Customer Name: ALD Automotive
Customer Sector: Automotive, Fleet Management
In this current project, we were provided with an Excel worksheet with the content to be used in a web-based platform of the company after being translated from English into Turkish. The source text includes, among others, various web pages as well as menu items and options related to various functions and procedures for a wide range of services including fleet management, car insurance, leasing, and invoicing.
CHALLENGES
- Before beginning the translation process, we were informed that the English text provided was actually a translated text from Greek. This information is crucial and must be taken into consideration to determine the level of internal consistency and accuracy of the English text. Any ambiguity in the secondary source text (i.e., the English version) must be addressed and clarified to establish a concrete and reliable termbase and glossary since the entire text contains recurrent terminology and themes; therefore, one small mistake may snowball into more serious problems in the course of the translation and localization process.
- In addition to some ambiguity and inconsistencies in the secondary source text, there were also some missing words or elements which required consulting with the client or otherwise making an educated guess to complete the missing pieces as the last resort and adding comments to the corresponding comments section for editor review.
- Since we were unable to view the user interface, it was difficult to understand the overall context in which certain words and phrases were used while others were used in the form of a stand-alone word leading to even less to no context at all.
SOLUTIONS
- Ambiguous, inconsistent or otherwise missing elements in the secondary source text were identified and necessary measures were taken to the greatest extent possible. The comments section provided for the translator to add comments for the editor review was actively used to provide feedback and add more context for the editor to work on.
- Cells that do not provide context were left blank for the time being and later returned after getting more context from translating the overall document. In this way, most of the context was obtained by working through the document and missing elements were supplemented accordingly.
- A glossary was created and consistent terminology was used throughout the document.
SOLUTION ELEMENTS
- Experience in website translation and localization in the automotive industry.
- Technical terminology knowledge.
- Being familiar with standard menu items, functions, and menu options of websites and web-based systems.
- Close collaboration with the client and the editors.
BENEFITS
- Providing the client with a reliable and consistent target text to be incorporated into their website.
- Contribution to creating an accurate user interface so that the users easily understand and navigate through the menu items and pages without any issues.
