Technical Prerequisites
- Terminology management tool
- Translation memory tool
- PCs with Internet connection
Working Methodology
In order to be successfully engaged in this workflow, the students have to have good translation and ICT skills and understand principles of terminology and translation memory. Moreover, they have to have good command of at least one terminology management and translation memory tool.
For the purpose of this exercise, the source text(s) to be translated should not be in a complex format – preferable a .doc, or .ppt – but the subject field is the teacher's choice.
Groups
Students will be split into groups, each group having one terminologist and one translator. The reason behind this is to make students comfortable working in teams and prepare them for more complex scenarios.
The students will work as a team, yet each of them will have distinct responsibilities.
Terminologists
Will be responsible for terminology research (mono and bilingual) and creating and updating termbases. They will have to use the available terminology management tool and find ways to exchange the information from their databases with other terminologists and translators. Moreover, they will have to:
- Find relevant terminological resources and use them when compiling the termbase (see the Links/Terminology management section in eCoLoTrain).
- Export the termbase and deliver it to the translator in their team.
- Perform a terminology check at the end of the translation stage.
Translators
Will have to translate the source text(s) provided by the teacher using the available translation memory software. Moreover, they will have to:
- Align pre-existing resources and create TMs
- Perform a pretranslation of the source file
- Export the TM results in .tmx format and import the terminology database provided by the terminologists
- Solve any layout problems in the target document
- Work with the terminologists for linguistic QA
Translators and terminologists will work together to deliver the target file on time. They will also have to write a report together, explaining the challenges of the project, the problems encountered and the solutions proposed.
Finally, the teacher will comment on both the terminologists' and translators' performance during the project. The teacher will also check the quality of the translations produced in this scenario and give feedback accordingly.