Finnotype

It is not easy to write text that translates well. We just started translating  Magnolia CMS documentation  into Chinese. Here are five insights we learned on the way that make work easier for authors and translators. 1. Chinese Wikipedia is your friend Many software terms are well known in their original English form and may not need translation. For proprietary and established terms, check if Chinese Wikipedia translated them. If Wikipedia translates the term, you probably should too: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web容器 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_container If Wikipedia does not translate the term, you likely don't need to either. http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Servlet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Servlet Using commonly accepted, established terms avoids a lot of confusion. Users who read general documentation about the Java platform and Web technologies can apply the terms they learned. 2. Lower case and upper case don't exis...

Translating website content just got easier. Magnolia CMS now supports XLIFF as a content export format. I sat down with Language Technologist Twan Sevriens  to test the feature and learn how it makes a translation workflow easier. Translating a multilanguage website When you translate a website into multiple languages, you typically have two options: Translate the content within the CMS. Export the content in some file format, translate it outside the system, and import the results back. Although the first option sounds promising it has the drawback that most CMS systems are not built to optimize the translation workflow. Translators prefer to use CAT (computer-aided translation) tools that support and facilitate the translation process. CAT tools give direct access to helper functions and present the translator with just the text they need to translate, hiding details such as formatting. Looking for speed and consistency ...