Fachkommunikation

Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna
Christopher Kurz (Eds.)

Translation Quality in theAge of Digital Transformation
Edited Volume

BDÜ Fachverlag

Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna, Christopher Kurz (Eds.)

Translation Quality
in the Age of Digital
Transformation
Edited Volume

Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP EinheitsaufnahmeJean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna, Dr. Christopher Kurz (Eds.):
Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation
Edited Volume
ISBN: 978-3-946702-12-2
verlegt von der BDÜ Weiterbildungs- und Fachverlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin,
einem Unternehmen des Bundesverbandes der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer e. V. (BDÜ)© 2020 BDÜ Weiterbildungs- und Fachverlagsgesellschaft mbH, Berlin
Gestaltung/Satz: Thorsten Weddig, Essen
Titelbild: Murrstock/stock.adobe.com
Druck: Elanders GmbH, Waiblingen
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gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Gedruckt auf säurefreiem und alterungsbeständigem Werkdruckpapier.

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

1

Foreword
Quality – a word you’ll find in every flyer, on every website. Everybody is promising it: quality, every time and everywhere. Quality has become a marketingbuzzword, a catchphrase that can mean anything or nothing. Translations,too, are promoted as quality translations, but with no precise explanation ofwhat that means. This is one side of the coin.
The other side of the “quality” coin is the sometimes extremely exacting
standards demanded of translations that either have to be legally watertightand terminologically precise, while also consistently applying a company’s
language guidelines, or serve to position a product appropriately for target
groups in international markets. And then there are translations that are only
needed for a rough overview of content. Between these two poles we find a
multitude of highly disparate ideas about what constitutes quality in translation, illustrating how elusive the concept of quality in translation can be. Yet
in all these cases quality is in no way just a buzzword, it is the foundation fora successful relationship between service-provider and client, regardless of
who delivers the translation – an individual translator, an agency or an inhouse language service.
Quality is what is agreed between the contracting parties – a statement you
will no doubt find reiterated in this book. Quality is not merely the absenceof errors. It is the fulfilment of requirements agreed upon before the work
started – no less than that, but also no more.
This book examines the concept of quality in translation very much from a practical standpoint. It defines the parameters within which objectively definable
criteria for assessing translation quality can exist, beyond all subjective preferences for one word or construction over another. The editors – themselves experienced practitioners – invited colleagues to submit contributions on themesthat for them are not distant theory but day-to-day business practice.
Addressing not only the criteria, strategies and norms that have been constantly refined over many years, but also new tools and the challenges presented by (neural) machine translation, this book covers the full breadth of
the subject. It offers a range of important contributions to an authoritative
and thorough appraisal of the concept of quality in translation – an appraisalthat the sector needs urgently so that those who deliver high-quality work
can then differentiate themselves effectively in the competitive environment.

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

With its wealth of information presented from a wide variety of perspectives,
this book is an outstanding and indispensable reference work for anyone
concerned with quality in translation.
Norma Keßler
BDÜ President
April 2020

Preface from the editors

3

Preface from the editors
The concept of translation quality is probably the most ambiguous in our sector.
Ideas of what does and does not constitute translation quality and the factorsthat influence it vary enormously. However, while this debate has been goingon for decades, the wheel of technological change has been turning faster andfaster, bringing about radical changes to our profession. As we enter the age ofdigital transformation, we are all faced with the task and the challenge of clearly transporting (or rather translating) this decidedly hazy notion into a world
dominated by concepts such as key figures, artificial intelligence and automation,
where buzzwords like globalization, efficiency, synergy and cost optimization set
the tone and shape our everyday work with lasting impact.
From the point of view of cognitive science, our job in the 21st century isembedded in a complex translational ecosystem composed of diverse elements: cooperation partners, social factors, physical and mental factors, anda variety of artefacts1. CAT tools such as translation memory systems, terminology management systems, alignment tools, machine translation systems
and project management components are crucially important examples ofsuch artefacts. They have become indispensable for day-to-day work in thelanguage industry. However, amid all the (clearly necessary) technologicaladvances and digitalization taking place in our profession, it is vital that thecritically-thinking human translator is not neglected or ignored.
The increasingly clear manifestation of the fault lines between digital transformation and the redefining of our profession and work environment on a daily
basis have given way to numerous discussions with various industry participants, colleagues and friends. In summer 2019, the idea was thus born to issue
a collective volume that sets out examples covering a diverse range of issues,
and above all the various requirements that need to be fulfilled in order toattain – highly individualized – translation quality in as many different areas ofour sector as possible. The result of this idea, the collective volume you holdin your hands, represents a strong link between theory and practice. On the
one hand, it reflects findings, tips, strategies and suggestions from day-to-day
work, but on the other hand also addresses basic theory and offers a reflective
and multifaceted way into the set of issues surrounding quality and translation.

1

See Krüger, R. (2015): „Fachübersetzen aus kognitionstranslatologischer Perspektive: Das Kölner Modell des situierten Fachübersetzers“ [LSP Translation from a Cognitive Translational Perspective: the Cologne Model of the Situated LSP Translator], in: trans-kom 8 [2], pp. 273–313.

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

The first part of the collective volume deals with the dimensions of translation
quality. To begin with, various different approaches to defining quality are
considered. This is followed by a differentiation between process-related andproduct-related dimensions of quality, with a particular focus on risk management, standardization and the subject of errors, error categories and error assessments. Two examples from the automobile industry are examined
to illustrate both dimensions.
The second part describes factors that have a significant influence on translation quality: terminology management, the quality of source texts and – often
underestimated – the translator’s specialist knowledge and grasp of technicalconcepts.
The third part of this book illustrates the importance of the aforementioned
artefacts of the translational ecosystem for achieving translation quality.
These man-made tools of information technology are present in abundance
and are permanent features of the modern-day translator’s working environment. They dominate our working conditions and it is hard to imagine doing
our everyday job without them today.
The final part of our collective volume is dedicated to application in practice.
The chapters are divided into five broad areas to provide a better overview:
finance; multimedia; software industry; technology sector; international institutions and NGOs.
The afterword provides the reader with an outlook of the future of translation
quality.
We were able to attract a multitude of experts from the profession to write
contributions for the collective volume (employers from industry, language
service providers within large companies, public authorities, NGOs, translation agencies and freelancers). Their everyday practical work is centered on
the topic of translation quality and they are measured on their achievementsin this field on a daily basis. In order to ensure the content is as wide-ranging
as possible, we did not only ask well-known, successful authors to contribute,but also approached young authors who have not yet gathered much experience putting their expert knowledge down on paper. This has resulted in aninteresting mixture of accomplished authors and new, young writers, reflected in the diversity of the articles previously addressed. We would like to offer
our sincere thanks to you all at this point!

Preface from the editors

5

We also owe many thanks to Roland Hoffmann, Head of the BDÜ Weiterbildungs- und Fachverlagsgesellschaft mbH, for his consent to this book project.
Together with his team, he offered outstanding support in all phases of the project and this collective volume would not exist in its current form without him.
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna, Christopher Kurz
Wolfsburg, Aurich/Leipzig
Summer 2020

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

Brief contents
INTRODUCTION
1Translation: a billion‑dollar business ........................................ 28
Florian Faes

PART 1:DIMENSIONS OF TRANSLATION QUALITY
Basic principles
2

Translation quality, translation evaluation,
error categories and score sheets .............................................. 38
Christopher Kurz

3

Revision ......................................................................................... 69
Angelika Ottmann, Carmen Canfora

Standardisation
4

Translation quality through certification according to
ISO 17100 – experience from a certification perspective ........ 84
Markus Kukla

5

Working towards a set of consistent standards
for translation services – some thoughts on
the further development of ISO 17100 ...................................... 97
Wolfram Baur

6

Quality management from the perspective of a
DIN EN ISO 17100 certified language service provider .......... 107
Eva-Maria Tillmann

7

Reasons, benefits and approaches for aninternational standard on translation quality ....................... 127
Ilona Wallberg

Brief contents

7

Quality assurance and quality evaluation
8

Translation risk management – error prevention
and near-misses management ................................................. 136
Angelika Ottmann, Carmen Canfora

9Translation quality and JTF’s Evaluation Guidelines .............. 154
Ryutaro Nishino

10

Quality evaluation according to the expanded SAE standard
J2450 as applied by Volkswagen AG’s Language Services ...... 165
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

PART 2:
FACTORS INFLUENCING TRANSLATION QUALITY
11

Without terminology, translation is nothing ......................... 184
Jenny Seidel, Ulrike Grützmacher

12

Quality of terminology processes in corporate contexts –agreeing and harmonizing terminology .................................. 200
Birgit Hoppe, Birgitta Geischberg

13

Expert knowledge as the essence ofquality technical translation .................................................... 222
Martin Ritschel14

How does the quality of source texts
impact translation quality? ...................................................... 235
François Massion

15

The role of quality for machine translation post‑editing ....... 246
Sara Grizzo

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

PART 3:
ELEMENTS OF THE TRANSLATIONAL ECOSYSTEM AND
THEIR IMPACT ON TRANSLATION QUALITY
16

Automatic quality assurance:
advantages and disadvantages of current tools ..................... 254
Nicole Keller

17

How regular expressions can help
improving translation quality .................................................. 269
Jerzy Czopik

18

Translation memory quality andtranslation memory management .......................................... 300
Daniel Zielinski, Simon Varga

19

CMS systems and their impact onrequirements for text quality ................................................... 320
Ramona Kraus

20

Machine translation in the enterprise .................................... 338
Chris Wendt

21

Translation quality assurance andneural machine translation ............................................................. 353
Michael Schneider

PART 4:
CASE STUDIES AND PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Finance
22

More than just getting the decimal separator right:
quality in practice for the financial translator ...................... 362
Lisa Rüth

Multimedia
23

Language adaptation at ARTE:
challenges, objectives and quality criteria ............................. 374
Chloé Roux

Brief contents

24

9Translation quality of infotainment texts
at Volkswagen Language Services ........................................... 384
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

Software industry
25

Cloud nine? Software translation quality management at SAP ... 398
Anke Kortenbruck, Susanne Hempel

26

What content quality really means ......................................... 410
Kai Beste

Technology sector
27

The Global Language Center of ZF Friedrichshafen AG:
industrial translation in the era of digitalization .................. 426
Petra Kuhn, Maren Matthes, Anika Kulisch, Francisca Weber

28

Volkswagen AG Language Services’ Supplier Management ..... 446
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

International institutions and NGOs
29

Digital transformation and institutional translation –change and challenges .............................................................. 466
Ingemar Strandvik

30

The principle of rightness atAmnesty International’s Translation Service ......................... 495
Lucio Bagnulo

POSTFACE
31

Musings on the future of translation quality ......................... 514
Deborah Fry

APPENDIX
32

Contributors ............................................................................... 528

33

Index ............................................................................................ 534

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

Contents
INTRODUCTION
1Translation: a billion‑dollar business ........................................ 28
Florian Faes

1.1

Hyper competitive ................................................................................ 30

1.2

Emerging business models ................................................................. 32

1.3

End markets .......................................................................................... 33

1.4

Investment and M&A ........................................................................... 34

1.5

Technology and NMT ........................................................................... 35
PART 1:DIMENSIONS OF TRANSLATION QUALITY
Basic principles

2

Translation quality, translation evaluation,
error categories and score sheets .............................................. 38
Christopher Kurz

2.1

Introduction and the definition of translation quality ..................... 38

2.2

The definition of quality ...................................................................... 39

2.3

Evaluation models ................................................................................ 43

2.3.1

The holistic evaluation model ..................................................................................... 44

2.3.2

The analytical evaluation model ................................................................................. 44

2.4

Errors and error categories ................................................................ 45

2.4.1

Error cause vs. error impact ....................................................................................... 45

2.4.2

Fatal errors .................................................................................................................... 47

2.4.3

Choosing and defining the right error categories .................................................... 47

2.4.4

Style and stylistic changes ........................................................................................... 49

2.5

Objectivity, repeatability and the evaluation corridor ..................... 51

2.5.1

Objectivity and repeatability ....................................................................................... 51

2.5.2
2.5.2.1
2.5.2.2
2.5.2.3

Ways to achieve objective evaluations ...................................................................... 52
Competences, qualifications and training ................................................................ 52
Training the evaluation corridor and the evaluators ............................................... 54
Conditions during the evaluation and their consequences .................................... 55

Contents

11

2.6

Working with the score sheet ............................................................. 56

2.6.1
2.6.1.1
2.6.1.2

Score sheet categories and structure ........................................................................ 56
Horizontal structure vs. vertical structure ................................................................ 57
Calculating the error score and defining a threshold value ................................... 59

2.6.2
2.6.2.1
2.6.2.2

Aspects to be considered before starting the evaluation ....................................... 60
100% match strategy vs. no-match strategy ............................................................. 60
Evaluating an entire document vs. spot-checking and sampling ........................... 62

2.6.3
2.6.3.1
2.6.3.2
2.6.3.3

Rating errors and filling out the score sheet ............................................................ 63
Error counting: repetitions or each instance? .......................................................... 63
Concentration and consistent rating ......................................................................... 64
Shifting of errors and assigning them to different categories ............................... 65

2.7

Communication .................................................................................... 66

2.7.1

Preliminary communication ....................................................................................... 66

2.7.2

Feedback ....................................................................................................................... 66

2.8

Bibliography .......................................................................................... 67

3

Revision ......................................................................................... 69
Angelika Ottmann, Carmen Canfora

3.1

Revision and quality ............................................................................. 69

3.1.1

Revision decisions ........................................................................................................ 71

3.1.2

Revision competence ................................................................................................... 73

3.2

Revision quality .................................................................................... 75

3.3

Summary ............................................................................................... 79

3.4

Bibliography .......................................................................................... 80
Standardisation

4

Translation quality through certification according to
ISO 17100 – experience from a certification perspective ........ 84
Markus Kukla

4.1

Why obtain ISO 17100 certification? .................................................. 84

4.2

Weaknesses in the translation process ............................................. 87

4.3

Best practice ......................................................................................... 92

4.4

Quo vadis ISO 17100? .......................................................................... 95

4.5

Bibliography .......................................................................................... 96

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

5

Working towards a set of consistent standards
for translation services – some thoughts on
the further development of ISO 17100 ...................................... 97
Wolfram Baur

5.1

Introduction .......................................................................................... 97

5.2

Scope and content of ISO 17100 ........................................................ 97

5.3

Experience gained since publication of ISO 17100 .......................... 98

5.3.1

Benefits and merits ...................................................................................................... 98

5.3.2

Issues and problems .................................................................................................. 100

5.4Time has not stood still ..................................................................... 102

5.5

Only time will tell … ............................................................................ 106

5.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 106

6

Quality management from the perspective of a
DIN EN ISO 17100 certified language service provider .......... 107
Eva-Maria Tillmann

6.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 107

6.2

Services certified according to DIN EN ISO 17100 ......................... 108

6.3

Language service product quality .................................................... 109

6.3.1

The concept of quality ............................................................................................... 110

6.3.2

Client-specific requirements ..................................................................................... 110

6.3.3

Project-specific requirements ................................................................................... 112

6.4

The role of the client .......................................................................... 113

6.4.1

Cooperative collaboration ......................................................................................... 113

6.4.2

Client without obligations? ........................................................................................ 115

6.4.3

Client-specific process steps ..................................................................................... 116

6.4.4

Benefits of cooperation ............................................................................................. 118

6.5

Practical tips for service providers and clients ............................... 119

6.5.1

Identifying client and project-specific requirements ............................................. 120

6.5.2

Query management ................................................................................................... 121

6.5.3

Review and country corrections ............................................................................... 122

6.5.4

Feedback and complaint management ................................................................... 123

6.5.5

Terminology management ........................................................................................ 124

6.6

Summary ............................................................................................. 125

6.7

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 126

Contents

7

13

Reasons, benefits and approaches for aninternational standard on translation quality ....................... 127
Ilona Wallberg

7.1

Reasons ............................................................................................... 127

7.2

Background ......................................................................................... 128

7.2.1

ISO/PWI 14080 – Assessment of translations ......................................................... 128

7.2.2

ISO/WD 21999 Translation quality assurance and assessment –models and metrics ................................................................................................... 129

7.2.3

Standards from other rule-making institutions ..................................................... 130

7.2.4

What now? ................................................................................................................... 130

7.3

Target groups ..................................................................................... 130

7.4

Possible contents ............................................................................... 131

7.4.1

Terms and their definitions ...................................................................................... 131

7.4.2

Different approaches ................................................................................................. 132

7.4.3

Typology of mistakes ................................................................................................. 132

7.4.4

Different metrics ........................................................................................................ 133

7.4.5

Scope and frequency of tests ................................................................................... 133

7.4.6

The outcome of the test ............................................................................................ 134

7.4.7

Competences and qualification of assessors ......................................................... 134

7.5

Outlook ................................................................................................ 134
Quality assurance and quality evaluation

8

Translation risk management – error prevention
and near-misses management ................................................. 136
Angelika Ottmann, Carmen Canfora

8.1

Risk management – basic principles and goals .............................. 136

8.2

Risk management vs. quality management andproject management ......................................................................... 137

8.3

Risk management according to ISO 31000 ..................................... 137

8.4

Translation risk management .......................................................... 138

8.4.1
8.4.1.1
8.4.1.2
8.4.1.3
8.4.1.4

Risk strategies ............................................................................................................. 140
Avoid risk ..................................................................................................................... 140
Take risk ...................................................................................................................... 141
Share risk .................................................................................................................... 141
Reduce risk .................................................................................................................. 141

8.5

Near-misses management ................................................................ 141

8.5.1
8.5.1.1
8.5.1.2

What exactly are near misses? ................................................................................. 142
Major incidents in the translation sector ................................................................ 143
Near misses in translation ........................................................................................ 144

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

8.5.2

Phases of near-misses management ...................................................................... 145

8.5.3

Near-misses management for safety-critical translations .................................... 145

8.5.4

Root-cause analysis ................................................................................................... 146

8.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 151

9Translation quality and JTF’s Evaluation Guidelines .............. 154
Ryutaro Nishino

9.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 154

9.2

What is quality of translation? .......................................................... 155

9.2.1

Different views on quality ......................................................................................... 155

9.2.2

Five approaches to quality ........................................................................................ 156

9.2.3

Relations of the five approaches .............................................................................. 157

9.3

Characteristics of JTF’s Guidelines .................................................... 159

9.4

Features of JTF QA Model .................................................................. 160

9.5

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 163

9.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 164

10Quality evaluation according to the expanded SAE standard
J2450 as applied by Volkswagen AG’s Language Services ...... 165
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

10.1

A look back at the origins of the standard ...................................... 166

10.2

Components of the J2450 quality metric and the basic principle ... 167

10.2.1Primary error categories ........................................................................................... 167

10.2.2

Secondary error categories and meta rules ........................................................... 168

10.2.3

Numerical weighting .................................................................................................. 169

10.3

Test phase and initial adjustments at Volkswagen ........................ 169

10.4

Roll-out of the review process andsystematic implementation of the evaluation ................................ 171

10.4.1

Translation philosophy .............................................................................................. 171

10.5

Establishment of a translation quality management team .......... 172

10.6

Further optimisations of the quality metricand the review process ..................................................................... 172

10.6.1Primary error categories ........................................................................................... 173

10.6.2

Secondary error categories ....................................................................................... 174

10.6.3

Meta rule ..................................................................................................................... 175

10.6.4Overall evaluation according to quality levels ........................................................ 175

10.6.5

Software-aided quality evaluation ........................................................................... 176

Contents

15

10.7

Latest optimisation measures .......................................................... 177

10.8

Critical questions ................................................................................ 179

10.9

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 181

10.10

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 182
PART 2:
FACTORS INFLUENCING TRANSLATION QUALITY

11

Without terminology, translation is nothing ......................... 184
Jenny Seidel, Ulrike Grützmacher

11.1

Benefits of terminology ..................................................................... 185

11.1.111.1.1.1

Benefits of terminology in marketing ...................................................................... 185
Necessity of terminology in technical documentation .......................................... 186

11.1.2Can’t live without each other – terminology and translation .............................. 188

11.1.3You have to love terminology! .................................................................................. 189

11.2

Holistic view of terminology ............................................................. 190

11.2.1

Criteria for terminology quality ................................................................................ 191

11.2.2

Terminology management ........................................................................................ 192

11.2.3

Concept maps as a holistic approach ...................................................................... 194

11.2.4

Ontologies: terminology in the semantic web ........................................................ 196

11.3

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 198

12

Quality of terminology processes in corporate contexts –agreeing and harmonizing terminology .................................. 200
Birgit Hoppe, Birgitta Geischberg

12.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 200

12.2

About terminology processes and projects .................................... 201

12.3

Simple terminology processes ......................................................... 202

12.4

Complex terminology processes involving the target groups ...... 203

12.4.1

Why involve the target groups? ................................................................................ 203

12.4.212.4.2.1
12.4.2.2

How to involve the target groups ............................................................................. 205
Agreeing terminology ................................................................................................ 205
Harmonizing terminology ......................................................................................... 206

12.4.312.4.3.1
12.4.3.2
12.4.3.3

When to create terminology? ................................................................................... 207
Upstream terminology creation ............................................................................... 207
Downstream terminology “harvest” ........................................................................ 207
Integrated terminology processes ........................................................................... 208

12.4.412.4.4.1
12.4.4.2
12.4.4.3

How to organize the necessary structural framework? ........................................ 209
Data management ..................................................................................................... 209
Further framework for terminology harmonization and agreement .................. 211
Terminology process variants based on proposal types ...................................... 212

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Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

12.5

Terminology process and project examples ................................... 214

12.5.1
12.5.1.1
12.5.1.2

Corporate automotive terminology ......................................................................... 214
Harmonization project .............................................................................................. 214
Terminology process involving target groups ........................................................ 216

12.5.212.5.2.1
12.5.2.2

Independent search terminology ............................................................................. 216
Harmonization project “initial filling” ....................................................................... 217
Process design for terminology process involving the target groups ................. 219

12.6

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 219

12.7

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 220

13

Expert knowledge as the essence ofquality technical translation .................................................... 222
Martin Ritschel

13.1

Outsmart artificial intelligence to create the better target text ... 222

13.2

Talking shop – the importance of source “lingo” comprehension ... 222

13.3

A lager, please! ................................................................................... 227

13.4

Credibility through know-how .......................................................... 228

13.5

No clue, no profit ............................................................................... 229

13.6

Are you a native speaker? ................................................................. 231

13.7

How do you get there? ...................................................................... 232

14

How does the quality of source texts
impact translation quality? ...................................................... 235
François Massion

14.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 235

14.2

Errors and their consequences ........................................................ 235

14.3

Causes of errors ................................................................................. 236

14.3.1

Unconstrained language ........................................................................................... 236

14.3.2

Syntax .......................................................................................................................... 237

14.3.3

Verbs, nouns and terms ............................................................................................ 238

14.3.4

Terminology ................................................................................................................ 239

14.3.5

Semantics .................................................................................................................... 240

14.3.6

Multilingual aspects ................................................................................................... 240

14.3.7

Influence of technologies on quality ........................................................................ 241

14.3.8

Summary of recommendations ............................................................................... 242

14.4

Writing for machine translation ....................................................... 243

14.5

Measuring translatability .................................................................. 244

14.5.1

Readability metrics ..................................................................................................... 244

14.5.2

Machine learning ........................................................................................................ 244

Contents

17

14.6

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 245

14.7

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 245

15

The role of quality for machine translation post‑editing ....... 246
Sara Grizzo

15.1

Which post-editing for which quality? ............................................. 246

15.2

Conscious choice = better results .................................................... 248

15.3

Different post-editing levels: The real challenge ............................ 249

15.4

Quality assurance in the post-editing workflow ............................. 249

15.4.1

Terminology inconsistency ....................................................................................... 250

15.4.2

Punctuation and spacing issues ............................................................................... 250

15.4.3

Tag issues .................................................................................................................... 251

15.4.4

Added/missing content and plausible but actually wrong suggestions .............. 251

15.5

Conclusions ......................................................................................... 252

15.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 252
PART 3:
ELEMENTS OF THE TRANSLATIONAL ECOSYSTEM AND THEIRIMPACT ON TRANSLATION QUALITY

16

Automatic quality assurance:
advantages and disadvantages of current tools ..................... 254
Nicole Keller

16.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 254

16.2

General introduction to automatic quality assurance ................... 256

16.2.1How does automatic quality assurance work? ....................................................... 257

16.2.2

What kind of tools are generally available? ............................................................ 258

16.2.316.2.3.1
16.2.3.2
16.2.3.3
16.2.3.4

Features of current tools ........................................................................................... 260
Range of QA checks ................................................................................................... 260
Error detection and highlighting .............................................................................. 260
QA check profiles and templates ............................................................................. 262
QA reports ................................................................................................................... 262

16.2.4

Terminology as a special challenge ......................................................................... 263

16.2.516.2.5.1
16.2.5.2
16.2.5.3

Examples for English-German .................................................................................. 265
Numbers and their formats ...................................................................................... 265
Check for identical source and target segments .................................................... 266
Invalid quotation marks ............................................................................................ 266

16.3

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 266

16.4

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 268

18

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation17

How regular expressions can help
improving translation quality .................................................. 269
Jerzy Czopik

17.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 269

17.2

Basics of regular expressions ........................................................... 269

17.2.1Main elements of regex ............................................................................................. 270

17.2.2Using metacharacters ................................................................................................ 271

17.2.3

Simple character classes ........................................................................................... 272

17.2.4

Negation ...................................................................................................................... 273

17.2.5Character ranges ........................................................................................................ 273

17.3

Usage of brackets ............................................................................... 274

17.3.1

Square brackets [ ] .................................................................................................... 274

17.3.2Curly brackets { } ....................................................................................................... 276

17.3.317.3.3.1

Quantifiers .................................................................................................................. 277
Lazy or greedy ............................................................................................................ 277

17.3.4

Round brackets ( ) ..................................................................................................... 279

17.3.5

Searching for metacharacters .................................................................................. 284

17.4

Improving translation quality using regular expressions ............. 285

17.4.1
17.4.1.1
17.4.1.2
17.4.1.3
17.4.1.4

Examples of regular expressions usage in the translation process .................... 285
Dealing with segments containing non-translatable items .................................. 285
Checking for unwanted spaces before a percentage sign .................................... 291
Checking for unwanted spaces before punctuation marks .................................. 294
Checking measurement units and numbers .......................................................... 295

17.4.2Using regular expressions in search and replace .................................................. 297

17.5

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 298

18Translation memory quality andtranslation memory management .......................................... 300
Daniel Zielinski, Simon Varga

18.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 300

18.2

Common quality issues in translation memories .......................... 301

18.2.1

Segment-level issues ................................................................................................. 302

18.2.2

Subsegment-level issues ........................................................................................... 304

18.2.3

Metadata issues ......................................................................................................... 305

18.3

Defining translation memory quality ............................................... 307

18.4

Translation memory quality assurance ........................................... 309

18.4.1

Error detection and correction ................................................................................. 310

18.4.218.4.2.1
18.4.2.2

Error prevention ......................................................................................................... 313
Translation quality assurance ................................................................................... 313
Translation memory management .......................................................................... 315

Contents

19

18.5

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 317

18.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 318

19

CMS systems and their impact onrequirements for text quality ................................................... 320
Ramona Kraus

19.1

Delimiting content management system terms ............................. 321

19.1.1Web content management (WCM) ........................................................................... 322

19.1.2

Product information management (PIM) ................................................................ 322

19.1.3

Content management or editorial systems ............................................................ 322

19.2

Special requirements of topic-based text authoring ..................... 322

19.2.1

Text reusability ........................................................................................................... 323

19.2.2

Text comprehensibility .............................................................................................. 324

19.3

Rules for topic-based text modules ................................................. 325

19.3.1

Concise, simple sentences ........................................................................................ 325

19.3.2

Avoid embedded clauses (verbal brackets) ............................................................ 326

19.3.3Use parallel structures (parallelism) ........................................................................ 326

19.3.4

Avoid backreferencing across sentences ................................................................ 328

19.3.5Use logical sequences ................................................................................................ 328

19.3.6

Avoid the use of fillers ............................................................................................... 329

19.3.7Structure lists correctly .............................................................................................. 329

19.3.8

Avoid the use of lexical variants ............................................................................... 330

19.3.9Use terminology ......................................................................................................... 330

19.4

LSP workflows for handling files from a CMS ................................. 331

19.4.1

Communicating client specifications to translators .............................................. 332

19.4.2

Interpreting XML file structures in translation memory systems ........................ 333

19.4.3Mapping client specifications to QA functions in the TMS .................................... 334

19.4.4

Providing translators with reference material ....................................................... 335

19.4.519.4.5.1
19.4.5.2

Workflows and automated processes ..................................................................... 335
Interfaces to content management systems .......................................................... 336
Workflows for assigning translators ........................................................................ 336

19.5

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 337

20

Machine translation in the enterprise .................................... 338
Chris Wendt

20.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 338

20.2

The power of machine translation ................................................... 338

20.2.1

Machines translate 1000 time more content than humans ................................. 339

20.2.2

Machine translation is a factor 1000 cheaper than human translation .............. 339

20.2.3

Machine translation is not 1000 times worse than human translation .............. 340

2020.2.420.2.4.1
20.2.4.2
20.2.4.3

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

Machine translation quality ...................................................................................... 341
Full document context ............................................................................................... 341
Real-world knowledge ............................................................................................... 342
Avoidance of catastrophic mistakes ........................................................................ 343

20.2.5

Catastrophic mistakes ............................................................................................... 343

20.2.6

Real-time translation ................................................................................................. 344

20.3

Necessary translation quality ........................................................... 344

20.4

Making use of machine translationin the document translation workflow ............................................ 345

20.4.1The document translation workflow ....................................................................... 346

20.4.2

Use of business intelligence ..................................................................................... 347

20.5

Language pair sequencing ................................................................ 348

20.5.1

Language pair ranking by quality for translations from English .......................... 349

20.5.2

Language pair ranking for translations to English ................................................. 351

20.6

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 352

20.7

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 352

21

Translation quality assurance andneural machine translation ............................................................. 353
Michael Schneider

21.1

What can go wrong –common quality problems of NMT systems ................................... 353

21.2

Challenges for the QA process ......................................................... 355

21.2.1

NMT translations are “too good” .............................................................................. 355

21.2.2Unexpected expenses ............................................................................................... 356

21.2.3

Other pitfalls ............................................................................................................... 357

21.3

But is it all that bad? .......................................................................... 358

21.4

The QA wish list: outlook into the future ........................................ 359
PART 4:
CASE STUDIES AND PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Finance

22

More than just getting the decimal separator right:
quality in practice for the financial translator ...................... 362
Lisa Rüth

22.1

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 371

Contents

21

Multimedia
23

Language adaptation at ARTE:
challenges, objectives and quality criteria ............................. 374
Chloé Roux

23.1

The importance of language versions at ARTE ................................ 374

23.2

The challenges and objectives of language adaptation for ARTE ... 375

23.3

Quality criteria for translating ARTE content ................................... 376

23.3.1

Translation of documentaries (off-screen and voice-over) ................................... 376

23.3.2

Translating films and drama (dubbing) ................................................................... 378

23.3.3

Translating subtitled content .................................................................................... 379

23.4

Quality management through production processes and tools ... 380

23.4.1

Selecting ARTE service providers .............................................................................. 380

23.4.2

Communicating ARTE’s expectations for its language versions ............................ 381

23.4.3

Optimisation of multilingual tools and work processes ........................................ 382

23.5

Balancing quality and efficiency: the challenge facing ARTE
as new technologies come on stream ............................................. 383

24

Translation quality of infotainment texts
at Volkswagen Language Services ........................................... 384
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

24.1

Text types ............................................................................................ 385

24.2

Golden Rules for text writers and translators ................................ 386

24.2.1

Objective ..................................................................................................................... 386

24.2.2

Structure of rules ....................................................................................................... 387

24.2.3

Classification of rules ................................................................................................. 388

24.3

Strategies for translators .................................................................. 388

24.3.1Strategies to shorten the text ................................................................................... 389

24.3.2Strategies for improving readability ........................................................................ 389

24.4

HMI Linguist ........................................................................................ 390

24.4.1

General information .................................................................................................. 390

24.4.224.4.2.1
24.4.2.2

Translation of GUI texts ............................................................................................. 391
Pixel width and number of lines .............................................................................. 391
Word breaks ............................................................................................................... 391

24.4.3

Translation of SDS prompts ...................................................................................... 392

24.4.4

Translation of SDS commands ................................................................................. 392

24.4.524.4.5.1
24.4.5.2

Formal quality check of translations ........................................................................ 392
Search and replace function ..................................................................................... 392
Reports function ......................................................................................................... 393

22

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

24.5

Evaluation of SDS prompts ............................................................... 393

24.5.1

General information .................................................................................................. 393

24.5.2

Classification of errors ............................................................................................... 394

24.5.3Severity levels of errors ............................................................................................. 395

24.6

Quality assurance process ................................................................ 396
Software industry

25

Cloud nine? Software translation quality management at SAP ... 398
Anke Kortenbruck, Susanne Hempel

25.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 398

25.2

How translation works at SAP .......................................................... 398

25.3

Translation quality management activities at SAP ......................... 400

25.4

Impact of continuous delivery .......................................................... 402

25.5

Impact of neural machine translation ............................................. 403

25.6

Targeted initiatives to ensure better quality .................................. 405

25.6.1

Source quality initiative ............................................................................................. 405

25.6.2

Language modernization .......................................................................................... 406

25.6.3

Context, context, context .......................................................................................... 407

25.7

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 409

25.8

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 409

26

What content quality really means ......................................... 410
Kai Beste

26.1

The issue with the normative approach .......................................... 410

26.1.1

The concept of error .................................................................................................. 410

26.1.2The textual level ......................................................................................................... 411

26.1.3

Subjectivity .................................................................................................................. 411

26.1.4Standards and compliance focus ............................................................................. 411

26.2

A user-centric look at quality ............................................................ 412

26.2.1

Factor 1: The user ....................................................................................................... 412

26.2.2

Factor 2: Context ........................................................................................................ 412

26.2.3

Factor 3: Consistency ................................................................................................. 413

26.2.4

Factor 4: Organization ............................................................................................... 413

26.2.5

Factor 5: Intent ........................................................................................................... 413

26.3

Measuring web content quality ........................................................ 414

26.3.1
26.3.1.1
26.3.1.2

Do people read my text? Analyzing user behavior ................................................ 414
Reaching the audience .............................................................................................. 414
Engaging the audience .............................................................................................. 415

Contents

23

26.3.226.3.2.1
26.3.2.2

Is my content good for the business? A look at commercial metrics .................. 418
Return on investment ................................................................................................ 418
Conversion rate .......................................................................................................... 418

26.4

Producing quality content ................................................................. 419

26.4.1
26.4.1.1
26.4.1.2

Understand the customer – and the business ....................................................... 419
The customer .............................................................................................................. 419
The business ............................................................................................................... 421

26.4.226.4.2.1
26.4.2.2

Follow a plan ............................................................................................................... 421
Strategy definition ...................................................................................................... 421
Project definition ........................................................................................................ 422

26.4.3Practice editorial judgement ..................................................................................... 422

26.5

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 423

26.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 423
Technology sector

27

The Global Language Center of ZF Friedrichshafen AG:
industrial translation in the era of digitalization .................. 426
Petra Kuhn, Maren Matthes, Anika Kulisch, Francisca Weber

27.1

ZF Friedrichshafen AG and its Global Language Center ................ 426

27.1.1ZF Friedrichshafen AG ............................................................................................... 426

27.1.2Global Language Center ............................................................................................ 426

27.2

Megatrends and digitalization – the ZF response .......................... 427

27.2.1

Megatrends and digitalization – the significance for the automotive industry ... 427

27.2.227.2.2.1
27.2.2.2

Megatrends and digitalization – the ZF world andthe Global Language Center in transition ............................................................... 429
ZF Friedrichshafen AG: Strategy 2025 ..................................................................... 429
ZF Global Language Center: Going Global .............................................................. 431

27.3

Effects on Global Language Center (HOCL) operations ................ 432

27.4

Machine translation (MT) and post-editing (PE) ............................. 437

27.4.127.4.1.1
27.4.1.2

Requirements and prerequisites ............................................................................. 438
From the point of view of the user .......................................................................... 438
From a technical perspective .................................................................................... 439

27.4.227.4.2.1
27.4.2.2

Machine translation at the Global Language Center ............................................. 440
Hybrid machine translation ...................................................................................... 440
Neural machine translation (NMT) ........................................................................... 442

27.4.327.4.3.1

Post-editing (PE) ......................................................................................................... 443
Quality assurance activities ...................................................................................... 443

27.4.4

Prospects ..................................................................................................................... 444

27.5

Concluding remarks ........................................................................... 445

27.6

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 445

24

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

28

Volkswagen AG Language Services’ Supplier Management ..... 446
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna

28.1

Identification of potential translation service providers ............... 447

28.1.128.1.1.1
28.1.1.2
28.1.1.3

General differentiation .............................................................................................. 447
Full-service TSPs with internal translators .............................................................. 447
TSPs with freelancers ................................................................................................. 448
Self-employed translators ......................................................................................... 448

28.1.228.1.2.1
28.1.2.2
28.1.2.3
28.1.2.4
28.1.2.5
28.1.2.6
28.1.2.7
28.1.2.8

Useful decision-making information ....................................................................... 449
Range of services offered by the TSP ...................................................................... 449
Certification ................................................................................................................. 449
Advertising materials and references ...................................................................... 450
Specialisation and qualifications .............................................................................. 450
Translators’ professional competences .................................................................. 450
Native-language principle and bilingualism ............................................................ 451
Handling of queries ................................................................................................... 451
Membership in a professional association ............................................................. 451

28.2

Multiple-stage selection process ...................................................... 452

28.2.1

Definition of scope of services and quality criteria ................................................ 452

28.2.228.2.2.1
28.2.2.2
28.2.2.3
28.2.2.4
28.2.2.5

Selection stages .......................................................................................................... 452
Stage 1: questionnaire ............................................................................................... 452
Stage 2: document review ......................................................................................... 453
Stage 3: in-depth interview ....................................................................................... 453
Stage 4: test translations ........................................................................................... 453
Stage 5: on-site capability audit ................................................................................ 454

28.2.328.2.3.1
28.2.3.2
28.2.3.3
28.2.3.4

End of the selection process ..................................................................................... 457
Assessment matrix ..................................................................................................... 457
Implementation of measures ................................................................................... 457
Price negotiations ...................................................................................................... 457
Framework agreement .............................................................................................. 458

28.3

Continuous performance review ..................................................... 458

28.3.1

Supplier assessment .................................................................................................. 458

28.3.2

Supplier classification ................................................................................................ 458

28.3.328.3.3.1
28.3.3.2
28.3.3.3
28.3.3.4
28.3.3.5

Escalation process for problematic suppliers ........................................................ 459
Escalation level 0 ........................................................................................................ 459
Escalation level 1 ........................................................................................................ 459
Escalation level 2 ........................................................................................................ 460
Escalation level 3 ........................................................................................................ 461
De-escalation .............................................................................................................. 461

28.3.4

Supplier development ............................................................................................... 462

28.4

Preferred supplier and preferred customer ................................... 462

28.5

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 463

Contents

25

International institutions and NGOs
29

Digital transformation and institutional translation –change and challenges .............................................................. 466
Ingemar Strandvik

29.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 466

29.2

Digital transformation and the European Commission ................ 467

29.2.1The CEF building block eTranslation ........................................................................ 468

29.2.2

Data management ..................................................................................................... 469

29.3

Digital transformation in the DGT .................................................... 470

29.3.1A qualitative leap – new actors ................................................................................. 470

29.3.2

Data management in the DGT .................................................................................. 471

29.3.3eTranslation in the DGT ............................................................................................. 473

29.4

Quality management (QM) in the DGT ............................................ 473

29.5

Challenges for the translation QM ................................................... 476

29.5.1

Understanding the QM policy ................................................................................... 477

29.5.2

Measuring quality ...................................................................................................... 479

29.5.3

Study on efficiency of QC .......................................................................................... 480

29.5.4

Risk management ...................................................................................................... 481

29.5.5Competence management ....................................................................................... 482

29.5.6

MT hype and change resistance ............................................................................... 484

29.6

Conclusions ......................................................................................... 489

29.7

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 491

30

The principle of rightness atAmnesty International’s Translation Service ......................... 495
Lucio Bagnulo

30.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 495

30.2

Amnesty International’s Language Resource Centre ..................... 496

30.3

Translation activity ............................................................................. 497

30.4

Profuse output ................................................................................... 499

30.5

The principle of rightness ................................................................. 501

30.6

Technological resources .................................................................... 505

30.6.1

Our project management system ............................................................................ 505

30.6.2

Linguistic tools ............................................................................................................ 506

30.7

Closing remarks .................................................................................. 508

30.8

Annex I ................................................................................................. 509

30.9

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 511

26

Dalla-Zuanna, Kurz (Eds.): Translation Quality in the Age of Digital Transformation

POSTFACE
31

Musings on the future of translation quality ......................... 514
Deborah Fry

31.1

Introduction ........................................................................................ 514

31.2

From project triangle factor … .......................................................... 515

31.3… through continuous improvement .............................................. 515

31.4… to final frontier ............................................................................... 517

31.5

Quality and the new translation market ......................................... 517

31.6

New client drivers for quality ............................................................ 518

31.7

Re(de)fining translation quality ........................................................ 519

31.7.1

Accuracy ...................................................................................................................... 520

31.7.2

Register and style ....................................................................................................... 520

31.7.3

Content ........................................................................................................................ 520

31.7.4

Disentangling the levels … ........................................................................................ 521

31.7.5… and raising the bar ................................................................................................. 521

31.8

Only connect ....................................................................................... 523

31.9

Helping NMT help us ......................................................................... 523

31.9.1

Fluency does not equate to accuracy ...................................................................... 524

31.9.2Erratic suitability of the technology ......................................................................... 524

31.9.3

Inconsistent terminology, phraseology and language variants ........................... 525

31.10

Conclusions ......................................................................................... 525

31.11

Bibliography ........................................................................................ 526
APPENDIX

32

Contributors ............................................................................... 528

33

Index ............................................................................................ 534

INTRODUCTION

Florian Faes: Translation: a billion-dollar business

28

1

Translation:a billion‑dollar business
Florian Faes

The global language industry is big business. Worth an estimated USD 24.2bn,2companies providing translation and interpreting services, as well as language technology, employ and collaborate with hundreds of thousands of
employees and freelancers.
The language industry services every other industry imaginable, from enterpriseIT, life sciences, finance and banking, to gaming and media, and many more.
While the 2020 Covid-19 crisis is expected to lead to around an 8% drop in
market size in 2020 from 2019,3 the language industry has historically been
resilient in the aftermath of a recession and quickly resumed its secular
growth pattern soon after economic recovery began.
Translation, localization, and interpreting are not nice-to-haves but, in manycases, essential product or service components. Software must be accessible
to a global audience, equipment has to be assembled using local language
instructions outside a manufacturer’s factories, and clinical trials need to be
conducted across the globe. All this drives demand.

2

Slator 2020 Language Industry Market Report

3

Ibid.

Florian Faes: Translation: a billion-dollar business

29

Fig. 1: Estimated market size per end-customer vertical 2019 in USD billions

At its core, the language industry relies on human professionals from a vastpool of skilled and experienced linguists, as well as project and account managers, salespeople, senior managers, and entrepreneurs. These professionals, however, operate in an incredibly complex and fast-evolving technology
ecosystem.
Over the past two decades, technology, such as translation productivity
technologies or order and client management systems, has dramatically improved and boosted productivity across the industry.
Moreover, over the past five years, rapid advances in machine learning haveresulted in a new generation of much-improved machine translation tools,
which have been quickly adopted by both vendors and buyers of language
services. While perceived by some in the industry as an existential threat,others have embraced these technologies and upgraded their offerings tocompete in the marketplace.

Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna, Christopher Kurz (Eds.)

Translation Quality in theAge of Digital Transformation
Edited Volume
As we enter the age of digital transformation, we are all faced with the task and thechallenge of clearly transporting the hazy notion of translation quality into a world
dominated by concepts such as key figures, artificial intelligence and automation. The
increasingly clear manifestation of the fault lines between digital transformation andthe redefining of our profession and work environment on a daily basis gives way tonumerous discussions. The collective volume you hold in your hands represents astrong link between theory and practice. On the one hand, it reflects findings, tips,
strategies and suggestions from day-to-day work, but on the other hand also addresses basic theory and offers a reflective and multifaceted way into the set of issues surrounding quality and translation: dimensions of translation quality, factorsthat have a significant influence on translation quality, importance of the elements ofthe translational ecosystem for achieving translation quality, application in practice.
Jean-Marc Dalla-Zuanna studied German philology at Sorbonne University as well as translation and terminology at I.S.I.T. in Paris, France.
He obtained a degree in French, German and English in 1986 and has
been working at Volkswagen Language Services in Wolfsburg, Germany,
since 1987. He is a senior expert in the fields of translation quality assessment, supplier management and risk management.

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37,00 € [D]ISBN: 978-3-946702-12-2

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Dr. Christopher Kurz has worked as a translator, project manager andtranslation manager for various companies on the TSP side and theclient side. Since 2016 he is Head of Translation Management at theGerman wind turbine manufacturer ENERCON. As a member of ISO TC
37/SC 5/WG 1 Translation he has been involved in the development ofseveral translation standards (e.g. ISO 17100 and ISO 18587) since 2011.

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