - it is also important that the translation is fluent and not too literal when read in the target language. The reader should never notice that the text has been translated from another language. Another thing to bear in mind is the difference in technical terms and other expressions in English and American English. We take care of all this in a close dialogue with our clients located in a wide selection of countries n Europe, North America and Asia. 4
Proofreading Proofreading is an important part of the translation process. In the proofreading phase typos, misspellings, wrong formatted measuring units and incorrect terms are intercepted. Proofreading also means a check of the fluency of the translation. Proofreading is usually performed in close cooperation with the translator and in accordance to optional terminology databases and style guides. Proofreading can also include actual editing tasks where grammar and consistency is controlled. WebWorks proofreads third party translations, i.e. translations performed by another company or a freelance translator. We can also proofread our own translations but in this case this is performed by another person than the translator. This procedure is in accordance with the published European quality standard for translation services, EN 15038:2006. This standard deals with competencies and educational levels for translators and describes minimum demands for technical facilities for translators. WebWorks follows the demands in the standard. Proofreading should always be performed by a third party. 5
Software Localization is a crucial factor in launching a successful software product worldwide. Localize your software to reach a much larger target audience. Software Localization Software Localization is the translation and adaptation of a software or web product, including the software itself and all related product documents such as manuals, help files, packaging, etc. Software Localization is often a process performed in parallel with the development of the software to enable simultaneous shipment of all language versions. Localization is therefore often started while the software product is still in the beta phase. Software Localization can also include a number of test procedures related to both linguistic testing and functional testing. Tests can include controlling the length of words and phrases ensuring adaptation of translated words to localized software menus, buttons, etc. It could also mean test of the accordance of translated terms and phrases with e.g. terminology used by Microsoft, in which case the end user will experience the standard Microsoft expressions, when he/she uses an application. Besides the translation itself Software Localization can also include localization of measuring units, decimal formats, address formats, paper sizes, fonts, sort orders, etc. 6 Microsoft is a registered trademark for Microsoft Corporation.
Translation of subtitles is a special field. Subtitling Translating subtitles adds a number of limitations to the translation regarding maximum length of sentences to fit the screen, the use of special characters and not the least timing in relation to the video shown. We therefore primarily uses our customer s own subtitling applications, develop for taking these limitations into account and verify them in real-time. Usually the translator will work with the video itself shown in a media player and used as reference, and a transcription in the source language, which is then used as the base for translation.
Recording conversations in Call Centres becomes more and more common and benefits both customers and employees. Don t miss valuable conversations and speeches. Transcribing Translation of audio based content from e.g. call centre conversations, seminars, interviews, or phone conversations, involves the spoken word being converted to written text and translated to the language of choice. Transcribing is more time consuming than ordinary translation as it involves two processes. Usually the price for transcribing the source text will be time based and the subsequent translation based on the number of words in the text. A rule of thumb says that the number of words in a one hour interview is approx. 6,000, depending on the language spoken. Conversations between a customer and an employee in a call centre or between a customer and an employee in e.g. a bank or an insurance company, are increasingly recorded on digital media as evidence in case of a legal dispute between the company and the customer. If the conversation is spoken in a foreign language there is often a need to both transcribe and translate the conversation. Transcribing is also used in more peaceful circumstances involving e.g. translating podcasts, seminar contributions, etc. WebWorks is able to handle most digital audio formats. 8
Terminology Database The creation of a terminology database is an investment in the future. The database contains specific terms, words and phrases, which must be translated in a special way. This might be due to the customer using very industry specific or company specific terms or due to certain words being translated in a specific way, e.g. job titles, product names, marketing slogans or abbreviations. A terminology database is constantly updated and is often part of the translation material sent to the translator. In this way the translator can take into account the terms in the database while translating. A terminology database can be created in numerous ways, e.g. as a spreadsheet or as a database including a web based user interface. In the latter case the customer will usually host the database himself - instead of sending material back and forth for updating - and the updates of the database takes place over the internet. A terminology database can contain from a few hundred terms to far more than 100,000 terms and can even include more language combinations. After the final approval of a translation the database can be updated with new terms and phrases from the latest translation. Create consistent translations using a terminology database. 9
Chapter 3 How we do it The Workflow II. The text is translated A good translation is a question of cooperation. Correct and fluent translation of source material is mainly a matter of good communication. Without this, a document can be translated but the translation is rarely fluent and few people are in doubt, that the text is translated from another language. The crucial thing is a continuous dialogue between customer and translator. Depending on the size of the translation the workflow will cycle through the following steps: I. The material is submitted Initially the source text to be translated -and optional terminology databases, style guides, etc. - is submitted. The translation is performed according to the guidelines received. This phase often includes communication between the translator and the customer to ensure proper translation of technical terms, to correct errors in the source text or to have part of the text explained in depth. The actual translation is performed using CAT tools developed for translation which ensure using consistent terminology. III. The text is proofread Proofreading is performed by a third party to ensure independence of the translation. 10
Proofreading is also performed in accordance with style guides, etc. and includes continuous dialogue with the translator and the customer. Proofreading is performed using CAT tools, indicating that proofreading also includes consistency control, etc. IV. Internal proofing Large customers often choose an added level of proofing by using an in-house proofreader who reports changes back to the translator. V. Updating When the translation is done and approved, terminology databases, etc. can be updated with specific terms or phrases used in the translation. Smaller tasks It is important to emphasize that all the steps mentioned here not necessarily are part of a translation job. Smaller translation tasks can be performed without internal proofreading and without the use of terminology databases, etc., and independent of the size of a project the workflow will never be an obstacle for performing the task or meeting the deadline. In the same way special projects involving translation of subtitles, transcriptions, etc., will also present a workflow differing from the one shown here. Why don t you test us! A translation project includes few or several steps depending on the complexity of the task. 11
WebWorks - Clarified Communications v1.0 WebWorks Tousvej 106 DK 8230 Aabyhoj Denmark Tel: +45 8618 3550 E mail: info@rindsig.com