Looking for feedback from IT translators
Thread poster: Simon Besegher
Simon Besegher
Simon Besegher
France
Local time: 22:50
English to French
+ ...
Jul 5, 2020

Hello, everyone !
My name is Simon, and my languages are French (mother tongue), English and German.
I will soon be done with my Master's degree in translation, and I was wondering if some of you have already worked in translating IT-related material (code snippets, for example). I heard that some IT companies need linguistic experts in order to ensure consistent terminology in the codes they use. Very often, commands are written by people whose mother tongue is not English, and they
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Hello, everyone !
My name is Simon, and my languages are French (mother tongue), English and German.
I will soon be done with my Master's degree in translation, and I was wondering if some of you have already worked in translating IT-related material (code snippets, for example). I heard that some IT companies need linguistic experts in order to ensure consistent terminology in the codes they use. Very often, commands are written by people whose mother tongue is not English, and they hardly heed that the language used is correct, let alone consistent.
Let me give you an example: the equivalent of "raison sociale" in French would be "corporate name" or "company name" in English, as it is a legal term. But a French coder would not necessarily be aware of that, and produce a word for word translation, such as "Social Reason", which obviously makes no sense for a Native English speaker (or anyone at an intermediate or advanced level in that language).
The point of hiring a translator would be correcting these kinds of mistakes, which can considerably slow down processes and create confusions between different IT services providers. Moreover, translators can also come in handy for further quality insurance (consistent and specific terminology and style, etc).
I hope this makes sense ! Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Simon
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Edwin den Boer
Edwin den Boer  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 22:50
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
Welcome, Simon! Jul 5, 2020

I can answer this from the perspective of a freelance translator specializing in software localization. I'm not sure what goes on inside the bowels of IT companies.

You're right that there is an issue with non-native speakers creating software UI terms. I've translated software and hardware documentation from English that showed influence from German, Dutch or Chinese.

There's a factor that will limit confusion during the translation process: understanding a term will d
... See more
I can answer this from the perspective of a freelance translator specializing in software localization. I'm not sure what goes on inside the bowels of IT companies.

You're right that there is an issue with non-native speakers creating software UI terms. I've translated software and hardware documentation from English that showed influence from German, Dutch or Chinese.

There's a factor that will limit confusion during the translation process: understanding a term will depend on the context anyway. An example from my vacation in Latvia: I managed to use a parking meter without any problem while I didn't understand a word of the Latvian text, because the way it worked was logical and predictable. On the other hand, there are interfaces in English or Dutch where I don't know what to do while I understand the literal meaning of the text.

Anyway, what is your question exactly? If you're hoping to make a career out of solving this issue, you might overestimate how much language quality is appreciated in this industry. In general, transitioning from university to industry means getting used to prioritizing efficiency above everything else. I've never noticed any client making an effort to avoid this issue proactively. What I'd consider a realistic best-case scenario is when a client takes care of basic internationalization like adapting American English to the metric system, tries to keep terminology consistent in general, answers queries from translators and listens to feedback.

[Edited at 2020-07-06 18:58 GMT]
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Mihail Mateev
Mihail Mateev
Bulgaria
Local time: 23:50
Member
English to Bulgarian
+ ...
Strings, not code Jul 6, 2020

Code is the computer language.

Where translators are involved, it is about strings. Let me give you a Python 3.0 example:

print('Thank you!')

Now, as a translator, I need to translate only the string (Thank you), but not the command (print).

So, I translate it as:

print('Merci!')

Also, translators are needed for user interface strings translations, as well as documentation. And because user interface strings translatio
... See more
Code is the computer language.

Where translators are involved, it is about strings. Let me give you a Python 3.0 example:

print('Thank you!')

Now, as a translator, I need to translate only the string (Thank you), but not the command (print).

So, I translate it as:

print('Merci!')

Also, translators are needed for user interface strings translations, as well as documentation. And because user interface strings translations are all around, and also with each new version only a few of the strings are changed, strings translation consistency is paramount.

The documentation is the same: In the beginning someone else (most of the cases) or I (much better) have translated the documentation for the first time. With each new (sub)version of the document there are only few paragraphs to be updated, but they must be coherent in terms usage with the rest of the text, which has been already translated.

I hope this explanation is useful.
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Viesturs Lacis
Viesturs Lacis  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 23:50
English to Latvian
A different issue Jul 6, 2020

Mihail Mateev wrote:

Code is the computer language.

Where translators are involved, it is about strings. Let me give you a Python 3.0 example:

print('Thank you!')

Now, as a translator, I need to translate only the string (Thank you), but not the command (print).

So, I translate it as:

print('Merci!')

Also, translators are needed for user interface strings translations, as well as documentation. And because user interface strings translations are all around, and also with each new version only a few of the strings are changed, strings translation consistency is paramount.

The documentation is the same: In the beginning someone else (most of the cases) or I (much better) have translated the documentation for the first time. With each new (sub)version of the document there are only few paragraphs to be updated, but they must be coherent in terms usage with the rest of the text, which has been already translated.

I hope this explanation is useful.

I think you may have misunderstood the original post. As I understand it, Simon is asking about translators' involvement in developing and/or enforcing internal naming guidelines for variables, functions, constants and other coder-defined elements of a program. Technically, from the computer's POV, it doesn't matter whether a function is named CalcTaxRate() or adkhfffeeffdsf() as long as both names are valid in whatever programming language is used. However, it is a good practice for those to be as descriptive as possible to avoid misunderstandings and facilitate subsequent onboarding of other people who will have to deal with the code.

Simon seems to be arguing that programmers who are non-native speakers could be prone to introducing false friends and other mislabelings that could jeopardize the original goal of achieving comprehensibility. Now, while naming conventions are definitely a thing, I am unaware of the extent, if any, coding companies bring in people solely to check the linguistic quality of their coders' work. I doubt it would make economic sense all that often, but then, the OP claims to have "heard" of such cases, which is more than I can say for myself, so I guess we have to wait for actual contributions from people with experience in this kind of work.


 
Platary (X)
Platary (X)
Local time: 22:50
German to French
+ ...
Who cares? Jul 6, 2020

Hello Simon,

Your point is probably right about the user interface, code is something else, but I've never heard of companies looking for linguistic experts to ensure consistency, and I haven't for a long time (I started software localization before Windows 3 in the MS-DOS era).

If that was a problem for business, believe me, it would have been solved long ago.

In the same way, the quality of the localizations often suffers in the French version (as far as
... See more
Hello Simon,

Your point is probably right about the user interface, code is something else, but I've never heard of companies looking for linguistic experts to ensure consistency, and I haven't for a long time (I started software localization before Windows 3 in the MS-DOS era).

If that was a problem for business, believe me, it would have been solved long ago.

In the same way, the quality of the localizations often suffers in the French version (as far as I'm concerned) either because the original is already linguistically flawed, or because it does not take into account the proliferation between languages (text of buttons or form headings, for example, truncated because it is too long, etc.).

What is at issue here is the way localization is done nowadays: you translate strings without any context (you don't have the software in its original version, you don't have the code to find a logic that escapes you, you don't know whether the variable concerned is masculine or feminine, singular or plural, etc.) so you are likely not to do it right. I would add that this means that any translator today can do software localization without knowing anything about computers: it is no longer required to compile and run to see if it works, it is no longer required to make screenshots in the target language, for example.

But then again, if it was a problem, it would have been solved.

Let's come back to your point, which is actually not a question: as a possible future translator whose mother tongue is French, you would like to correct bad English in softwares? Are you sure you can do it better than a native English speaker? Let me say that this is not realistic.

Generally speaking, whatever mastery one may have of another language, it is particularly audacious to claim to be able to translate into that other language.

I hope that these considerations will give you a better understanding of the reality of the market, and if I did not understand what you said, I am very sorry.
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Philippe Etienne
 


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