Technical translations

Technical translations are the core business of Bohemian Dragomans. For each project our project managers will put together a qualified team of certified engineers (Diplomingenieure in German) or native specialist translators who will bring both their technical and linguistic skills respectively. They work hand in hand to produce a perfectly coordinated translation to meet your particular requirements. Our internal quality assurance procedures include working with a fixed translator base, ensuring that the same translation team will also work on your subsequent projects. Team members will then already be familiar with the project’s requirements. They’ll be proficient in the technical terminology and will keep the style consistent. Since our teams always translate into their native languages, local idiomatic expression is ensured. Consistent terminology and strict content compliance, which are indispensable criteria of any translation, are ensured by using CAT-tools. “CAT” stands for “Computer-Aided Translation”. It is important to note that this does not mean the translation will be done automatically by a computer (known as machine translation), but that language databases are created and recurrent phrases reproduced to ensure consistent quality throughout the translation. SDL Trados, the current market leader in the area of CAT-tools is the one we use most frequently (for a more detailed description of this software, please see section on SDL Trados below). The main functions of CAT-tools are:

Function	Description	Benefit
Translation Memory (TM)	Central database in which translated text sections/texts are stored	Translations already stored in the database are automatically reproduced and reused; translations are inserted automatically
Termbases (Terminology list)	Desired terminology can be predefined then directly incorporated into the translation. If so desired, we are able to develop such termbases in conjunction with you	This guarantees consistency of terminology throughout as well as strict content compliance
Glossaries	Technical terms along with their descriptions can be entered to differentiate the use of terms in a targeted manner according to the desired specialisation	An understanding of complex subject areas and proper use of the technical terms is ensured

Specific benefits for you

The many benefits which CAT tools offer you, as a client, are summarised below:

The integration of existing terminology databases and/or glossaries keeps technical terms and descriptions consistent. If you are unable to provide us with reference material, don’t worry, as we can work with you to set up terminology databases or glossaries. We can remove any mistakes present in current documents and update your files.

Another decisive benefit is the reduced time to delivery. We are able to utilise existing data from translation memories. Repetitions do not need to be translated from scratch each time, since they will be reproduced automatically by the CAT tool to ensure strict content compliance and consistent terminology even after many years. If you decide to place projects with us repeatedly for an extended period, you’ll be able to rely on already established teams and consistent translations. Various processes do not need to be repeated. There is no need to adjust differing styles in translations. This has the benefit of savings in terms of time and cost in the long term.

Use of CAT tools is the standard for technical translations; you could even call it mandatory. Every request will be followed by a detailed analysis of the text for repetitions. If you want, we are more than happy to provide you with the results, showing you precisely how much text needs to be translated from scratch, and where you can make savings. The price calculation takes into account repetitions from existing databases and automatically translated sections of text. You will only ever pay for what we actually translate.

CAT tools/SDL Trados

There are various CAT tools on the market: Wordfast, MemoQ, Across, and SDL Trados are the main ones. SDL Trados is by far the current market leader and the one we use by default.

SDL Trados generates enormous savings, in terms of time and cost, in the translation process. Depending on text type, it can be as much as 30 to 60%. This is made possible by the translation memory, a central database that contains all your translations. The translation process can access this database, automatically reproduce texts already present in the foreign language and thereby reusing them.

At the same time, using SDL Trados also ensures quality in the target language. Approved texts are reliably reused. Integration of terminology also ensures consistent use of technical language.

Benefits to you:

– Savings in terms of time and cost from 30 to 60% from automated re-use of prior translations
– Assured translation quality, since approved contents are saved across all languages
– Process safety, since all individual steps and authors are traceable
– Seamless data transfer due to interfaces with all common word processing systems from Microsoft Office, to DTP, to CMS and XML
– Active knowledge management from central data storage even with extremely distributed projects such as translations
– Precise budgeting function from precise word count analysis of texts to before the project begins