Translation - art & business » Translator resources »
Open parallel text
Thread poster: henryhu
henryhu
henryhu
Local time: 17:47
English to Chinese
Jan 26, 2014

I'm creating an open parallel corpus that everyone can contribute and have access to. In the usual situation, translators maintain their own parallel text. Why not to share the part of it that can come to be public? Though we can't make sure of the quality of others' text, good quality can be achieved though well-design mechanism.
 
FarkasAndras
FarkasAndras  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:47
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Yet another? Jan 26, 2014

The idea is hardly novel:
http://opus.lingfil.uu.se/
See more
The idea is hardly novel:
http://opus.lingfil.uu.se/
http://ipsc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php?id=197
http://mymemory.translated.net/
https://www.tausdata.org/
http://www.linguee.com/
http://www.wordfast.com/products_vltm.html
http://www.farkastranslations.com/bilingual_books.php

...and these are only the ones that I remember off the top of my head (I used most of them at one time or another, and I created the last one).

Think long and hard about whether your idea has some unique value that none of the existing schemes provide. ▲ Collapse
 
Rolf Keller
Rolf Keller
Germany
Local time: 11:47
English to German
Quality vs. "quality" Jan 27, 2014

henryhu wrote:

everyone can contribute ... good quality can be achieved though well-design mechanism


Um ... must be a very sophisticated mechanism.
 
henryhu
henryhu
Local time: 17:47
English to Chinese
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Feb 1, 2014

FarkasAndras wrote:

The idea is hardly novel:
http://opus.lingfil.uu.se/
http://ipsc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php?id=197
http://mymemory.translated.net/
https://www.tausdata.org/
http://www.linguee.com/
http://www.wordfast.com/products_vltm.html
http://www.farkastranslations.com/bilingual_books.php

...and these are only the ones that I remember off the top of my head (I used most of them at one time or another, and I created the last one).

Think long and hard about whether your idea has some unique value that none of the existing schemes provide.


I checked a few you mentioned. Yes, I think there is need to build another one. Everyone should be able to simply add and edit parallel text. Text should be conveniently searched and browsed cross-devices. I'm not satisfied with existing products. So I launched a campaign (www.indiegogo.com/projects/open-parallel-text) to create another one. I hope it will provide consistent experience on mobile devices.
 
FarkasAndras
FarkasAndras  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:47
English to Hungarian
+ ...
How is it supposed to be used? Feb 10, 2014

So, what's the idea here?

Is this aimed at translators? I.e. you upload your TMs and search them in the online system, while also searching in other people's shared stuff? Will there be an in-browser CAT as in Wordfast Anywhere? Are all uploaded TMs automatically added to the big shared DB? Will you be crawling the web to collect and align material?

Personally, I don't see any use for a mobile-friendly TM site. I hope nobody translates on a smartphone or a tablet.
 
henryhu
henryhu
Local time: 17:47
English to Chinese
TOPIC STARTER
An alternative and more Mar 2, 2014

FarkasAndras wrote:

So, what's the idea here?

Is this aimed at translators? I.e. you upload your TMs and search them in the online system, while also searching in other people's shared stuff? Will there be an in-browser CAT as in Wordfast Anywhere? Are all uploaded TMs automatically added to the big shared DB? Will you be crawling the web to collect and align material?

Personally, I don't see any use for a mobile-friendly TM site. I hope nobody translates on a smartphone or a tablet.


Yes, these are the issues I've been trying to work out. It aims at translators definitely. TMs would be public or private. Only the public stuff can be searched by other users. It is intended to be an in-browser CAT.

There are a number of projects is to crawl the web to collect bilingual text. However, the quality of automatic collection is not satisfying. The manual translation is more reliable for translators by now.

Mobile devices are increasingly common. Why not perform translation tasks on them? Even so, reviewing and making minor changes conveniently on a smartphone or a tablet is definitely helpful. Try this demo on different devices http://wohub.org/demo
 
FarkasAndras
FarkasAndras  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:47
English to Hungarian
+ ...
I don't really see the appeal Mar 2, 2014

henryhu wrote:

It is intended to be an in-browser CAT.

Do you realize that a) that is an immense job (that includes writing, maintaining and supporting MS Office import/export features) and it is unlikely that a single person can do it well and b) you would be competing against a free service offered by an established competitor?


henryhu wrote:
Mobile devices are increasingly common. Why not perform translation tasks on them?


They are increasingly common, but they are made for exactly the opposite kind of use. They are designed for content consumption and games "on the move" via the touchscreen, not for professional productivity applications. Do you want to type thousands of words on a touchscreen?
Sure, some people would occasionally use an in-browser CAT on an ipad but it's hardly a market you can make a living off of.

This thread hasn't exactly blown up with interest, and neither has the indiegogo page. I would take that as a signal.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Maria Castro[Call to this topic]
Nawal Kramer[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Open parallel text







Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »
Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »