Courtesy of Competia.com
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As
many firms seek to discover new markets in new countries in their respective
industries, managers must consider many external forces that
will play a key role in successful ventures abroad.
- One major external force is language and how your firm can make your services
available in different languages
- The other is the ability for you to decipher other companies'
offerings when they are published in languages you don't understand
In this month's Toolkit, we have chosen and investigated a handful
of software products that translate business vocabulary
and documents. Among the seven products selected, some have
the capabilities of translating a given text into a number
of languages and a select few are able to translate into one language.
It is strongly advised that you have a well-trained translator edit
the output of the product before declaring it to be the final draft.
AltaVista
We love AltaVista's capability to translate in two clicks
the most popular languages directly on the Web:
- Do a search
- Click on translate at the bottom of the answer
and it will open Babel Fish's translation window
- Choose your languages
Do you know you can also directly type text in Babel Fish's
box and have it translated ?
Babylon
Babylon
Single Click Translator utilizes a dictionary and encyclopedia
to translate English vocabulary and text found in online or off-line
Web pages, e-mails messages, business applications and graphic
programs. This product enables users to translate English text into
the top seven languages used around the world. Some of the features
that have individuals using the tool frequently are:
- User-friendly when translating electronic
commerce-related documents
- Addition of new languages options
- Constant improvement on the quality of
translation of phrases
- Currency convertibility
We like this product due to its ability
to adapt to new terms and phrases used in the present business
environment. This key aspect of translation tools is important due the
rapid change in the use of the internet in business around
the globe.
Universal Translator 2000
Universal
Translator 2000 is a powerful translating document tool that
will assist you in making text available in many languages. This tool
will take a document, regardless of format, (i.e., html, RTF,
and txt.) and produce a text in a predetermined language selected by
the users. If users wish to translate a document in html included with
hyperlinks, graphics and formatting, the software will automatically
interpret the text portion and keep the rest intact. As a result, the
page will have the same "look and feel" as the original document.
The major aspects of this piece of software that will ensure a near-perfect
translated document are:
- Improved input for Chinese / Japanese
- Dictate your text or have it spoken back to you
- The ability to create foreign Web pages
- Use in Windows 95/98/2000 applications
What we found especially interesting about
this tool is the ability to use it with the two elements of the internet,
the Web and e-mail. The software provided us with the
capacity to produce a rough draft of a Web page in a foreign language
in html. In addition, we were allowed to send an e-mail from the Universe
Translator 2000 using Outlook.
Word
Translator 2000
The Word
Translator 2000 is a flexible and handy translation to have
on your desktop at work or home. With the capability of installing it
on a network, this software gives you the opportunity to utilize
it as a dictionary, Web-page editor, or a complete document translator.
Regardless of the applications being used, i.e. Word or Lotus
1-2-3, WT 2000 will take the text inside the file and interpret it into
a preselected language. You can closely monitor and control the
translation of individual words and phrases recognized by Word Translator
because it allows you to choose from any existing translation.
The key advantages of utilizing this tool for your translation needs
are:
- The opportunity to learn new words and phrases of
a foreign language
- Translate e-mail messages to/from a foreign
language
- It works with all Windows graphics packages
- Quick word-by-word and phrase-by-phrase document translation
When we tested this piece of software,
we liked the fact that it allowed us to do more than translate documents.
We were permitted to:
- Include more words, phrases and translations to
the current bilingual dictionary
- Spellcheck a translated document and suggest
correct syntax
- Teach ourselves how to pronounce words and
phrase by hearing native speakers
- Increase our vocabulary in different languages
Systran Translation
Systran
Translation Software offers a full array of online translation
tools and software for the business professional. On the Systran Web
site, you can cut and paste a paragraph, in any given language,
and within seconds, the Web site will return a rough translation of
the text. If you find this service satisfactory, there is an improved
version of the service on the site. Once registered, the service will
ask you specific questions regarding how you would like your document
to be presented, i.e. format and words you do not want to be
interpreted.
Depending on your needs, you may choose from many of Systran translation
software. For intranet users, SYSTRAN Enterprise would be ideal
to use inside organizations. The software will supply users of intranets
with:
- Access to the translation server from any
employee operating on the company network
- Translates 3,700 words per minute with a Pentium
processor
- 21 industry-specific topical glossaries for
context-sensitive translations
- Plug-ins for MS Word, Eudora E-mail, Internet Explorer and Netscape
Web pages
While trying both translation tools, we found them to be extremely easy
to use among colleagues. Users will find this tool handy if they
need to have a document translated in a pinch. Team members will be
able to give feedback, modify and make additions to documents
in different languages without concern that the documents might get
lost or deleted.
Power Translator 6.0
Power
Translator 6.0 ,used in top schools around the world and in
many industries, has the capacity to interpret English text into four
languages (Spanish, French, German, and Italian). After utilizing
the software, users will have a first draft which would be in need of
a slight editing by a translator. Depending on the industry, users can
adapt the software's dictionary to include various terms and phrases
used by professionals. Some of the features that we found important
to note are:
- Quick and accurate translation (20,000 words per
hour)
- Easy, flexible text entry
- Instant Web Translation
- Online Grammar Help
While trying out the software, we found
it to be amazingly flexible, based on the amount of text needed to be
translated. Whether it was a paragraph or a five-page report, we had
the option to monitor the output. It provided us the choice of letting
the product translate what it could and then hiring a human translator
to finish the task.
Transcend Automatic Translation
Transcend
Automatic Translation , software targeted to top business managers,
equips users with fast and accurate interpretations of Spanish, French,
German, Italian and Portuguese text. Transcend integrates smoothly
with any Window-based word processors, which allows users to translate
documents using pull-down menus. After a couple of minutes and
mouse clicks, a document will appear with a rough interpretation of
the original text. The software's customized dictionary will help users
translate terms and phrases used in the global business environment.
The main features that business professionals should consider when using
this tool are:
- All-page formatting and graphics are preserved
from the most popular file formats
- Translates Web pages while retaining all
graphics and formatting
- Multiple-users capabilities
We liked this piece of software due to
its ability to be easily integrated with any of the applications on
a stand-alone desktop or a network. In addition, this tool was
useful to swiftly interpret competitors' Web sites in foreign languages
which provided very informative news and industry reports that
were not available in English.
TRANS Suite 2000
TRANS
Suite 2000 by Cypresoft, is a tool that is primarily designed
for translators, can present top-quality translated documents in 14
languages. It is comprised of 5 components, which ensures users that
they will be furnished with the best-possible interpretation of their
text:
- Editor - In this mode, a user may select the format of
the document, add written comments for feedback and use the built-in
spellchecker.
- Align - This tool allows you to create Translation Memories
from your existing translations. It displays the existing source
and translated documents side-by-side and allows you to validate
that the text displayed in the target window is the translation
of the text displayed in the source window
- Dictionary Setup Utility - This tool will speed up the
creation of Dictionaries. DSU searches the text you want to translate
for new terms. In the work-environment all these terms are sorted
by its frequency. Terms that are used a lot are on top of the list.
- Master Dictionary Editor - Allows users to import specific
terminology used in their respective industry into a master dictionary
for future reference
- Master Translation Memory Editor - Gives users full control
of every sentence that is translated
With all the components mentioned above,
we like the fact that we had easy control from start to finish of the
translation process of the document. Depending on the speed of your
CPU, you may find the process quite fast but this does not reflect in
the quality of the translation.
Do
you have another tool you like better ? Write to us at editor@competia.com
!
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