Language Translation Software - Tips

Whenever you want to create a document that will be translated with language translation software, write in a direct style. Use proper grammar and follow our recommendations to help you prepare documents that will improve the results of Machine Translated texts.

Quick Overview:
The accuracy of the translation varies according to the input. Here are some tips to help obtain better translations:

• The input text has to be grammatically correct.
• Use complete, grammatical sentences.
• Punctuation is important; clauses will translate best if separated by commas.
• Try to use simple, declarative sentences.
• Avoid ambiguity (examples: 'the moving car' or 'moving the car', rather than 'moving car'; 'the brake light and the tail lights' rather than 'the brake and tail lights').
• Avoid abbreviations and colloquialisms (example: a word like 'snakes' in the sentence 'The road snakes around' will not translate properly if the word 'snakes' is not used as a verb in the target language).

Be Direct. Write in a Simple, Clear Manner.
Systran can handle complex sentence structures but avoid getting too complex, ambiguous phrases, extra clauses, and sentence fragments, and unnecessary words.

Concise and To The Point.
Use complete short sentences and do not leave out necessary grammatical elements.

Do Not Leave Out Necessary Words.
The English language allows us clearly to convey our intentions even when we omit certain words, such as relative pronouns (who, whom, that, which), prepositions, and parts of verbs. These words are required in other languages and must be included in documents that will be translated.

Avoid using Idioms or Slang
Idioms or slang documents you plan to translate as these terms differ from country to country. Terms commonly used in the US will not accurately translate for use in other countries. Example of an idiom:: take the wind out of (one's) sails - To rob of an advantage; deflate.

Insert Proper Punctuation.
Make sure you insert appropriate punctuation. Punctuation offers guidance for both humans and computers. It is used to divide a sentence into logical parts.
Without correct punctuation, sentences can be interpreted in several ways.

Check for Accurate Spelling.
Check your spelling and use your spell-checker before clicking the translation icon. If you give the computer incorrect information, your translation will be misinterpreted.

Use Articles Whenever Possible.
An article is a word used to indicate a noun and to state its purpose. For example, in English, the definite article is 'the' and the 'indefinite articles are 'a' and 'an'. Use of articles reduces ambiguities.

Consistent Use of Terminology and Abbreviations.
Always use the same word, phrase or abbreviation to describe the same object or actions each time that they appear in a document. Inconsistent wording can cause confusion for both humans and computers. Example, a serial number for computer software can be called an activation code, serial number or computer code.

Building Customer Specific Dictionaries with Systran
Creating your own Customer Specific Dictionaries can really add to the accuracy of your translations. This tailors the software to your specific style of witting or subject matter. Building a Dictionary with Systran is very easy and with the new built in "part of speech" selector you can build a dictionary as well as the experts.  There are a few tips that will help you in building this dictionary. When adding words remember there can be double meanings for many English words.  

The following word has two meanings:

Wind
1. Wind; meaning, a strong breeze. (The word wind is a noun.)
2. Wind;  meaning, To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly. (The word wind is a verb.)

With Systran's dictionary coding you can control how to translate the word "wind" by choosing the part of speech option in the software.

How to add "wind" to the translation dictionary 
You want to add the identifier with the word for example, in the dictionary put in "the wind" (noun) "a wind" (noun) and then also add "wind up" (verb) "to wind" (verb). Now when you translate your document and it has these words/ phrases it will see how it is used in the sentence to determine the translation.

Retranslate and Validate.
Once you have translated your text and you have either Systran Standard or Systran Premium you can add words to the dictionary. Once the changes to the system are saved, retranslate the text to verify that the new entries are in effect. It is important at this stage to check for regressions. Regressions occur commonly in MT output. They can sometimes originate with an incorrectly coded dictionary entry. For example, a user might supply a translation that is correct in the context of one sentence, but incorrect in another context.

Microsoft Office - Formatting
Maintain a Simple Format.

• Do not use tabs, manual hyphenation or hard returns within sentences.
• Use tabs or indents at the beginning of a line and to separate paragraph numbering from the text.
• Always leave additional space for text expansion near graphical objects in the source text. Since the translation may be longer than the source text, this will allow for that expansion while preserving your graphical objects.
  

Systran Translator - Translate Foreign Languages

Systran Business Translator

Systran translator software lets you translate foreign languages with the power of your computer. Translate complete documents while holding the formatting. Translate documents, email, Excel spreadsheets, web pages and more.
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Systran Premium Translator

Premium Language translation software is the next level above the Standard version. Includes 21 Additional industry specific dictionaries, such as Computers, Medical, Engineering, Aerospace and more.
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