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Discussion: What are your process for working with own termbases?
Thread poster: Philip Sundt
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 10:23
French to English
+ ...
Fields Mar 17, 2021


Would you give examples of what these extra field could be useful for? Explanations of terms? Contexts? Something different?

In MultiTerm, fields can be created at all the levels. I only have two levels (general term/translation). The general term level may be the term's subject/industry/branch or short definition/explanation. A dictionary will not give you the exact translation, but a whole bunch of terms, which may or may not include what you are looking for. Once you found the term, you want to remember that this is what should be used for a particular domain.
Another possible use is notes/comments at term level.
Fields are not mandatory, but I find them quite useful.
HTH,
Sandra


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 08:23
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Philip Mar 17, 2021

Philip Sundt wrote:
I would like to ask you, fellow translators, what are your process for working with glossaries?


My CAT tool (WFC) allows me to use only three glossaries simultaneously. So, for every job I have up to three glossaries. There is a subject-specific glossary, a client-specific glossary, and a project-specific glossary.

The project-specific glossary is created from new every time I create a new project (in some cases where multiple projects from a single client are closely related, I may continue using the same project-specific glossary). The client-specific glossary exists only if the client has specific terminological requirements that I must follow. The subject-specific glossary contains terms that are useful to have for that particular field, across multiple projects.

I make extensive use of project templates (in WFC they're called "setups" and are INI files), and each template is already linked to the relevant glossaries. I keep all of my subject- and client-specific glossaries all in one folder (with subfolders) so that they are easy to add to additional project templates. In that same location I also keep additional or background-TMs that may be useful to have attached to similar projects. However, the main TM and the main glossary (i.e. the project-specific glossary) is stored in the same folder as the project itself. This just makes everything easier.

Do you add terms to the termbase during the translation process, or do you go through the project again when it's finished to add important terms?


I mostly add terms only during the translation. I sometimes add terms afterwards if a translation comes back from the client's reviewers and I can see what the client's reviewer's preferences are. If a client has specific terms that I want me to use, then obviously I add those to the client-specific glossary at the start of the project.

I have a plugin for extracting project terms (I think it's called project term extract), but I find myself not using it at all.


Term extraction is something that all new translators consider using, until they realise just how useless it is to let a computer decide which words or phrases in a source text are likely to be relevant and likely to have special meanings that need to be added to a glossary.

Philip Sundt wrote:
Working with translation memories is a very simple process. They kind of create themselves, whereas glossaries need a lot of time and dedication.


Firstly, if you use project templates, then it becomes easier to load or even create new glossaries. Secondly, adding a term to a glossary should be as simple as selecting the text and pressing a shortcut. So it doesn't take time and dedication (at least not from where I'm sitting).

You should also learn how to quickly edit or delete/deactivate terms in the glossaries. In WFC, all I have to do to deactivate a term is to add "; " in front of the source term (this results in it never matching anything, also since I don't use fuzzy terminology matching).

WFC doesn't really have good support for singular vs plural in glossaries, so I often add both singular and plural forms of a term to the glossary. It takes 5 seconds extra.

Also, writing comments in the glossary entry can be very useful (e.g. why the term exists, who told you to translate it like that, whether the client used to have a previous preference, if there is some kind of misunderstanding to avoid, etc.). Others have also mentioned that their CAT tools allow for additional fields -- this may include the date/time that you added the term, or a sub-subject name or the name of the origin of the term, etc. I tend not to use these extra fields, but that may just be because I'm a translator-in-a-hurry.

I also agree with what many others have said: your CAT tool will have shortcuts for inserting glossary matches easily and quickly, so if you add common, repetitive terms or phrases to your glossary, it can be a great typing aid. I often do machine translation editing, and the glossaries are indispensable for ensuring that all segments in a translation all use the same terms, even if they are common, ordinary words or phrases.

[Edited at 2021-03-17 15:30 GMT]


 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 10:23
English to Russian
You don’t even need Multiterm to create a termbase Mar 20, 2021

I don’t know what fellow translators mean by saying that creating or maintaining a termbase takes much time. All you need is just an empty termbase. It takes seconds to create. Not longer than creating a TM or adding a file. Then you can add terms by selecting them in source and target and pressing Quick Add New Term. I have a single termbase for all projects and I add not only terms but also formulas or units including superscript or subscript characters like CO2 (=>CO₂) or m2 (=>m²), or e... See more
I don’t know what fellow translators mean by saying that creating or maintaining a termbase takes much time. All you need is just an empty termbase. It takes seconds to create. Not longer than creating a TM or adding a file. Then you can add terms by selecting them in source and target and pressing Quick Add New Term. I have a single termbase for all projects and I add not only terms but also formulas or units including superscript or subscript characters like CO2 (=>CO₂) or m2 (=>m²), or even just standard phrases like ‘also’. For instance, when ‘also’ is used at the beginning of a sentence, it translates to my target language as 2 words always ending with comma:
Also => Кроме того,
I have this entry in my termbase too, along with comma.
What regards my workflow, in most cases I add terms on the go: select term in source > select term in target > press Quick Add New Term.
If you have other termbase(s) from your client, you can add several TBs. In this case, you have to set your own termbase as default (it must appear at the top of the list of TBs and formatted in bold as shown below). This will let you add your terms to your own dedicated TB on the one hand and prevent changing your client's TB(s) on the other hand.
Multiterm is just a terminology management tool. You need it if you are a terminologist. I uninstalled Multiterm and live without it.


[Edited at 2021-03-20 07:24 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-20 17:10 GMT]
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 08:23
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
A 'big bucket' and subject-specific TBs as needed Mar 20, 2021

I used to have a wonderful termbase for food, menus and related terminology back in the days of Trados Workbench, but I never managed to update it, and it got lost a couple of computers ago...

Otherwise I have a big general termbase, where I add all sorts of things on the fly or in clusters of terms as I come across them. It originated way back, when Trados could only cope with a couple of termbases, but it is too useful to drop.

As suggested by Multiverse Solutions, I
... See more
I used to have a wonderful termbase for food, menus and related terminology back in the days of Trados Workbench, but I never managed to update it, and it got lost a couple of computers ago...

Otherwise I have a big general termbase, where I add all sorts of things on the fly or in clusters of terms as I come across them. It originated way back, when Trados could only cope with a couple of termbases, but it is too useful to drop.

As suggested by Multiverse Solutions, I have strings that save me typing, things like The Danish Consumer Act, the Administration of Justice Act and others that crop up regularly.

I have a separate collection of legislation that I check now and then, and use when relevant.
I have an index of the names of government ministries, public authorities, institutions and other bodies that have official English names, and I check those. It is not complete - I started it as a Word file, but add sections whenever I have time, and when they crop up in translations. The 'historic' ones are a treasure trove - Danish universities and educational institutions merge and reorganize themselves, and when I get a CV with a diploma from some years back, it can take a long time to find what the issuing body was called back then... My own from Aarhus School of Business (Handelshøjskolen i Aarhus, now merged with Aarhus University) are no exception.

I sometimes get termbases from clients, but more often I get glossaries, which they expect me to use, and I carefully convert those into termbases using the Glossary Converter App.
Otherwise I never know what I am supposed top look up!

I have a beautiful glossary of semi-precious stones and jewellery terminology, and one compiled by a client with hardware and builders' merchant's products in several languages...

Compiling glossaries is well worth the effort, although it is a never-ending job!
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Josephine Cassar
Stepan Konev
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
 
Termbase is very useful Jun 1, 2021

Hello Philip,

I am very glad that you share some SDL with others. In my career as a translator, I often get confused about some professional terms from my client even though I get involved in the industry for a long time. Normally, I would like to search for some related glossaries before I start my work and have a discussion with my colleagues on the job. I have my DIY subject-specific glossaries. Hope my comment will help you. Thank you.



Philip Sundt wrote:

Hello,

I have now worked as a translator for almost a year. Naturally, it takes time to develop a good workflow, to understand how to structure ones resources and so on.

I feel that I generally have a good workflow with most elements of the translation process. However, I have still not found a good way to implement the use of termbases/glossaries into my work.

As I realize they are a valuable resource, I have not managed to develop a good process for using them.

I would like to ask you, fellow translators, what are your process for working with glossaries?

Do you make client-specific glossaries? subject-specific?

Do you add terms to the termbase during the translation process, or do you go through the project again when it's finished to add important terms?

Any other details that might help me?

On a side note: I use SDL Trados 2021. If anybody who uses Trados has the will to discuss their way to add terms to their glossaries, that would be much appreciated. I have a plugin for extracting project terms (I think it's called project term extract), but I find myself not using it at all.

I would very much appreciate your thoughts and comments on this.

Thank you kindly!


 
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