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On our blog you’ll find a round-up of the latest news from us, trends and topics in the translation industry, information about upcoming industry events, talks, training and conferences you shouldn’t miss, and other interesting information about languages and multilingual communication. Feel free to have a browse!
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Cost versus quality? The savings that machine translation really makes
Would you choose a freshly prepared tiramisu from a chef, a decent dessert from the café or a cheap option in plastic packaging? The choice depends on budget, quality requirements and the time available – and the same applies when translating technical documentation. Here, too, you have three options: human translation, machine translation (MT) with post-editing (MTPE) or pure MT. While the cost savings are tempting, they also bring risks.
Quality Time with Tom Winter: Discussion with the DTT Chair about terminology, AI and quality
It's Quality Time again. Welcome to a new episode in our series of interviews with experts about language services. This time, our Head of Terminology Management Jasmin Nesbigall met with Tom Winter, First Chair of Deutscher Terminologie-Tag e. V. (German Terminology Association, DTT). It was an interesting discussion about the importance of terminology in companies and the role of DTT.
Save on translation costs with translation memories
Almost regardless of the economic situation, making savings on translations is a topic that comes up time and again. The translation industry is under cost pressure because companies want to minimise their costs associated with multilingualism. Many make do with machine translation or enter new territory using large language models, ignoring quality in the process. You do not always have to use new technologies to save money. We show you the potential savings that can be achieved with translation memories, a well-established translation tool, how their use can be supported effectively and why high value should be placed on the language data they generate.
MTPE in software localisation: translate faster, save costs, operate globally
International software companies are under a lot of time pressure: every update must be localised quickly and efficiently for different markets. The translation effort is often enormous, especially for large manuals, user interfaces and support documentation. Using artificial intelligence in combination with professional post-editing can significantly reduce the time and costs involved.
Successful certification to ISO 9001: Excellent quality management at oneword
At oneword, quality is not just something we claim to deliver: it is an integral part of our daily work. We have been successfully certified to ISO 9001, proving once again that our quality management system fulfils the highest requirements and is optimally integrated into our work processes. This is an important step in fulfilling the high expectations of our customers and partners.
Help for mothers and newborns: Christmas donation for children’s charity nph
While many of us are spending the festive season in a safe environment and with our loved ones, the people of Haiti continue to struggle with existential challenges. This has a particular impact on women with high-risk pregnancies and their newborn babies. With our Christmas donation this year, we are supporting nph Kinderhilfe Lateinamerika e. V., which does life-saving work in a high-risk maternity ward at Saint Damien Children's Hospital.
Translation-oriented writing for machine translation
Texts are usually written to be read by people. However, as AI is being increasingly used to both create and translate texts, it is also very important that texts can be read by machines. If a text is to be machine-translated, there are a number of aspects that can be taken into account when creating a text to have a positive effect on the machine translation (MT) output. We will show you some potential stumbling blocks when using MT systems and potential solutions to significantly reduce sources of error and the amount of post-editing required for machine translation.
oneword at the 2024 tcworld conference
The largest industry event for technical communication was a complete success again this year – and oneword was right in the middle of it. From 5 to 7 November, the annual tcworld conference transformed the ICS in Stuttgart into a meeting place for experts and specialists from all over the world, enabling them to share their ideas on the latest developments, technologies and best practices in technical communication and translation. We were delighted to be there as exhibitors and play a part with our own specialist presentations.
Machine translation in companies: Do you have to go for gold straight away?
Many companies approach machine translation (MT) like an Olympic competition: they think it only makes sense to use it if the machine is trained and customised to their needs, so they assume it will involve a huge amount of preparation and a big financial investment. At the same time, they have high expectations for the application and, most of all, for the result and the savings they'll make on their translations. This attitude often leads to a reluctance to try out MT "untrained" and use it in its generic form for day-to-day business. But, as with sport, it doesn't have to be Olympic gold right from the get go. We'll show you that great things can also be achieved with sports shoes that have run their course.
Post-editing machine translation: why even AI does not make translators redundant
Revolutions in the translation sector are often heralded by two letters, such as the launch of translation memories (TM) in the 1990s and the use of machine translation (MT) from the mid-2010s. The trend has been confirmed once again since 2022 with the hype surrounding AI. The language industry generally tends to condense many concepts into two letters to save time and space. From AA for Afar to ZU for Zulu, ISO 639-1 lists a total of 183 two-letter language abbreviations. Many services and processes also have common abbreviations, such as HT for human translation and QA for quality assurance. This is actually interesting behaviour for an industry that thrives on correct language and comprehensibility.
20 years of oneword: an anniversary to celebrate top quality
We are celebrating a special anniversary: 20 years of oneword! Since being founded in September 2004 by Andrea Modersohn and Andreas Meisner, we have continued to develop as a language service provider and we can now look back on two decades of quality, innovation and responsibility.
oneword as a guest at the European Commission: Quality Time with Jasmin Nesbigall
It's Quality Time again, and this time we talk about a very special occasion. Jasmin Nesbigall, Head of MTPE and Terminology Management at oneword, was invited by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation to give a keynote speech on the development of artificial intelligence and terminology. She talks about this in the new episode of Quality Time with Sara Cantaro, Head of Marketing Management. It's an exciting discussion about the potential applications of AI in terminology work and an insight into the working methods of the European Commission.
AI opportunities in medical translation: oneword in Healthcare Marketing
The latest print edition of the trade magazine Healthcare Marketing includes an article that looks at how artificial intelligence in medical translation is changing the industry. The magazine interviewed four translation service providers about the opportunities and challenges presented by using this technology, particularly in the context of the high standards required in professional medical communications. The experts included Jasmin Nesbigall, Head of MTPE and Terminology Management at oneword. Here we summarise the most important insights from the article.
The common thread in the translation process and in standards
In our article on the most important DIN standards in the translation process, we provided an overview of the key standards that are used in the various phases of text creation, translation and terminology work. In view of the growing number of standards covering all steps of the translation process, it is becoming increasingly important not to lose sight of the common thread that ties all of these standards together. In this blog post, we look at the importance of translation project specifications as a unifying element and the central role they play in standards.
Automating translation processes between clients and service providers: what options are there?
A translation is the result of many small steps within a process chain. This begins with commissioning the project, continues with the provision of relevant information and requirements to the service provider, and ends with the delivery of a finished translation. There are some complex intermediate steps where human input is required: this is particularly important when preparing files for translation with translation memory systems or quality checks.
Helping to draft a DIN standard: ISO 11669 – for planning and commissioning translation projects
As a DIN member, oneword has been actively contributing towards shaping new norms and standards in the translation industry since 2019. The German translation of ISO 11669, the updated standard for planning and commissioning translation projects, is nearing completion. Experts and future users now have the opportunity to comment on the German version in its draft form. We warmly invite you to do this.
The most important DIN standards in the translation process
The translation industry benefits from a large number of standards that set the bar high for all stakeholders. After all, these standards are crucial to ensuring consistent and high-quality translations. In this article, we offer a comprehensive overview of the most important standards that are used in the various phases of text creation and translation, as well as in terminology work.
Quality time with Dr Carmen Canfora: Careers in the language industry
It's Quality Time again. In a new episode of our expert interviews, Nicole Sixdorf, Head of People & Culture at oneword, spoke to Dr Carmen Canfora, lecturer at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. This resulted in an exciting discussion about career opportunities in the translation industry and the importance of project managers in producing high-quality translations.
oneCleanup: cleaning up data made easy
Data is the new gold: it's valuable and required for a range of processes, applications and developments. Generative AI in particular is showing once again what large amounts of data can create. But data is also the new rubbish: it appears in a wide variety of places and in large quantities, accumulates quickly, never reduces in size and sometimes grows very uncontrollably. And the bigger the mountain of data, the more difficult it becomes to use it meaningfully. Our oneCleanup service takes on this challenge and helps to uncover the shimmering gold beneath the layer of dirt. We present the background information and details, and we demonstrate why it's high time that databases are seen not as a tangled mess but as treasure troves.
Term extraction and AI: how to get it right.
Term extraction is the first step in extracting specialised terminology and creating a terminology database. How the extraction is carried out depends largely on the database and the time and personnel resources available. This is because working manually quickly becomes extremely time-consuming when the source files are extensive. And, at the moment, AI is always called upon if manual tasks need to be supported or automated. But what does term extraction look like? Is it enough to formulate a prompt to extract all the specialised terms from a text? We pitted human, machine and AI against each other in several tests with different texts and prompting strategies. Here we present the results and show the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three options.
A look back at Quanos Connect 2024
This year, Quanos Connect 2024 once again proved to be an outstanding platform for dialogue and networking in the industry – true to its motto ‘Connections matter’. As a translation service provider and certified Quanos partner for the translation of SCHEMA ST4 content, we were represented with our own stand for the fifth time. We were able to make and maintain numerous valuable contacts and gain exciting insights into the latest developments in Quanos products and technical documentation.
8 good reasons to choose oneword.
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