Increase the Accuracy by Using these Tips

The secret to better translation results is making sure the source text is well written, using proper punctuation, sentence structure, correct spellings and grammar. Both human translators and translation software need documents that are clear and concise but it is even more important when working with software. When you need to convey information intended for translation, write in a direct style.

Below are some tips that will help you get the most out of our translation tools.

Quick Overview:

• The source text must be grammatically correct.

• Use complete, grammatically correct sentences.

• Punctuation is very important, separate the clauses with commas.

• Try to use simple and declarative sentences.

• Avoid ambiguity (examples: 'the moving car' or 'moving the car', rather than 'moving car'; 'the brake light and the tail lights' rather than 'the brake and tail lights').

• Avoid abbreviations and colloquialisms (example: a word like 'snakes' in the sentence 'The road snakes around' will not translate properly if the word 'snakes' is not used as a verb in the target language).

Write in a Simple, Clear Style
Systran's translation software can easily translate complex sentence structures but avoid getting too complex, extra clauses, ambiguous phrases, sentence fragments and unnecessary words.

Concise, Clear and To The Point
Do not leave out necessary grammatical elements and use complete short sentences.

Do Not Leave Out Necessary Words
The English language allows us clearly convey our intentions even when we omit certain words, such as relative pronouns (who, whom, that, which), prepositions, and parts of verbs. In other languages these words are required and must be included in documents that will be translated.

Avoid using Slang or Idioms
Avoid idioms or slang in documents you plan to translate because these can differ from country to country. Terms commonly used in the US will not accurately translate for use in other countries. Example of an idiom:: take the wind out of (one's) sails - To rob of an advantage; deflate.

Use Proper Punctuation
Make sure you use the correct punctuation. Punctuation is a guide for both computer translation software and human translators. It is used to divide a sentence into logical parts. Without correct punctuation, sentences can be interpreted in several ways.

Accurate Spelling is very important
Check your spelling and use your spell-checker before clicking the translation icon. If you give the computer incorrect information, your translation will be misinterpreted.

Use Articles Whenever Possible.
An article is a word used to indicate a noun and to state its purpose. For example, in English, the definite article is 'the' and the 'indefinite articles are 'a' and 'an'. Use of articles reduces ambiguities and gives you better translation results.

Consistent Use of Terminology and Abbreviations
Always use the same word, phrase or abbreviation to describe the same object or actions each time that they appear in a document. Inconsistent wording can cause confusion for both humans and computers.

Use the Translation Tools Effectively, Take the Time to Build Customer Specific Dictionaries
You will be surprised how easily you can increase the accuracy of your translations by developing additional Customer Specific Dictionaries. You can train the software to your specific style of witting or subject matter. Building a Dictionary with Systran is simple and is designed in excel format with columns for your source and target words. The new built in "part of speech" selector gives you the ability to build a dictionary with out being a linguistic expert. 

Tip: When adding words remember there can be double meanings for many English words.  

The following word has two meanings but is spelled the same:

Wind
1. Wind; meaning, a strong breeze. (This is a Noun)
2. Wind;  meaning, To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly. (This is a Verb)

With Systran's dictionary coding the software helps determine how to translate the word "wind" by telling it the part of speech.

How to add "wind" to the dictionary 
You want to add the article with the word, for example, in the dictionary put in "the wind" (noun) "a wind" (noun) and then also add "wind up" (verb) "to wind" (verb). Now when you translate your document and it has these words/ phrases it will see how it is used in the sentence to determine the best translation.

Retranslate and Check Again
Once you have translated your text and you have either Systran Professional Standard or Systran Professional Premium you can add words to the dictionary. After the changes to the system are saved, retranslate the text to verify that the new entries are in effect. It is important at this point to check for regressions. Regressions occur commonly in Machine Translation output. They can sometimes originate with an incorrectly coded dictionary entry. For example, a user might supply a translation that is correct in the context of one sentence, but incorrect in another context.