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Glossary
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A
- Alignment
- This is a software process that aligns sentences and segments from one or several files in the source language with those from the target language. This allows existing translations to be re-used and translation memories to be created or updated swiftly and efficiently.
- Apostille
- The apostille is a special form of additional authentication used in the international transfer of documents. It confirms the authenticity of the signature and, where present, the stamp or seal. An apostille can be used between member states of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.
- Area of expertise
- An area of expertise covers a certain subject area such as finance, banking, compliance, law, industry or medicine.
B
- Bilingual
- Bilingual refers to a person who is able to speak and/or understand two languages.
- Business process outsourcing (BPO)
- Business process outsourcing involves outsourcing entire business processes (e.g. translations or IT services) to specialist external companies.
C
- CAT tools
- CAT tools are programs enabling computer-aided translation (CAT). Unlike machine translation, translations with CAT tools are performed by humans with software support (e.g. with translation memories or terminology databases).
- Certified translation
- A certified translation is a legally effective translation of the original document with identical content that is required for judicial or legal purposes. This document is translated by qualified language professionals and officially certified by affixing a seal and a signature to it.
- Coherence
- In general language, coherence means connection. In linguistics, it describes the way that the words in a text hang together to create meaning.
- Consistency
- In linguistics, consistency refers, for example, to the uniform use of terminology or punctuation across languages. Among other things, this avoids misunderstandings and enhances the quality of the text.
- Content management
- Content management is a collective term for the creation, collection, processing and provision of information for different platforms and communication channels. This may include images, audio files, videos and texts.
- Content management system (CMS)
- A content management system is software that enables the shared creation, organisation, editing, publication and storage of digital content such as texts, images and videos. It is mostly used for websites; WordPress is the most widely used CMS.
- Corporate language
- The term “corporate language” refers to the language that an enterprise uses for its internal and external communications. It covers such aspects as style, wording, concepts, terminology, language use and typographical preferences.
D
- Data protection
- Data protection refers to the protection of personal data against misuse or improper dissemination. Every person should be able to determine for themselves where their personal data can be accessed.
- Data security
- Data security refers to the functions of information processing and storage systems for achieving the protection objectives of confidentiality, availability and integrity. It prevents vulnerabilities and threats, averts economic loss and minimises risks.
- Delivery date
- The delivery date is the date on which a specific product or service is provided to the customer.
- Desktop publishing
- Desktop publishing is the computer-aided creation of print-ready templates for later use as printed matter, such as books, brochures, magazines, flyers and advertising posters. Systems such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, MS Publisher or MS PowerPoint are often used for this purpose.
E
- Editing
- Editing entails quality assurance of the texts. Texts are not only checked at the linguistic level but also at other levels, such as style, structure, appropriateness for the intended reader, comprehensibility and layout.
- Express surcharge
- An express surcharge is an additional amount that is charged to ensure that a product or service is delivered or provided to the customer more quickly.
F
- Four-eyes principle
- The four-eyes principle describes a thorough review of someone’s work carried out by another person in order to prevent errors. This procedure is used in many areas in addition to translation, including work processes, decisions, tasks, reports and e-mails.
G
- Glossary
- A collection of terms that are used in a specific context, together with their definitions.
I
- ISO 17100:2015
- This certification standard specifies minimum requirements for the qualifications of specialised staff and evaluates them according to objective criteria. This also includes the use of quality assurance tools, such as the four-eyes principle.
- ISO 9001:2015
- This internationally recognised standard serves as the foundation for a quality management system. It contains a set of guidelines for products and services that a company offers and defines how they should be delivered to the customer. In addition, processes are analysed and optimised on an ongoing basis, and the aim is to continually improve customer satisfaction.
- ISO certification
- ISO is short for “International Organisation for Standardisation” ISO certification is proof of compliance with a specific ISO standard (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 17100 or ISO 18587). Certification must be confirmed in an annual audit performed by an authorised certification company (e.g. SGS or LinquaCert).
- ISO|IEC 27001:2013
- The ISO|IEC 27001:2013 international standard defines the requirements for information security in organisations. This includes setting up, implementing, operating and optimising an information security management system.
- Inclusive language
- Inclusive language means using language that addresses all genders respectfully. The aim is to include all genders in written and spoken language and thus to put an end to the generic use of the masculine form.
K
- Keyword
- A keyword is a word or group of words used to describe a product or service.
L
- Language pair
- The language pair is the two languages involved in a translation – the one a text was written in and the one it is to be translated into. The source language is shown first, followed by the translation language (also known as the target language).
- Localisation
- Localisation involves adapting content to the language and culture of the target market. Examples include advertising campaigns, software applications, films and instruction manuals.
M
- Machine translation (MT)
- Machine translation is the automatic translation of a text by means of a translation program. There are three types of machine translation systems: rule-based systems, statistical systems and neural systems (neural machine translation). SwissGlobal uses the latter.
- Mother tongue
- A mother tongue is the language a child learns from an early age without any formal instruction. More specifically, it does not matter whether the language is that of the mother or the father, which is why linguists consider this term inadequate and often refer to it as one’s “first language”.
- Multilingual communication
- This refers to communication in different languages and contexts.
N
- Notarisation
- Notarisation is the process used to officially certify the authenticity of a signature on a document.
O
- Order
- An order refers to the ordering of services or products and the contract between the client and a provider.
- Outsourcing
- Outsourcing is a business practice in which individual corporate tasks or even entire departments are contracted out to external, specialised service providers.
P
- PEMT
- PEMT stands for Post-Editing of Machine Translation and refers to the process whereby a machine translation is reviewed by a professional translator.
- Post-editing
- Post-editing involves using human translators to edit machine-translated content. During this phase, the machine translation is checked for any grammatical, semantic and syntactic errors.
- Pre-editing
- The preparation of a document prior to machine translation. This process optimises the text to make it easier for machines to read.
Q
- Quality assurance (QA)
- Quality assurance refers to a variety of different approaches to guarantee the delivery of high-quality products or services.
- Quote
- This refers to the quote for goods or services that is provided in response to a client request. A quote includes the terms and conditions together with details of the nature, scope and prices of the goods/services in question. It is generally non-binding.
R
- Ready to print
- Ready to print refers to a stage in which the finished product is ready for printing. At this stage, the customer can make final corrections and check the text for any spelling, punctuation, hyphenation or typographical errors etc. If everything is correct, the printer can start production.
- Request
- In a business context, this is a non-legally binding enquiry to a provider for information about their goods, products, services, prices or conditions of sale.
- Revision
- During the revision phase, the translation is checked by a reviser. During this phase, the target text is checked against the source text for content and its suitability for its intended purpose and directly corrected or annotated in consultation with project management.
S
- SEO
- SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimisation” and is the process of configuring websites in such a way that ensures they will appear as close to the top as possible in search queries. Analyses are carried out and concepts are developed to determine how the website can improve its ranking.
- Source language
- This is the language in which the document to be translated is written.
- Specialised translation
- A specialised translation is a written translation of a specialised text from the source language into the target one. Specialised translations are completed by specialist translators.
- Specialised translator
- This type of translator specialises in certain subject areas, meaning that they have the necessary skills and experience to translate your technical texts correctly and coherently.
- Standard line
- A standard line is used as a uniform parameter for billing translations. As a rule, the standard line applied in German-speaking countries is composed of 50-55 characters including spaces.
- Style guide
- Style guides are a collection of editorial and formatting instructions to ensure a consistent tone and style.
- Subtitles
- In the television and film industry, subtitles are generally displayed at the bottom of the screen as a way of translating audio content that is in a foreign language or making it accessible to hearing-impaired viewers.
T
- Target audience
- A target audience is the specific group of people at whom a particular product or service is aimed.
- Target language
- This is the language into which the document in question is to be translated. Depending on the target language, there may also be different language variants, e.g. French (Switzerland) or French (Canada), which must be specified when an order is placed for a translation.
- Target text
- The target text is the result of a translation. This document is then delivered to the client.
- Terminology
- The sum total of the technical terms used by a company in its internal and external communications. It ensures efficient communications and helps to ensure compliance with the corporate language as well as consistency.
- Terminology database (termbase, TB)
- Terminology databases (TB) are glossaries of company-specific terms assembled manually using professional software and mostly comprising multiple languages. They form a fixed part of corporate language.
- Transcription
- Transcription is the transfer of spoken content into written words. This process is used with audio and video recordings.
- Translation
- In linguistics, this is the process of transferring content from one language (source language) to another one (target language).
- Translation agency
- A translation agency accepts orders for translations and passes them on to its in-house team of translators or external agents. The end product is reviewed internally and then sent back to the client. Translation agencies normally offer related services as well, such as proofreading and editing.
- Translation company in Switzerland
- A translation company accepts translation orders of all kinds and passes them on to the translation team. Translation companies usually also offer related services such as proofreading. A translation company in Switzerland must fulfil the following criteria: localisation, qualified staff, innovation, ISO certifications and sustainable partnerships.
- Translation memory (TM)
- A translation memory is a collection of related source– and target-language segments. It helps to lower costs as segments that have already been translated can be re-used and enhances quality assurance (consistency) and, hence, the correct use of corporate language.
W
- Website
- A website refers to a location on the World Wide Web. It is the virtual presence of a company, group or individual and may consist of structured data, images and interactive elements, among other things. Internal and external hyperlinks that allow users to access a website from another location are the most widely-known website feature.
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