Reinhard Schäler

Toward a Hybrid Integrated Translation Environment

In this paper we present a model for the future use of Machine Translation (MT) and Computer Assisted Translation. In order to accommodate the future needs in middle value translations, we discuss a number of MT techniques and architectures. We anticipate a hybrid environment that integrates data- and rule-driven approaches where translations will be routed through the available translation options and consumers will receive accurate information on the quality, pricing and time implications of their translation choice.

Web Service Integration for Next Generation Localisation

Developments in Natural Language Processing technologies promise a variety of benefits to the localization industry, both in its current form in performing bulk enterprise-based localization and in the future in supporting personalized web-based localization on increasingly user-generated content. As an increasing variety of natural language processing services become available, it is vital that the localization industry employs the flexible software integration techniques that will enable it to make best use of these technologies. To date however, the localization industry has been slow reap the benefits of modern integration technologies such as web service integration and orchestration. Based on recent integration experiences, we examine how the localization industry can best exploit web-based integration technologies in developing new services and exploring new business models

Building Multilingual Language Resources in Web Localisation: A Crowdsourcing Approach

Before User Generated Content (UGC) became widespread, the majority of web content was generated for a specific target audience and in the language of that target audience. When information was to be published in multiple languages, it was done using well-established localisation methods. With the growth in UGC there are a number of issues, which seem incompatible with the traditional model of software localisation. First and foremost, the number of content contributors has increased hugely. As a by-product of this development, we are also witnessing a large expansion in the scale and variety of the content. Consequently, the demand for traditional forms of localisation (based on existing language resources, a professional pool of translators, and localisation experts) has become unsustainable. Additionally, the requirements and nature of the type of translation are shifting as well: The more web-based communities multiply in scale, type and geographical distribution, the more varied and global their requirements are. However, the growth in UGC also presents a number of localisation opportunities. In this chapter, we investigate web-enabled collaborative construction of language resources (translation memories) using micro-crowdsourcing approaches, as a means of addressing the diversity and scale issues that arise in UGC contexts and in software systems generally. As the proposed approaches are based on the expertise of human translators, they also address many of the quality issues related to MT-based solutions. The first example we provide describes a client-server architecture (UpLoD) where individual users translate elements of an application and its documentation as they use them, in return for free access to these applications. Periodically, the elements of the system and documentation translated by the individual translators are gathered centrally and are aggregated into an integral translation of all, or parts of, the system that can then be re-distributed to the system’s users. This architecture is shown to feed into the design of a browser extension-based client-server architecture (BE-COLA) that allows for the capturing and aligning of source and target content produced by the ‘power of the crowd’. The architectural approach chosen enables collaborative, in-context, and real-time localisation of web content supported by the crowd and generation of high-quality language resources.

The management of crowdsourcing in business processes

Organizations increasingly place value on the devolution of decision-making authority both within and beyond traditional organizational hierarchies and boundaries. The sacrifice of centralized management control is exchanged for increased engagement from staff, customer and partners and the more agile decision making and improved commitment to implementing decisions this implies. However, most existing IT service management and workflow management systems assume a centralised management model and offer very limited management support for devolved decision making. In this paper, we examine an approach to devolved decision-making in industrial workflow through the trend to crowdsource elements of the localization workflow for digital content, by leveraging the linguistic talents of online user communities which use the content or associated products.

Translators and localization: education and training in the Context of the Global initiative for local computing (GILC)

Abstract Over the last thirty years, Ireland has consolidated itself as the Mecca of the localization industry. Nowhere else in the world has there been a higher concentration of companies involved in the linguistic and cultural adaptation of digital content in the widest sense of the term. This article explores the connections between the entrepreneurial boom in the computing industry, the concomitant expansion of the localization business and Ireland’s outstanding economic growth in recent times. It also examines how the impetus of this unprecedented industrial and economic development has been harnessed by academics, researchers and practitioners in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on the emergence and consolidation of an extensive network for localization training and certification since 1997. In the second part, the article reports on the Global Initiative for Local Computing (GILC) and its ramifications for localization training worldwide. GILC proponents aim to draw attention to the economic implications of localization activities and the risk that current mainstream localization practices may promote western cultures and languages at the expense of their economically weaker counterparts around the globe. In the final part, the author discusses a number of localization training initiatives in Brazil, India and Egypt, where the Localisation Research Centre (LRC) has already entered into partnerships with government authorities and the educational sector. Drawing on these examples, he seeks to ascertain whether the so far largely Europe-centred training model developed in Ireland manages to cater for the needs of localizers in these countries.

Language resources and localisation

Localisation is one of the fastest growing industrial sectors in the digital world. Since the mid-eighties, the role of localisation has developed and changed dramatically. Localisation has been redefined as the provision of services and technologies for the management of multilinguality across the global information flow. This paper discusses the need for easily accessible dedicated language resources for localisation, provides a practical example of what can be achieved with appropriate language resources in the context of localisation and proposes a strategy to acquire, maintain and make them easily accessible.

EBMT IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT

One key to the success of EBMT is the removal of the boundaries limiting the potential of translation memories (TMs). We discuss a linguistically enhanced TM system, a Phrasal Lexicon (PL), which takes advantage of the huge, underused resources available in existing translation aids. We claim that PL and EBMT systems can provide valuable translation solutions for restricted domains, especially where controlled language restrictions are imposed. When integrated into a hybrid and/or multi-engine MT environment, the PL will yield significant improvements in translation quality. We establish a future model of translation usage and anticipate that EBMT and the PL will have a central place in future hybrid integrated translation platforms.