Save Money and Maximize The Value with Translation Memory
Translation memory maximization and money saving
People are always trying to purchase a product at the best price, but without losing the quality features they require. Usually this bargain must give up either a good price or a refinement level, but is not always true when it comes to translation. Of course, hiring a professional translator is an inevitable and valuable asset, but translation management platforms can be very helpful when searching for ways to maximize value, reduce costs and move faster while producing high-quality content as well.
Probably the most efficient tools among many that a translation management platform provides its customers with, is their brand’s translation memory. Translation memory is constantly being developed and expanded by continuous and repeated usage. The translation database keeps growing due to all previously translated content. In fact, every time a piece of content is translated, a client’s translation memory will enlarge in a way it can automatically recognize new strings and create a new entry within an already existing translation memory. What is more interesting and useful as well is the fact that the word or the phrase stored in the database is available and easily accessible to the translators on the platform.
Translation Memory: What is it?
Simply said, translation memory is a virtual storage of all the previously translated content and the best tool for keeping a customer’s global content neat and in the same place.
In other words, once your content is translated and you pay for the translation service, you, as a platform user, are allowed to reuse and recycle the string you purchased. Basically, this is how you reduce the translation service demand and the cost you would be subjected to all over again. What actually means is that the translation cost is getting lesser and lesser over time.
For example, you may need translation of a new product you want to include in your eCommerce offer. Since you previously used the translation management platform, the fields that you have already translated for your earlier products, like “size” or “color” are automatically identified from the translation memory of the source language and are applied to the target language field. Aside from reducing costs, the translation velocity is increasing and the whole process is speeding up a lot. Simply, the already existing words and phrases are instantly matched and applied in a blink of an eye. Translations that have already been created can be imported to various translation platforms as an industry standard file format for translation memory (.tmx), and re-used at any time needed.
Benefits of the translation memory bases reflect in the fact that they are yours, easy to use and rely on the features like being cloud-based, having central platform and search capability, ownership and better quality assets.
Cloud-based translation means it is constantly being updated and accessible, but also the most accurate at the same time. Furthermore, relying on the central platform stands for accessibility to one or multiple translation memories on all devices and content types.
The next advantage of having an account on translation management platforms is ownership. In fact, here you can import, export, delete or save, update and consolidate your translation memories anytime. Since you own the memory, you allowed to manage it in any way you want. Search capability is another useful feature you are entitle to. To be able to easily and quickly access the desirable item, adjust the location of your content in your translation memory to reference. Enable easy updates for preferences or errors without combing through a spreadsheet. Finally, better quality of your translation memory base is ensured by linguists and project managers who can bring more refinement to the translation memory entries in order to improve consistency in brand and tone.
The impact that translation memory has on your brand
First of all, it is cost saving. Relying on a translation management platform means your translation memory is stored centrally in one place, making it possible for your translation memory to be used across all content types and devices. Being in the cloud, it’s always being continuously leveraged and updated. In other words, the more you translate, the less effort you need to invest in later translations.
The second asset is time-saving. What you have already translated, if mentioned again in the source language field, it gets automatically filled in by the translation memory in the source language field. Using the recycled content, the translation memory is beneficial to you in terms of leaving you with less redundant content to translate.
And, above all, translation quality is impeccable. In fact, the more you translate, the more the platform learns about your content and absorbs it. Linguists and translators are able to see multiple translation memory entries for a given string, which enables them to select the appropriate match given the context.
How does translation memory actually work?
When a new string is translated, the source and target text are paired together and added to the translation memory. The next time when the future content containing the same set of words is submitted for translation, the platform identifies it and matches strings with previous translations within a moment.
A string can match with entries in your translation memory in three ways:
- So-called “icematch” where a string perfectly matches a string in the translation memory;
- 100% match occurs when the text of a string matches the text of a string in the translation memory and should not be confused with “icematch”.
- So-called “fuzzy match” happens when words matching is less than 100% identical between the translation memory and source content. It is usually in range between 50% and 99%.
Despite all the three matching ways, do not be confused nor discouraged. Any of them is helpful since you can examine them and and choose to edit them instead of starting from scratch.
YOUR Translation Memory is YOUR Translation Memory.
As already said, you are the owner of your translation memory. Since you paid for it, you can manage it however you want. The more you translate on the platform, the more resource you get for further usage and facilitate translation tasks in the future. Different platforms have different regulations, but the point of all of them is to enable a user to export his translation memory on demand at any time of the day or year.
The more you translate, the more you save.
Various platforms differentiate in the assets they provide and the ways of application. Of course, they differ from one another in how they handle translation memory as well, but there is nothing to be concerned about. By translating as often and as much as you can, you increase your database and therefore more outcomes are at your disposal, which means you do not need to hire someone for what you already have in your translation memory. Isn’t it great to save money and invest in other product expansion necessities?
Translation memory is always on your side
Nowadays, an extra space is always required when dealing with technology and information. The best way to make sure your valuable data is safe and secure is uploading it to a certain cloud space. Therefore, many translation management platforms tend to be partially, if not completely, cloud-based. Those platforms that enable their clients have a completely cloud-based translation memory, allow them a continuous update in real-time as well. Entries are being managed, searched, updated, moved, or, on rare occasions, even deleted.The translation platforms provides a wonderful organization of the translation management in a way that users can import, search and thus simultaneously utilize multiple TM databases. What translation management platforms usually do is constantly scan your content to create new translation memory entries, or inject the right translations directly into the content itself.
Take Control of your Translation Memory
Often, users can optimize different configuration controls to decide which translation memories will be necessary for certain projects.
In other words, platform users have the option to turn on all translation memory databases for all projects, or specifically make adjustments to specific databases related to a specific project.
In fact, they can use a translation memory database as necessary or can be limited to a specific few to ensure that only those entries are utilized for that unique project. Translation platforms usually support multiple translation memories; arrange all translation memories across any content type, from any location; enable users to move, delete content within their translation memory, export or import their existing translation memory which they have outside the specific platform. Another usable feature is making a client’s translation memory searchable by keyword, author, language, or translator, and many more.
Configure your Translation Memory for Cost Savings
In order to avoid additional expenses pop up during the expansion of a business, within a translation memory, we are going to enlist just a few possibilities translators have on the menu. They can view the details of each translation (who created the entry, when and even the time of last modification and by whom it was done); they can make adjustments to determine how the entry can be used ans rename, edit or optimize the translation memory in alignment with specific entries.
Maximize your translation value
The advantages of translation management platform application is enabling maximizing the translation value. How is it to be achieved? Using a platform, a translator is able to see the correlation between the overall cost, speed, and quality of a translation. He is being given a unique opportunity reach a balance in project priority, quality expectations, and overall cost in order to maximize the translation value. If he takes some time and energy to optimize his translation memory, he may rely on it in the future, completely putting cost savings, time savings, and quality improvement into the translation memory’s hands, and it is worthy.
