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Editorial
Dear Readers, With this new MultiLing newsletter, we would like to begin a new tradition that we regularly did in our early years: inform our clients about developments in the area of professional translation services, provide practical assistance, and share what is going on at MultiLing. In addition to our headquarters in Utah, our five wholly owned subsidiaries in Italy, Peru, Korea, Japan, and Germany will regularly provide content for this publication. If you have any additional questions regarding the topics in a particular article, please feel free to contact the nearest MultiLing office and we will be glad to answer any questions you may have. You can find the different addresses on our website www.multiling.com.
On behalf of every MultiLing employee, I hope you enjoy reading our new newsletter.
Kind regards,
Michael Sneddon
CEO MultiLing Corporation |
| Culture |
 In Bavarian villages, May 1st is typically connected to the tradition of creating a new maypole. The responsibility of preparing and decorating the maypole normally falls on the young men of the villages and after painting the maypole with blue and white stripes. more  |
| New Clients |
 MultiLing Italy would like to welcome Whirlpool Europe as a new client. In 1991, Whirlpool Europe became the "European Region" of Whirlpool Corporation, which is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. more |
| Events, Expos, and Conferences |
 You can personally get to know MultiLing at the following events: MultiLing Germany: June 23: tcworld Roadshow, Barcelona, Spain. more |
| Technology |
 Human/Computer – Two inseparable parts that wind each other’s springs: MultiLing uses two computer-assisted translation tools, Fortis and Semantis, which are developed by in-house programmers. more |
| FAQ |
 DTP TIP: Making PDF files without garbled characters.
more |
| QUOTE |
| “For every second spent in anger,
a minute of happiness is wasted.” |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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Multiling Newsletter |
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CULTURE
 Maypole. In Bavarian villages, May 1st is typically connected to the tradition of creating a new maypole. The responsibility of preparing and decorating the maypole normally falls on the young men of the villages and after painting the maypole with blue and white stripes, they create signs depicting the predominant occupations in the village. The maypole is generally changed out every four or five years. In each village, erecting the maypole is a great celebration and is celebrated by the villagers with beer and a ”Brotzeit” (typical sausages, wholesome breads, and tasty Leberkaes – a cross between meat loaf and a smooth pork pâté - etc.).
From the moment the tree is cut down until it’s displayed, the maypole must be guarded by the village, typically the young men. Otherwise, it could be stolen by neighboring villages. However, only those villages that already have a maypole themselves are allowed to steal a neighboring village’s maypole, but only after the maypole has been transported to a location within the village boundaries. As long as the maypole is located in this area, the guards can prevent the “thieves” from stealing the maypole simply by touching the maypole with one hand. If the maypole isn’t carefully guarded and is successfully stolen, then the village must ransom the maypole for beer and food.
NEW CLIENTS
 MultiLing Italy would like to welcome Whirlpool Europe as a new client. In 1991, Whirlpool Europe became the "European Region" of Whirlpool Corporation, which is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Whirlpool Europe is the regional center for the European, Middle-Eastern and African markets and has 13 plants, including: 6 in Italy, 2 in Germany, and 1 each in France, Slovakia, Sweden, South Africa, and Poland. With approximately 14,000 employees and annual revenues of 3.2 billion US dollars, in 2004 Whirlpool Europe ranked 3rd place in the world-wide home appliance manufacturing industry, becoming an industry leader also in many of the emerging markets.
MultiLing is currently working on translations for Whirlpool’s patent and legal departments, focusing on patent translations for over 17 European and Asian languages.
TECHNOLOGY
 Human/Computer – Two inseparable parts that wind each other’s springs
MultiLing uses two computer-assisted translation tools, Fortis and Semantis, which are developed by in-house programmers. It is important to understand that “computer-assisted translation” is not the same as “machine translation,” where a program generates an automatic translation within seconds without human involvement. If you have ever tried to translate an original website by using “automatic translation,” you know that the result is an impractical text full of errors and outlandish sentence structures. Computer-aided translation is much more than this. It is a productive cooperation between human and machine – a synthesis, in which one part corrects and complements the other.
Only a human brain can recognize the type of text, cultural context, target-language-specific syntax structures, lexical ambiguities, and changes in the particular technical field and, then, modify the text according to those criteria to make a meaningful whole. For this reason, the human components – highly qualified translators – translate text, which is stored and later reused with help from our translation tool Fortis. Fortis identifies repetitive sentences in a new text, automatically translates those that match 100%, and displays those that match 70% – 99% (so-called fuzzy matches) in a separate window as useful suggestions to the translator.
Whereas the human is needed to translate the new text and to edit the fuzzy matches to fit the new environment, the machine is indispensable for correcting human inconsistency. This is where our terminology-management tool Semantis, which is integrated into Fortis, comes into operation. Terminology databases, which may be created for a particular client, contain expressions that are highlighted in the new text and displayed in a separate window. |
This reminds the translator and reviewer to use the preferred terminology.
The system guarantees that a certain style is followed consistently in all of a client’s documents, in spite of the large pool of MultiLing language specialists working in different places and at different times. Semantis avoids the variety of different translations for a single concept (e.g. a certain technical part, virtual tool, or operation) and ensures a consistent mode of expression.
In this regard, automated quality control for formatting and terminology takes a leading role. At the end of the process, the reviewer (a human) takes over again and polishes the entire text into a meaningful and consistent whole.
In the big picture, every new project incorporates previously translated text, saving you time and money, and mandates the consistent use of approved, standardized terminology, ensuring your documentation is accurate and easy to understand.. Delivering standardized technical documents, manuals, and various product-related materials gives your company a distinctive profile that will set your enterprise apart from your competitors and increase the chances of success in today’s dynamic business world.
That is why MultiLing relies on the Human/Computer symbiosis: Highly competent linguists use their indispensible knowledge and language instinct to determine meaning, working in combination with sophisticated computer programs that immediately provide translated text and technical vocabulary.
Employing the best of both worlds leverages your new translation for better price and quality. |
| EVENTS, EXPOS, AND CONFERENCES
You can personally get to know MultiLing at the following events:
MultiLing Germany:
- June 23: tcworld Roadshow, Barcelona, Spain
- September 15–17: DMS Expo, Cologne, Germany
- November 6–9: tekom Annual Conference, Wiesbaden, Germany
MultiLing Italy:
- June 19: tcworld Road Show, Milan, Italy
- October 21–24: SMAU trade show, Milan, Italy
MultiLing USA:
- May 3–6: STC Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
- May 31–June 3: ASTD 2009 International Conference & Exposition, Washington DC
- October 27–31: DOCTRAIN East, Waltham, Massachusetts
- October 28–31: ATA 50th Annual Conference, New York City, New York.
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FAQ
DTP TIP: MAKING PDF FILES WITHOUT GARBLED CHARACTERS
Question:
When using Microsoft Word to make PDF files on a Macintosh computer, some of the characters become "garbled" in the PDF document. For example, the bullet characters now appear as Yen symbols. What can I do to fix this problem?
Description:
Microsoft Word and other Microsoft Office programs often use Microsoft-specific fonts, which incorrectly encode some character information in the PostScript file from which the PDF file is made. The result is that "upper ASCII" characters are displayed improperly in the PDF document. The easy solution to this problem is to use non-Microsoft fonts in your file. Microsoft fonts include Arial, certain variations of Times, Verdana and Wingdings, among others. If you replace these fonts with Macintosh standard fonts or with fonts made by a non-Microsoft vendor, the garbled characters should appear correctly in the PDF file. We recommend using PostScript fonts from a reliable font foundry/vendor, such as Adobe or ITC, since these fonts rarely cause this problem.
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