The Untapped Potential: Utilizing Translator Queries to Build Up Terminology and Enhance Source Texts

Translators with their strong sense of language are excellent "usability testers" of texts of all kinds. Their queries can make authors aware of ambiguities in the source text or raise terminological questions. Overall, these queries definitely add quality and thus value – but only if you know how to tap into this source.

It is therefore simply puzzling, to say the least, that no one has yet added translator feedback to the translation and terminology workflow in a systematic and feasible way. Especially, since a systematic approach would both contribute to increase the linguistic quality of the source text and reduce significantly costs by improving the terminology itself.

  

That is why eurocom and Kaleidoscope tackle this subject in a joint effort and look into exciting question, such as “How can translator queries be resolved in a collaborative and web-based way?” or “How can terminology relevant questions be used as a term candidate and suggestions for improvement be forwarded to the technical writers?”

Find out more about this topic in the coming weeks and months here in this blog, on our Facebook page, in our Tweets - and of course "live". Anita Wilson, my colleague from eurocom, and I re hosting a round table at the Gala on 29.3. 2011 in Lisbon. In addition, Anita and I hold a lecture on the very same subject at the tekom Spring conference in Potsdam (14/15.4. 2011).

What are your thoughts and ideas on this subject? Drop me an e-mail (blog (at) kaleidoscope.at) and / or post!