Intranet Journal: Getting Started-The Intranet Corner-Translating your documents for the world to read

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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