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Terminology
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The Encyclopedia Britannica 2008
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2008 (established in 1768), both Ultimate and
Deluxe, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions
in 2006 and 2007. The rate of innovation in the last two versions was
impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica
Biographies (Great Minds), Classical Music…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining - Part 7: Brush Up Your English
As indicated in the
title, the English language is the topic of this final installment
in the series on resources available on the Web for translation
purposes. It is hoped that the information will prove equally
valuable both for translators working into English (i.e.,
their mother tongue) and for those translating from English
into another language. Although writing usage and vocabulary
are primarily emphasized, a number of other aspects often
come into play during the translation process…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining - Part 6: Science from A to
Z
This installment provides
a compendium of various Internet resources dealing with scientific
subjects – from anthropology to zoology. The focus is on terminology
and reference materials for the “pure” sciences, as opposed
to the “applied” sciences such as mechanical engineering or
metallurgical processes. The list begins with several resources
of a general nature and continues in alphabetical order by
subject…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining - Part 5: Getting Down to Business
As indicated in the
title, this installment will focus on Internet resources in
various business-related subjects: accounting, advertising
and marketing, banking and financial, economics, investments,
real estate, shipping, and taxes. Although there are undoubtedly
many resources in all major languages, these Web sites primarily
involve English and Spanish. I’ll start with a few sites that
deal with general business topics…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining - Part 4: Making It Legal
The first three installments
in this series have emphasized Web sites of a technical nature,
with an occasional oddity thrown in for good measure. This
time the focus is entirely on Web sites for legal terminology
and related resources. Although my own languages are Spanish
and English, I have also found a number of Web sites for French,
German and Portuguese. However, I’ll start with a survey of
monolingual English sites…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining - Part 3: Digging for Buried
Treasure
The first two installments
of this series primarily dealt with finding monolingual, bilingual
and multilingual glossaries in a wide variety of specialized
subject areas, some of them mundane and others of a more esoteric
nature. Virtually all of them were easy to locate in the glossary
mine because they were the equivalent of visible veins of
ore and in a few cases the mother lode…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining – Down Tunnel No. 2
In the first installment
on this topic, I focused primarily on a simple way to use
Google (or just about any other search engine) to unearth
a variety of specialized glossaries, ranging in nature from
the potentially useful to the downright ridiculous. However,
that exercise only went partway down the mine shaft, so I
turned my attention to excavating a little deeper…
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the full article…
Glossary Mining – Part 1
While preparing material
for several online courses in translation that I have taught
or will be teaching for New York University, I usually surf
the Internet extensively for appropriate monolingual (both
English and Spanish) and bilingual glossaries, primarily related
to the legal and technical fields…
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the full article…
Translating on Good Terms
At a recent conference
in Montreal I felt vindicated to hear that I am not alone
in my notion of the ideal use of terminology tools among translators.
Lynne Bowkers, who teaches translation technology at the University
of Ottawa, gave a talk on the discrepancy between the terminology
components that many translation environment tools (aka CAT
tools) offer and their actual and/or ideal use by translators…
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the full article…
Specialized Monolingual Corpora in Translation
In the new world of
technology, the translation profession, like other disciplines,
cannot be deprived of modern tools such as electronic corpora.
Recently, large monolingual, comparable and parallel corpora
have played a crucial role in solving various problems of
linguistics, including translation. In this study we shall
attempt to show the effectiveness of a specialized monolingual
corpus in translating various collocations usually found in
political texts from English into Persian…
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the full article…
Dealing with Abbreviations In Translation
Acronyms, initialisms
or simply abbreviations may seem insignificant in the field
of lexicography, yet they are a problem for translators, and
could easily derail a smooth translation or interpretation.
This article analyzes the formulation of English acronyms
and their reformulation into French; it highlights the challenges
they pose to the translator and how those challenges can be
surmounted…
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the full article…
Wikipedia vs. Britannica - Interview with Tom
Panelas
Tom Panelas is the
Encyclopedia Britannica's Director of Corporate Communications
Q. Is the Wikipedia an encyclopedia in any
sense of the word?
A. I don't think it's crucial that everyone
agree on whether Wikipedia is or is not an encyclopedia…
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the full article…
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 Opens to the Web
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 (established in 1768) is again a completely revamped product. The rate of innovation in the last two editions is impressive and welcome. Its interface is intuitive and uncluttered and it is great fun to use. For instance, it offers a date-based daily selection of relevant information and highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. The search box is persistent - no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards"…
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the full article…
The Six Sins of the Wikipedia
It is a question of time before the Wikipedia self-destructs and implodes. It poses such low barriers to entry (anyone can edit any number of its articles) that it is already attracting masses of teenagers as "contributors" and "editors", not to mention the less savory flotsam and jetsam of cyber-life…
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the full article…
Translation Problem Areas
There are a lot of questions still left up in the air in relation to how something should be translated, especially when it comes to translating into English. “Should it be in US English or UK English (or International English)?” is a question I constantly have to ask my clients. With the help of the following graphs and tables I hope to shed some light on the darker, less accessible areas of English grammar. Let’s hope it comes in handy…
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the full article…
Laughs and Nightmares in Oilfield Translation
The entries in this article were taken from my own dictionary released in 2001. The publication was carefully compiled over nearly 20 years of work in the translation business. Although the dictionary contains a good number of terms, it does not constitute a complete list of words and unique expressions that an observer is likely to hear during a visit to an oilfield. Rather, it is intended to serve as a basic reference for understanding the most common terms and is designed merely to assist those who are not familiar with the terminology used in the area of oil and gas…
The Tricky Terminology of the Oil and Gas Industry
Brazil is one of the world’s leaders in the development
of deep water drilling technology. It is not rocket
science but it comes quite close. The translation of
oil industry documents can often be pretty dull fare.
Those of us who do a lot of work in the field can testify
to that. But every once in a while we are privileged
to have a close look at Brazil’s deep water drilling
technology. Take it from us, it is impressive. If you
sit back a bit and let your imagination roam, you can
come up with some pretty incredible images…
Introduction to
SAE J1930: Bridging the Disconnect Between the Engineering,
Authoring and Translation Communities
Have
you ever wondered how companies develop names for
the parts in your vehicle? How do you know if your
translation for "engine coolant temperature sensor"
is really correct? And what is DMPI an abbreviation
for? Or MAF? And finally, do translators need to
know the compound term for the HEMI acronym…
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the full article…
Pour une méthodologie du développement de la terminologie du terrorisme
There
is no doubt that terrorism has continued to attract
the attention of scholars, researchers, politicians,
etc., and has become a subject of endless debates
and daily exchange of ideas. However, research has
proved that terminologists are yet to show interest
in developing its terminology even though the daily
activities, exchanges, etc., that mark the perpetration
and also the fight against terrorism lead to lexical
creativity. In my doctoral research, I have undertaken
to build up an up to date terminology for the subject
field of terrorism. In this article, I present some
of the questions, methodology and criteria for constitution
and exploitation of the corpus for the development
of the terminology…
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Terminology: Getting Down to Business
Kara Warburton, Chair of the LISA Terminology SIG and Terminologist at IBM, issues a call to action to all of us who claim that we’re committed to terminology. We are waffling, while other stakeholders in knowledge management are moving ahead without us in developing and applying standards to which we may have to adhere. It’s time to act, and the LISA Terminology SIG shows us how…
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The Terms of Business: Saving Money Through Terminology Management
According to Kara Warburton, chair of LISA’s Terminology SIG, most companies are still unaware of the need to invest in terminology development and active management of terminological resources. Recent work by the Terminology SIG has helped demonstrate that investment in terminology management and development can deliver a tangible return on investment, not just intangible benefits such as improved quality or customer satisfaction. In this article Warburton outlines the activities of the Terminology SIG, including a new survey on terminology practices, and looks at changes in attitude in the GILT industry that may presage a brighter future for awareness of the importance of terminology
…
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Why CMSs "Bug" Me
I imagine that most readers of the Globalization Insider know the story of the term “bug” in computer programming: it is a staple of high-tech etymologies. The story goes that the Mark-II, one of the first modern electronic computers, was having problems, and that Grace Hopper, one of the machine’s maintenance engineers found that a moth had flown too close to circuitry and had shorted out two components
…
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An Open Letter on Glossaries
This letter is intended as a query on a topic of interest to many translators. No claims or statements of any sort are being advanced—rather it is an attempt to articulate my own sense of puzzlement in public. May I therefore request your patient compassion as well as any corrections you may care to make
…
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New Terminologies: Peaceful Immigrants or Invading Hordes? A Review of Three New Books
All three of these books are concerned with a crucial problem of translation: precisely how do we handle a vast technical vocabulary unexpectedly imported into a language not necessarily prepared to deal with it? This question applies most urgently to the integration of computer terminology into many of the world's languages
…
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Lexicon and Terminology: Of Mesopotamia, cattle and interest (en anglais)
Pecuniary and impecunious (English), and pécuniaire,
pécune and pécule (French) are just a few of
the terms relating to money that can be traced back to a period when livestock
was the standard currency. This is hardly surprising since financial activities,
i.e. lending, borrowing and managing wealth, are thought to have originated
among the pastoral societies of the Near East
…
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Computer Collocations and Computer Metaphors
This article examinesfrom a linguistic point of viewthe translation of some computer collocations which I consider typical, and analyze them in order to provide suitable translations in the TL (in this case, Romanian), because they generally play an important role in distinguishing meaning. This happens with computer terminology as well, in the sense that, when we are asked to give an account of the meaning of a term used in computing, say, blind, we instantly try to contextualize it in its most recurrent collocations, say, blind search, blind copy, blind key…
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It is that time of the year again… for the Annual Report
So here are some tips for creating a good Annual Report with the most frequently used French and Dutch terms given in parentheses.
There are nine distinct sections in most Annual Reports. A good report will usually contain all nine…
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Politically Correct (PC)
Political correctness--political and otherwise--covers not only fact and grammar, but sensitivity to race, sex, religion, age, ability and alternate lifestyles. And although it seems to have started as a largely American phenomenon, it seems to be spreading rapidly around the world…
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Better vocabulary
How to keep your sanity with "lay" and "lie"
Is it correct to say "lay down that pistol", why can't we with equal justification say "lay down for a nap"?
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Abbreviations in English
Abbreviations (abbr.) are one of the most annoying things about language. If a non-native English speaker comes across the abbreviation a.k.a. in a text, then he/she will find it hard to guess that it means "also known as" without referring to a dictionary.
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Adjectives:
when nice is not so nice
When using a language that is not your own, however well you know it, there is almost
always a tendency to fall back on certain words that you like, or that spring most readily
to mind and to use these repeatedly with impunity. This is particularly so where
adjectives are concerned…
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Customer or client?
In Dutch there's one word, "klant". In French there's one word,
"client". In Spanish there's one word, "cliente". So how is it that in
English we have the possibility of choosing between two words, and does our choice have
any importance? Are the two words - customer and client - interchangeable?
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Navigating through
Treacherous Waters: The Translation of Geographical Names
As it has been brilliantly stated by
Vernica Albin, translating the names of geographical entities is like
navigating in treacherous waters. Even with the most advanced information
systemssuch as satellite positioning (GPS) and up-to-date mapsif the skipper
does not have experience, a shipwreck is not only probable, but likely. This
has also been my experience when translating the names of cities, states,
provinces, countries and other geographical terms from and into Spanish,
English, and French…
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Heading for Trouble
The subject line exclaimed
"H-E-E-E-E-L-P URGENT!!!!" in loud caps and stammering e's. The body of the
message began with a desperate (and I translate from the Portuguese) Guys, I got this job
and cannot make head or tail of the meaningless legal blah-blah-blah. I have all my
dictionaries and glossaries around me and I cannot find the translations. For God's sake,
can anyone tell where I can find a good Portuguese-English legal dictionary or a site with
a good glossary? I have the following doubts: how do you say… and the usual diatribe
against the general uselessness of dictionaries in general and Portuguese dictionaries in
particular…
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The Very Mind of
English? Activate Your Mind, Socrates Style
Longman Publishers may well pride themselvesand let us admit,
rightly soof the fact that it was they who published the very first
dictionary as we know it in modern English: that of Dr. Johnson in
1755. Having committed such an innovative act in the 18th
century, Longman are now bound by their own exquisite tradition of "harmless
drudgery" to surprise us by rejuvenating that
indispensable companion to any literate personthe dictionary… And
rejuvenate they do…
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The Very Heart of English? Reflections on culture, fluency and the
native speakers head prompted by the LDELC
LDELCi.e. The Longman
Dictionary of English Language and Culture (Longman, 1992a) can, if we are to believe
claims made about it in the DELC information leaflet, get to "the very heart of the
English Language" (Longman, 1992c) (sic) and "into the head of
the native speaker." The definite articles followed by singular noun forms alert the
careful reader: there is no place for ambiguity or plurality here. There is "the
English language," or even "the Language," we can get to the
heart of. There is also the native speaker, perhaps even the Native Speaker,
whose head we can peep into, courtesy of Longman Publishers…
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