SAP terminology: the SAP help website as a resource for translators of German and English
30
Oct
A while ago I found this great tip on Proz.com and I have used it many times since then.
It still works fine and it is a valuable search tool not only for translators of SAP materials but for those working in fields such as automotive, financial or economic.
Here is how it works for a simple German to English translation of the term Ansteuerung
1. In Google search type Ansteuerung+site:help.sap.com
2. Click on the first result (make sure that the website found is the SAP help website – the link should contain help.sap.com)
3. Locate Ansteuerung on the page (you can use Ctrl+F)
4. Remember where it is
5. Go to the English version of the same help page by replacing de in the link with en as below:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/de/c6/3c333b40389c46e10000000a114084/frameset.htm
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/c6/3c333b40389c46e10000000a114084/frameset.htm
6. …and you should find a translation of the term and decide if it is appropriate in your context.
Got other search tips to share? Please do so!
What is terminology?
15
Apr
I
According to the German Terminology Portal, “terminology is defined as the entirety of all concepts and terms in one specialist field. Therefore, one can equate terminology with specialist vocabulary. Efficient communication with regard to technical language is not possible without the correct use of specialist vocabulary. Terminology work deals with the preparing, the processing, the documenting and the use of specialist vocabulary; tools like terminology management software support this work.” More…
II
Not only translators deal with terminology. Companies in all industries must (should) have an in-house standard terminology management process, from the initial product design to marketing & sales in order to ensure coherence in specifications, discussions with customers, brochures and advertisements.
There are several associations that promote the professional use and organization of terminology and that encourage the training of both decision makers in companies and of translators for standardizing the terms they use and keep a coherent approach throughout a project.
Some of these associations are:
CiTaL: Centrum für Internationale Terminologie und Angewandte Linguistik (Center for International Terminology and Applied Linguistics), University of Applied Sciences Konstanz
DEUTERM: Deutsches Informations- und Dokumentationszentrum für Terminologie am Institut für Informationsmanagement der Fachhochschule Köln
EAFT: European Association for Terminology
III
If you are interested in finding tips & tricks, tools or trainings for terminology management, the websites of the above-mentioned associations make a good place to start.
On the German Terminology Portal you can find a series of tools for terminology management but also a compilation of glossaries from several fields.
The website below is very interesting, it is designed and maintained by a terminologist. This got me started thinking about terminology more seriously in the first place:
IV
In terms of training as a terminologist, TermNet offers a “Terminology Spring School”, a train the trainer event. If you are thinking of becoming a professional terminologist, here you can find a job profile and on LinkedIn, there is the Terminology group where occasionally job postings appear.
Extensive financial glossary of German and English terms (with explanations)
06
Mar
The glossary you can find on the page of Prof. Dr. Gerhard MERK contains 3500 financial terms in German with a translation in English and a definition.
From the “Titelsite” that appears when you click on this link, go to “Downloads” and then to the “Finanzbegriffe” pdf file that is searcheable and that contains 3500 financial terms in German and English.
Do you like the glossary and maybe feel you can make a recommendation to Prof. Merk? You also have the possibility to contact him.
How to train your attention to detail
06
Mar
This post is meant to help you improve your attention to detail. More precisely, it is about training yourself to read the words through in order not to make misreading mistakes.
I have written about some of the most frequent misreading mistakes I have encountered while reviewing.
To begin with, here is a list of words. Try to read it, focus and then translate the words. Don’t spend too much time on finding the best translation on Earth, that is not the point. The point is that you do not misread any word or part of it. Once you have focused on reading the word through, think about the strategies you used in avoiding misreading the word and use them in all your future work.
One strategy that I use is actually typing a space between the words that compose a longer word.
Any strategy you would like to share? Please do so!
Qualitätssicherungsabteilungsziele
Bedingung
Fehlerdetektion
You might also enjoy: Misreading
Lingu@net Europa
10
Jan
Lingu@net Europa is a great website for language learners. It is basically a collection of online resources for language learners (but also teachers). The resources are all collected by linguists, mostly language teachers or language centre managers. The specialists have been looking online for a long time now to gather quality language learning materials from the World Wide Web.
The website offers guided access to these resources, meaning that it guides you to resources that help you assess your level, your learning style or help you overcome obstacles such as “being afraid to speak” or “hating grammar”.
Give it a try, it contains resources for learning more than 20 European languages and in the near future will also include resources for Arabic, Hindi, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.
Glossary of computer and automotive terms
17
Nov
This glossary contains definitions and explanations in German for some computer-related terms. What makes it more useful is that it also provides the English equivalent of that term.
The Saarbrücken Corpus of Spoken English (SCoSE)
14
Nov
The Saarbrücken Corpus of Spoken English (SCoSE)
The SCoSE is, like any corpus, a collection of texts. What makes it special and what made me write an entry on linguistic guide about it is its format (7 parts consisting of pdf files) and its specificity (spoken register) . All the texts are transcribed conversations which means that it is extremely useful for studies of spoken language, in this case English. Some examples are turn taking, discourse markers, shift of tenses in narratives.
The 7 parts of the corpus are:
Complete Conversations
Indianapolis Interviews
Jokes
Drawing Experiment
Kassel Classroom Discourse
Stories
London Teenage Talk
If you are a student of English linguistics and in search of material for a paper, this corpus can be very useful, plus all the files are free.
Make sure you also get familiar with the transcription conventions that are available here.
Websites for learning English
31
Oct
http://www.tuneintoenglish.com
As far as I got with this learning resource, it’s great if you want to get some practice with your pronunciation skills, connections between words, even if singers are not exactly the best models when it comes to grammar, vocab etc. etc.
It’s also great for practicing listening skills!
Google books for translators and language learners: technical English-German dictionaries
14
Oct
Did it ever happen to you to run into the equivalent of a term in a Google book just when you thought you have reached the end of the internet?
Google books results do not appear in the first series of pages when you are searching the web for a translation so the valuable books scanned by Google are pretty hard to find. On the other hand, if you limit your search to books from the beginning, a lot of irrelevant results will show.
Long story short, here is a list of dictionaries I have found (partially) scanned in Google books (again for German-English and English-German dictionaries, mostly technical). It might lead to you buying one, why not?
Langenscheidts Fachwörterbuch Telecommunication: Englisch-Deutsch/Deutsch-Englisch
Von Jens Peter Rehahn
Langenscheidt Routledge German dictionary of electrical engineering and electronics
By Peter-Klaus Budig
Langenscheidt Fachwörterbuch Technik und angewandte Wissenschaften Von Peter A. Schmitt
Von Henry George Freeman,Günter Glass
German Technical Dictionary: English-German Von Routledge