AI: Lower translation and documentation costs

18 TAIWAN Business.EU l services l production support Artificial Intelligence: Cutting Down Translation and Technical Documentation Costs More and more companies today are searching for ways to save on costs for translation and localization of technical documentation and marketing materials. Some are going about it by hiring cheaper translators and agencies but as we all know, a low price also often means low quality. In the competitive world, however, companies can hardly afford to sell their products with poor quality documentation. It has a direct, and very perceptible, impact on customer satisfaction, which of course, also affects the saleability of these products. The solution is to secure translation and localization of documentation that is of a high quality but is carried out efficiently to decrease costs. Software support for translators of technical documentation and other company materials (e.g. catalogues, fliers and manuals) has already taken off in countries to the west of our border. This software enables computer-aided translation (CAT), with the goal of making the work of a professional translator more effective, while increasing the final output quality through the use of a translation memory, fuzzy logics and terminology management. As opposed to the standard 8 to 10 pages per day, with this software, a translator is able to translate about 30 to 70% more, all the while maintaining a high quality level of the translation (even increasing the quality, thanks to the advanced functionalities). BMW for example, is one of the pioneers in this respect, as it has been using CAT software to localize its user and service manuals into 27 languages for quarter of a century already. Representatives from the German headquarters report that the company saves hundreds of thousands of Euros each year and that the completion time for the different language versions of the manuals is reduced greatly. Let us look at the basic CAT software principles, which significantly improve the localization process in terms of efficiency and quality. special 2019 A Few Important Reminders to Start CAT software does not replace the translator. It merely makes the translator's work more effective, while improving the quality of the work. It uses a translation memory, thanks to which the software remembers every translated sentence that the translator ever wrote. When this identical sentence appears again, it is automatically pre-translated (with the option for the translator to check it, of course). This function saves, both, time and money, especially in texts where certain passages are repeated over and over again (this is typical of technical documentation). Another advantage of this functionality is the consistency of the translation and terminology throughout the entire document, which is a very important factor for the overall quality of the text. If the software does not find a sentence that is 100% identical, it is able to find a sentence that is at least similar; this is where fuzzy logics comes in. An example is a long sentence, where one or two words change, while the rest of the sentence remains the same. In this case, the translator receives a so-called fuzzy match, where he or she immediately sees the differences in both sentences highlighted in colour. The translator can then use the offered translation and manually translate the changed words. The result is, once again, improved efficiency and better consistency throughout the translation of the documentation, i.e. improved overall quality. The goal is repeated use of the translator's work using a sophisticated comparative mechanism, which results in a 30–70% reduction of time and costs in the translation of technical documentation. The function for maintaining consistent terminology, which is especially important in technical documentation, also improves the overall translation quality. We must also mention a new technology, which has been developing over the past few years at the speed of light. By now, everyone has heard of Machine Translation (MT), or has at least tried some of the available free online translating tools. These often produce comical translations and cannot be used as a reliable source of translation if exact formulations are important, which technical documentation, contracts or marketing materials certainly require. Translators do not need to fear for their jobs but the manner in which they