Working Methodology
Since the translatable text changes (sometimes dramatically) according to the software component to be localised, LSP translation courses with focus on software L10N can deal precisely with the linguistic and translational differences of software components.
According to class objectives, software localisation tools, terminology management and/or translation memory tools can be used. Depending on the number of students and of available PCs, students can work individually or in groups. The main focus of these courses should be placed on translation with focus on software localisation, and not on theoretical localisation principles or tools functionalities.
There are several possibilities for these courses. For example:
- Choosing one specific software component (e.g. user interface or online help) to perform text and linguistic analysis, and then translate it.
- Choosing two or more software components (e.g. user interface and online help) to perform text and linguistic analysis, to translate them and to compare their linguistic and translational particularities.
- Comparing the translation of one or more software components (e.g. user interface and manuals) of two different – but to some extent related – previously-localised software applications. The software applications should be related in a way; for example, because they are produced by the same company (e.g. Microsoft), because their application area is the same (e.g. software for video or photo editing), because the target language is the same but the sublanguage is different (e.g. Latin-American Spanish vs. European Spanish), etc.
- Choosing one or more software components of a specific software application to examine if it fulfils the internationalisation standards and to discuss possible sources of problems in the localisation process
The linguistic and translational aspects that can be analysed in these proposed LSP translation courses with focus on software L10N will change according the class objectives and the software component chosen for the course.
Some examples of linguistic and translational issues to be analysed in these courses are:
- Grammar, style and terminology aspects of text in software user interfaces (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course II)
- Grammar, style and terminology aspects of the text in manuals and online help
- Grammar, style and terminology aspects of text in websites
- Implications for translation (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course V)
- Sources of problems in localisation (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course V)
- Which type of tools (translation memories, L10N tool) should be used for localising specific software components and why (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course IV)
- Quality assessment functionalities of tools that can help to check language and translation (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course IV)
- Cultural aspects present in software components: paper, date and time formats, weights, measures, currency, colours, images, symbols, etc. (see eCoLoTrain L10N Course II)
Such an LSP translation course can be differently organised, for example:
- Teachers can present the software to be localised.
- Different tasks (as class-work or homework) can be assigned to students, e.g. localisation of user interface (menus, dialogues, string tables). Homework will presumably be done in the PC lab because L10N tools are not normally available for students at home.
- Translations can be discussed in class on basis of students' homework, style guides and glossaries (e.g. Microsoft glossary, PASSOLO MFC-Glossary, etc.).
- Translation/localisation problems encountered (by students at home or in class together with the teacher) can be systematically collected in order to create an error typology for later discussion or for localisation projects.