Glossary of Translation and Interpreting Terminology

Translation, Interpretation, and Language Terms

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Translation and Interpreting Terms

trans-k
German – English Technical Translation

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This glossary provides an explanation to many of the terms frequently used in connection with translation and interpreting. Whether you need to communicate effectively with translators or translation companies, or just want to know what Unicode or translation memory are all about, you’ll find the answers here.

The German translations link to the corresponding term in the German glossary. Abbreviations are listed separately at the end of the page.

If you can’t find the information you are looking for, the Web Resources page contains links to many other useful websites, including most of the organizations mentioned here.

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Abbreviations Deutsches Glossar

Accredited translator: Translator who has received accreditation from a professional institute such as the ITI or the ATA. Accreditation – a requirement for membership – is usually issued on the basis of examination and experience. German translators may hold the title staatlich geprüfter Übersetzer or Diplomübersetzer if they have graduated in translation studies at degree level.
Ad hoc interpreting: Spoken translation between two languages in informal conversations between two or more people. Used, for example in business meetings, for phone calls, during site visits and social events. The term is sometimes used loosely to include consecutive interpreting.
Atril: Publisher of the Déjà Vu translation memory program.
Background text Hintergrundtext: Text in the source or target language providing background information about the subject matter of the text to be translated.
Background information Hintergrundinformationen: Information relating to the subject matter of the source text or the topic of discussion. Facilitates the translator’s or interpreter’s task by providing context, terminology, definitions, etc.
Calibrated page -> Standard page
Certified translation beglaubigte Übersetzung
Computer-aided translation (CAT), computer-assisted ~, machine-aided or -assisted ~ computerunterstützte Übersetzung: Translation with the aid of computer programs, such as translation memory tools, designed to reduce the translator’s workload and increase consistency of style and terminology. Basically a database in which all previously translated sentences are stored together with the corresponding source text. If, during translation, a sentence appears that is similar to or identical with a previously translated sentence, the program suggests the found target sentence as a possible translation. The translator then decides whether to accept, edit or reject the proposed sentence. Not to be confused with machine translation!
Conference interpreter Konferenzdolmetscher: Interpreter with highly specialised skills who provides simultaneous interpretation of a speakers words in one direction only from one language into another.
Conference translator Konferenzübersetzer
Consecutive interpreting Konsekutivdolmetschen: Oral translation of a speaker’s words into another language when the speaker has finished speaking or pauses for interpreting. More formal than ad hoc interpreting and used, for example in formal business meetings, for negotiations, training sessions or lectures. (cf. simultaneous interpreting)
Controlled language kontrollierte Sprache: Language with a restricted vocabulary and restricted rules of formulation. Used, for example, in technical documentation to make the text easier to understand for users or for non-native speakers and to facilitate machine translation.
Copywriting Werbetexten: Writing of advertising or publicity copy. It cannot be stressed too strongly that advertising copy will not translate satisfactorily due to the different cultural contexts and advertising cultures of other countries and regions. Adverts for foreign countries should therefore always be produced in those countries. There are some advertising agencies who provide this service.
Court interpreter Gerichtsdolmetscher: Interpreter with special subject knowledge, providing interpretation during legal proceedings. Requirements regarding accreditation and certification for court interpreting vary from country to country.
Déjà Vu: Translation memory program, published by Atril.
Desktop publishing (DTP): DTP is sometimes offered by translators and translation companies/agencies as a value-added service to provide a one-stop solution for customers’ publishing needs. They will usually have the special equipment required to handle languages that use different typescripts.
DIN 2345: German standard, specifying requirements for translation contracts, published April 1998. Can be ordered online from Beuth (http://www.beuth.de/).
Dominant language -> Language of habitual use
Editing -> Revising
Freelance translator freiberuflicher Übersetzer, freischaffender ~: Self-employed translator, who may undertake work for translation agencies, localisation companies and/or directly for end clients. Often specialises in one or more particular fields, such as legal, financial, commercial or technical.
Free translation freie Übersetzung: Translation in which more emphasis is given to the overall meaning of the text than to the exact wording (cf. literal translation).
Gisting: Producing a rough or outline translation of a text to provide an insight into the subject and overall content of the source text. Being less expensive and less time-consuming than a “proper” (or “custom”) translation, gisting can be used, for example, to determine whether a text contains useful information before a custom translation is commissioned. The term gisting is sometimes used in conection with machine translation, which is used by some translation providers for that purpose.
Globalisation (GB), globalization (US) -> Internationalisation Globalisierung
Glossary Glossar: An invaluable tool for the translator. Beside making use of the wealth of specialised mono- and multilingual online-glossaries on the Internet, most translators compile and maintain their own subject-, customer- and project-specific glossaries. Companies publishing documentation in several languages can also benefit from maintaining multi-language glossaries of their own. This not only makes tranlators’ work easier, but – by reducing the amount of terminology research required – speeds up subsequent translation projects. In addition, it ensures consistent and correct terminology usage in all languages. Some translators and most translation companies offer glossary compilation and maintenance, either as a separate service or as part of a translation agreement. (See the Web Resources page for lists of online glossaries and dictionaries.)
Inbound text: Text intended for internal use, generally not seen by people outside the originating organisation. Includes internal correspondence, memos, work instructions, etc.
Internationalisation (GB), internationalization (US); globalisation Internationalisierung: The process of designing or redesigning a product (e.g. software) to facilitate localisation with a minimum of changes. Includes, for example, the arrangement of country-specific data in external resource files and the use of a character encoding method (e.g. Unicode) that supports foreign character sets.
Interpreter Dolmetscher: Provides oral (spoken) translation of a speaker’s words from one language into another. (cf. translator)
Interpreting, interpretation Dolmetschen: The act of rendering spoken words from one language into another. (cf. translating; see also simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting)
Keystroke Anschlag: Often used as a measure of line or page length in defining the size of a translation job. Includes all visible characters as well as spaces and line breaks/paragraph marks. (See also standard line and standard page.)
Language of habitual use; similar: dominant language: The language that a person is most familiar with, usually the language spoken in the country in which the person lives. Considered by some to be more appropriate than mother-tongue ( Muttersprache) as a measure of a translator or interpreter’s ability to translate into the given language. In German usage, this distinction between mother-tongue and dominant language is not generally made.
Liaison interpreter Verhandlungsdolmetscher: Interpreter who provides – usually consecutive – interpretation between two languages in both directions. May be affiliated to the host company and act as facilitator in negotiations or undertake some PR activities.
Literal translation wörtliche Übersetzung: Translation that closely adheres to the wording and construction of the source text. A literal translation usually appears “stilted” and unnatural and is therefore to be avoided unless there is a specific reason for translating literally. (cf. free translation)
Literary translator literarischer Übersetzer: Translator specialising in the translation of literature, such as fiction, biographies and poetry.
Localisation (GB), localization (US) Lokalisieren: The process of adapting a product (in the context of translation usually software) to a specific locale, i.e. to the language, cultural norms, standards, laws and requirements of the target market. Includes, but is not limited to, translation of the screen texts, help files, etc.
Machine-aided translation -> Computer-aided translation
Machine translation (MT) automatische Übersetzung: 1. Translation produced by a computer program; 2. Use of a translation program to translate text without human input in the actual translation process. The quality of machine-translated text, in terms of terminology, meaning and grammar, varies depending on the nature and complexity of the source text, but is never good enough for publication without extensive editing. Machine translation (usually using highly customised MT programs) is occasionally used by some translators and translation companies to assist them in their work, but rarely to translate entire documents. Some search engines, e.g. AltaVista, interface with a translation program to provide translations of websites. To get an idea of what MT can and cannot do, visit Babelfish, which provides a free online MT service (for link, see Online Resources page). Not to be confused with computer-aided translation!
Mother-tongue Muttersprache: One’s native language. Often used as an indicator of a translator or interpreter’s ability to translate into a particular language. Because a person who has lived in another country for many years (perhaps from childhood) may be more fluent in their second language than they are in their first (i.e. their mother-tongue), the term “language of habitual use” or “dominant language ” is often preferred.
MultiTerm: Terminology program published by Trados. A component of the Translator’s Workbench translation memory program, but also available as a separate product.
Native speaker competence muttersprachliche Kompetenz: Oral and written command of a language equivalent to that of a person who not only learned the language as a child and has continued to use it as his/her language of habitual use, but who also has had some language training.
Outbound text: Text intended for publication, i.e. for a readership outside the originating organisation. Essentially designed to sell products and services. Includes PR articles, brochures, catalogues, advertising copy, etc.
Parallel text Paralleltext: Text in the source or target language that is comparable to the text to be translated in terms of subject matter or text type. Includes previous translations of the same type of text.
Proof-reading, proofreading Korrekturlesen: Strictly, checking a proof before printing to ensure that no mistakes have been made in typesetting. The term is often used by translators in the sense of revising. When typesetting a translated text, it is advisable to let the translator who performed the translation proofread the typeset document, especially when the text is written in a language foreign to the typesetter.
Revising revidieren, überarbeiten: Reading a text to identify errors, inconsistencies, incorrect grammar and punctuation, poor or inappropriate style, and, in the case of a translation, conformance with the source text, and making appropriate changes and corrections to the text. In general, the number of revision stages is proportional to the demands on the text quality: a translation intended for publication may, for example, be revised by the translator and by one or two third parties (e.g. the author, a subject expert, a second translator, an editor), whereas an internal memo may not require any revision after translation. (What exactly revising and editing entail and how they differ is the subject of much debate. What is important is that the person commissioning the work communicates clearly what is expected of the editor.)
Simultaneous interpreting Simultandolmetschen: Oral translation of a speaker’s words into another language while the speaker is speaking. The interpreter usually sits in a booth and uses audio equipment. (cf. consecutive interpreting)
Software localisation -> Localisation
Source language Ausgangssprache: Language in which the text to be translated is written.
Source text Ausgangstext: The text to be translated.
Specialised language competence fachsprachliche Kompetenz: Familiarity with the relevant subject matter and command of its special language conventions.
Standard line Normzeile: A standard measure of the size of a text. The standard line length varies from country to country. In Germany, for example, it is usually 55 keystrokes, in Belgium 60. Translation projects are often priced on a per line basis.
Standard page, calibrated page Normseite: A standard measure of the size of a text, used esp. in the publishing industry and in literary translation. The standard page length may vary from country to country and depending on the sector, but is generally in the region of 1500 to 1800 keystrokes. Translation projects are sometimes priced on a per page basis, although – except in the case of literary translation – this practice is becoming less common, being replaced by the standard line.
Sworn translator vereidigter Übersetzer
Target audience: The group of people that an interpreter addresses. Used mostly in connection with simultaneous interpreting. Sometimes used (incorrectly) in the sense of target readership
Target language Zielsprache: Language into which a text is to be translated.
Target readership Zielleserschaft: The group of people for which a text is translated, for example subject experts, novices, prospective customers. It is important to specify the target readership when commissioning a translation so that the translator can choose an appropriate style and vocabulary.
Target text Zieltext: The translation, i.e. the result of the translation process.
TermStar: Terminology program published by Star. A component of the Transit translation memory program, but also available as a separate product.
Text function Textfunktion: The function served by a text, e.g. to sell a product, to provide instruction on the use of a product, to convey information about an event. It is important to specify the text function when commissioning a translation to so that the translator can choose an appropriate style and vocabulary.
Text type Textsorte: Class of text (e.g. abstract, news report, light fiction, commentary) with specific characteristics of style, sentence formation, terminology, etc.
Text style -> Text type
TMX: Translation memory exchange format, designed to allow easier exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors with little or no loss of critical data during the process. Supported by the latest versions of most leading translation memory programs. (For a full specification, go to www.lisa.org/tmx/tmx.htm)
Trados: Publishers of the Translator’s Workbench translation memory program.
Transit: Translation memory program published by Star.
Translating, translation Übersetzen: The act of rendering written text from one language into another. (cf. interpreting)
Translating competence übersetzerische Kompetenz: Ability to render text into the target language correctly in terms of language, subject matter and idiomatic style, having regard to the text function of both the source text and the target text.
Translation agency Übersetzungsbüro: Provides translation and interpreting services, acting as middleman between customers and freelance translators. May offer value-added services such as typesetting, publishing, project management.
Translation company Übersetzungsbüro: Provides translation services using mainly in-house translators. May specialise in a particular field – such as legal, patents or technical – and may offer value-added services such as typesetting, publishing, project management. The term is often used synonymously with translation agency.
Translation Manager: 1. Translation memory program published by IBM; 2. (Syn.: project manager) person in charge of managing a translation project. In large translation projects, the translation manager is responsible for liasing between customer and translators, coordinating the translation work (which may be carried out by several translators for each language), maintaining the terminology database, ensuring consistency of style and terminology, etc.
Translation memory (TM): Computer-aided translation program. In essence a database that stores translated sentences (translation units or segments) with their respective source segments in a database (the “memory”). For each new segment to be translated, the program scans the database for a previous source segment that matches the new segment exactly or approximately (fuzzy match) and, if found, suggest the corresponding target segment as a possible translation. The translator can then accept, modify or reject the suggested translation.
Translator Übersetzer: Renders written text from one or more languages into an other language, usually into her language of habitual use. May offer additional services, such as desktop publishing or proofreading. (cf. interpreter)
Translator’s Workbench: Translation memory program published by Trados.
Unicode: Character encoding standard which, unlike ASCII, uses not 8 but 16 bit character encoding, making possible the representation of virtually all existing character sets (e.g. Latin, Cyrillic, Japanese, Chinese). The use of Unicode simplifies multiple language document and program creation. (See also internationalisation.)
Voice-over, voiceover: Commentary in, e.g., a film, television programme, video, or commercial spoken by an unseen narrator. Foreign-language voice-over consists of two parts: translating the narrative, whereby, e.g., timing (coordinating the voice with the film sequence) is an important consideration; recording the voice-over, which may be performed by a linguist with special training and/or expertise or by an actor. Voice-over services are provided by some translators and translation agencies/companies.
Whispering Flüsterdolmetschen: Similar to simultaneous interpreting, whereby the interpreter sits close to the listener and whispers the translation without technical aids.
Word count: A standard measure of the size of a text. Translation projects, for example, are often priced on a per-word (US) or per-1000-word (GB) basis.

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Back to top Deutsches Glossar

Abbreviations

ACPI Association of Court and Police Interpreters (UK)
AIIC Association internationale des interprètes de conférence (International Association of Conference Interpreters)
AITC Association internationale des traducteurs de conférence (International Association of Conference Translators)
AITI Associate of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting
AITI Assoziatione Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti (Italian Translators and Interpreters Association)
ATA American Translators Association
ATC Association of Translation Companies (UK)
BDÜ Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer (German Interpreters and Translators Association)
CAT Computer-aided translation
DTP Desktop publishing
FIT Fédération internationale des traducteurs (International Federation of Translators)
IoL Institute of Linguists (UK)
ITA Irish Translators’ Association
ITI Institute of Translation and Interpreting
LISA Localisation Industry Standards Association
MIL Member of the Institute of Linguists
MITI Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting
MT Machine translation
NWTN North West Translators Network (UK)
TA Translators Association (a division of the Society of Authors)
TBX TermBase eXchange (exchange format for terminology databases)
TM Translation memory
TMX Translation memory exchange format

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back to top Deutsches Glossar

Sources:

DIN 2345 standard for translation ventures

North-West Translators’ Network: The Language Barrier and how to beat it

Translation Journal ( http://accurapid.com/journal/tj.htm)

Per Dohler: Facets of Software Localization

ECSC-EC-EAEC: EuroDicAutom

Longman Dictionary of the English Language

Deutsches Universalwörterbuch (Duden)

Thomas Irlbeck: Computer-Englisch (DTV)

For their invaluable advice and support in creating this glossary, I am especially grateful to Joy Burrough-Boenisch, Chris Durban, Petra Kopp, John May, Nathalie Mège, Judyth Mermelstein, Ruth Partington and Anke Vogelhuber.

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© Copyright Dominik Kreuzer
Tel: +43 316 683327 E-mail: mailto: kreuzer@trans-k.co.uk
Last updated: 5 February 2002

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Latest glossary update: December 10, 2001

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Glossary first posted on November 11, 1998

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