It is a service designed primarily for larger customers and other language service providers, recommended with permanent cooperation. Alignment is the creation of translation memories (TM) from old translations. To perform it, you need corresponding files in two languages.
The principle is simple. We import a file with the source text and a document with the translation into the appropriate software. The program automatically segments both texts and, based on default defined rules, connects the source segments with the target segments. The translator makes manual corrections and approves individual pairs of segments.
Before adding files to the project, it is worth checking the formatting of the text and the presence of possible shortcuts in it. The latter can have a decisive impact on text segmentation and it is worth adding them as exceptions to segmentation rules. They are often the reason why one segment in the input text corresponds to more segments in the output text or vice versa. Each such breakdown requires the intervention of the user and the connection of the appropriate parts (sentences).
Creating translation memories
The result of the correctly carried out process of combining the source segments with the translation is a translation memory file in the extension selected in the export settings. In this way, both translators and translation agencies can help the new client to mitigate the consequences of his resignation from competing services.
The functionality of creating translation memory is provided by popular CAT systems developed for the translation industry. At BTD Services, we mainly use SDL Trados Studio for this purpose, we also perform Alignment in other CAT tools available online (Phrase, Memoq, XTM)
The database prepared this way can be used to update subsequent versions of documents while maintaining consistency with their previous versions and checking for repeated texts.
Advantages and limitations of translation memory systems and translation alignment
Translation memory systems offer broad benefits: linguistic consistency, faster project completion and better cost control. They help to maintain the terminology, which is important in the technical and legal documentation. Alignment of translations, on the other hand, allows the use of large archival resources and their transformation into useful TM memories.
This approach, like many others, also has its limitations, such as:
excessive reliance on automatic suggestions – segments require verification to avoid propagation of errors;
this often involves a lot of initial work, because alignment requires quality control – incorrectly paired sentences can lower the value of the translation memory.
Still, proper use of TM and Alignment systems is an option that is really worth considering. It is an investment that, although initially associated with additional costs, in the long run allows for a large reduction in the cost of translation services, as well as increasing the quality of translations, guaranteeing the terminological consistency of subsequent projects