Language technology? Apostroph sheds some light on this complex issue.

If you’ve read our recent blog on CAT tools, you’ll have been initiated into the world of language technology solutions. But, as mentioned, CAT is just one of our ‘pet’ tools here at Apostroph Germany. There’s a plethora of language technologies that we use to optimise both our internal processes and the external needs of our clients. These range from translation management systems and tools, interfaces for content management systems to translation machines. So when we talk about translation technology, it typically encompasses a whole range of elements that includes artificial intelligence, smart tools, well-thought-out processes and clever connections. Sounds complex? Wondering why you need to familiarise yourself with all this tech jargon? Stick around and keep reading; we’ll break it down for you – one language solution at a time.

Tech it down a notch

Okay, so what’s all the fuss? It’s only about a quick proofread or a translation after all. Wrong! While that might have been the case in the good old analogue days, it’s an outdated perspective in today’s ever-evolving digital world. It’s not just multilingual websites that are a global company’s calling card; slogans and online content are also crossing borders and need to strike the right chord with international audiences who speak a myriad of different languages. What’s more, this content needs to stay true to the tonality and identity of the brand it represents. So how do you go about ensuring all of the above while getting your message across quickly, effectively and, above all, economically. This is precisely where language technology makes its grand entrance, offering personalised solutions to suit individual needs – starting with translation management systems and tools, including CAT. Connecting these computer-assisted translation tools to your translation memory and termbase ensures the uniform translation of terms, titles and recurring text parts such as slogans and the like.

The what and the what? It’s all Greek to you? No worries, we’ve got you covered. The translation memory is a library of sorts, which stores each translated source and target language segment and assigns it certain attributes such as subject area, industry and corporate customer. In subsequent translations, the system automatically suggests these segments if the algorithms deem them relevant – something we call ‘fuzzy matches’. The higher the percentage of the fuzzy match, the lower the need to rewrite a segment. The translation memory also offers another indispensable feature: it is a great repository for research. The termbase, or terminology database, is a digital glossary of terms in two or more languages that we create and expand in close cooperation with you. It ensures that everyone uses the same terminology and that your texts are always formulated consistently.

So, now that you understand the science behind the technology, what’s in it for you? Simply put:

• Shorter delivery times thanks to efficiency and speed
• High-quality texts thanks to consistent formulations
• Automatic insertion of recurring passages
• Cost savings

Tech it to the next level

What about file formats? Not a problem. Thanks to our in-house expertise and tech-savvy solutions, we can handle multiple file formats. The most common include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, Adobe InDesign, XML, JSON, but also rare formats such as SRT, Java Properties or TMX. This language technology solution simplifies the translation process by eliminating the laborious work of copying and pasting text into a suitable format, thus enabling efficient handling of large-scale or regularly occurring projects.

What’s more, we can further simplify the process by automating the translation of your content, such as annual reports, web texts or app content. How do we do this? It’s tech to the rescue yet again! The connection and communication between your content management system (CMS) and our translation management system takes place via an application programming interface (API), which we call apoCONNECTORS. These connectors ‘establish contact’ with your in-house CMS and then, depending on the connection, offer you the following advantages:

• Entry of text and content directly in your own systems
• Export for translation directly from the system and import of the translated text with one click
• Elimination of copy errors and correct formatting by the system
• Time savings

Tech it easy

Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it – using software available on the web for a quick translation when confronted with a language-related conundrum. And why not, you might say? They’re legit, they’re easy to use, and the translations they provide are pretty darn good. While that might be true, and the results churned out by such open-source tools are accurate for the most part, did you know that these providers offer little, if any, data security? In addition, these tools learn by trawling through all the texts available online regardless of quality, which is why their output can also include incorrect translations. They also don’t account for terminology and are also unable to implement style specifications. So what’s the workaround here? It’s simple: use your trusted language services provider and the secure and reliable tools they offer, such as apoAI – our very own translation machine that we’ve developed in-house using our long-standing expertise in the field. This translation engine, which works with neural intelligence, is specifically trained to work in combination with a customer-specific termbase and a translation memory. Besides offering an efficient and easy solution for that RFQ or multilingual company report you need translated at the double, machine translation technology also offers you the following benefits:

• High-quality data-protected translations
• Human-in-the-loop with post-editing done by our team of language experts
• Time savings
• Cost savings

So if we’ve managed to pique your curiosity about the wonders and benefits of language technology, and you’d like some advice on how to optimise and manage your in-house language processes, get in touch – we’d be happy to talk tech with you!