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CELAN WP3 – DELIVERABLE D.3.4

LANGUAGE POLICY/STRATEGY MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT

FOR SOLVING LANGUAGE PROBLEMS

Project Title: CELAN Project Type: Network Project Programme: LLP – KA2 Project No: 196466-LLP-1-2010-1-BE-KA2-KA2PLA

Version: 1.1

Date: 2013-02-25

Author: Infoterm

Contributors: Universität Wien (investigations), other CELAN partners (comments)

The CELAN network project has been funded with support from the European Commission, LLP programme, KA2. This communication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Abbreviations AAC alternative and augmentative communication AT authoring tools BI business intelligence BRO business representative organizations CALL computer-assisted language learning CI corporate identity CL corporate language CMS content management systems CNL controlled natural language CRM customer relationship management CSR corporate social responsibility DTP desktop publishing ERP enterprise resource planning HEI higher education institutions ICT Information and communication technologies IPR Intellectual property rights LCR language and other content resources LI language industry LLL life-long learning LMS learning management system LS language services LSP language service providers LT language technology LT&T language teaching and training LTT language technology tools OPI over the phone interpreting PwD persons with disabilities R&D research and development SaaS software as a service SME small and medium-sized enterprises TD technical documentation TDB terminology database UNCRPD United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

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Table of Contents

Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 2

Foreword ............................................................................................................................... 4

1 Business – globalization – language .............................................................................. 5

2 Interpersonal business communication .......................................................................... 7

2.1 Spoken interpersonal communication – employing interpreters ................................. 9

2.2 Written interpersonal communication – employing translators .................................. 10

2.3 New forms of interpersonal business communication ............................................... 11

2.3.1 Teleconferencing ..................................................................................................... 12

2.3.2 Instant translation and interpreting ........................................................................... 12

2.3.3 Communication with and among persons with disabilities (PwD) ............................. 13

3 Professional interpreting, translation, localization ........................................................ 15

3.1 Interpreting and translation services ........................................................................ 15

3.1.1 Interpreting services ................................................................................................. 16

3.1.2 Translation services ................................................................................................. 17

3.2 Localization (and internationalization) services ........................................................ 18

4 Training and learning technologies .............................................................................. 20

5 Text-related activities and technologies ....................................................................... 22

6 Digital marketing and LI solutions ................................................................................ 25

7 Information gathering and business intelligence .......................................................... 26

8 Language policies/strategies ....................................................................................... 28

8.1 Comprehensive enterprise-wide language policy ..................................................... 29

8.2 Generic approaches, tools or services to support a language policy ........................ 30

8.2.1 Terminology and other language and content resources (LCR) ............................... 31

8.2.2 Controlled natural language (CNL) ........................................................................... 34

8.2.3 Style guide ............................................................................................................... 34

References .......................................................................................................................... 36

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Foreword

The aim of this “Language policy/strategy management toolkit for solving language problems” is to identify and highlight the components and strategies of successful corporate language strategies. It is a result of the EU project CELAN “Network for the promotion of language strategies for competitiveness and employability“. In the course of economic globalization language-related needs in industry&business have increased to an extent unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago. Therefore, the relevance of language to competitiveness and employability has become a major issue in EU policy, in general, and in EU language policy and language education policy, in particular. CELAN sees business-related language needs not only in relation to language teaching, learning and assessment – important though these are – but also with regards to the broad range of opportunities provided by the language industry (LI). The LI with its products and services has developed at a tremendous pace over the last 5-10 years – largely beyond the radar of those, who might benefit most, by supporting their intentions to globalize: namely managers of SME (small and medium-sized enterprises).

This Toolkit puts your organization’s actual or potential language-related needs in perspective to traditional and state-of-the-art offerings of the LI1 in terms of:

◉ Language technology (LT) and language technology tools/systems (LTT),

◉ Language and other content resources (LCR),

◉ Language services (LS) and language service providers (LSP). It provides you with recommendations and links to further useful information. Since about 10 years LT has entered the market with highest growth rates and with a growing range of practical solutions to facilitate language use geared towards:

◉ Enterprises to facilitate all kind of processes where language plays a role;

◉ LSP to render their language-related services more efficiently.

The CELAN “Language policy/strategy management toolkit for solving

language problems” is the first comprehensive toolkit about this topic.

There are more LI solutions to your language issues available than you expect!

But be aware of the fact that “One Solution Does Not Fit All”

1 The “CELAN Typology of Language Industry Products and Services” (see Appendix 1) provides you

with an overview on the categories of LI products and services that you can find on the market.

Industry&business – due to the speed of this development – is often not aware of:

◉ The dimensions of its language-related needs under the pressure to globalize,

◉ The broad range of solutions the LI can offer today for most of these needs. Overwhelmed by the complexity of the ever-increasing language-related needs more and more enterprises consider either investing in in-house capacities and resources, or outsourcing the language-related activities to traditional and newly emerging language service providers (LSP). The “right mix” may often be the optimal solution.

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1 Business – globalization – language Generally speaking, there are some obvious and many hidden connections between

◉ The use of language (whether in written or spoken form, or whether used in the form of electronic documents or as structured content in databases), and

◉ The economic performance of an enterprise. This has many facets: from “efficient” communication (internally and with the world outside), via corporate language (CL) and corporate identity (CI) to content and knowledge management – not to mention marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising, legal cases, insurance issues, business intelligence, etc. – in short: everywhere where language is involved.

What is the role of the language industry? Globalization – in the economic sense, largely accelerated due to the development of the Internet – has fundamentally changed the way of how exports and trade are conducted: from physical presence, (analogous) communication and documentation … to electronic exchange of information. In connection with the language industry

◉ Globalization refers to all business decisions and activities required to make an organization truly international in scope and outlook which implies the transformation of business, processes and products to support customers around the world, in whatever language, country, or culture they require;

◉ Localization is the process of modifying products or services to account for differences in distinct markets making it an integral part of globalization, and without it, other globalization efforts are likely to be ineffective.

◉ Internationalization is the process of enabling a product at a technical level for localization so that it does not require remedial engineering or redesign at the time of localization. Instead, it has been designed and built from the outset to be easily adapted for a specific application after the engineering phase.

As a consequence of recent developments information&communication and the language or languages used in as well as the language technology tools/systems (LTT) used to support information&communication have become a major management issue.

What does it mean for you?

Latest when your enterprise wants to enter foreign markets you will seriously have to consider “language” and how to deal with language issues. The more you are communicating with customers or business partners in foreign countries using different languages (and even different writing systems), the more you may be urged

In most of these facets not just language, but the “right language” has to be used for a given purpose. The elements for the “right language” can be chosen today from big content resources available through language technology (LT)

◉ For written communication, technical documentation and all kinds of other content,

◉ For learning or searching purposes in spoken communication.

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to develop a strategy or policy to cope with the manifold guises of language issues and the problems they might create. Such a strategy certainly will comprise aspects of globalization, localization and internationalization in the sense of the LI. Just technical documentation or more than that?

Still today, enterprises start thinking about LI solutions in connection with their technical documentation/technical communication, only to find out sooner or later that they actually need a more comprehensive and holistic approach – up to formulating an explicit language policy. What to consider first: In-house solutions or outsourcing?

When confronted with a language-related issue, your first thought may be:

◉ Can/should we deal with it in-house with our own resources? (and how to manage it in terms of financial and human resources?)

◉ Can/should we buy the solution by outsourcing? (and maybe at the same time streamline in-house processes)

What is addressed by the Toolkit?

The information has been gathered from successful practices and refers to enterprises’ language- or LI-related needs concerning:

◉ Interpersonal communication,

◉ Professional interpreting, translation, localization,

◉ Training and learning technologies,

◉ Text-related activities and technologies,

◉ Digital marketing and LI solutions,

◉ Information gathering and business intelligence,

◉ Language policies/strategies.

Language strategies may refer to one or some of the above-mentioned needs. A full-fledged language policy will refer to most or all of them.

Obviously, language-related needs differ from enterprise to enterprise. It may be possible that a small, but highly globalized enterprise needs and uses even highly sophisticated LI products and services while a large-scale highly globalized enterprise has only limited language-related needs and accordingly uses only few LI products and services. Thus, it is only logical that each enterprise develops its own strategy how to manage its language-related issues.

This Management Toolkit provides you with basic information to find good solutions for language-related needs – whether through

◉ Investing in in-house resources,

◉ Outsourcing to external language service providers (LSP), or by planning the right mix of in-house and outsourcing solutions best fitting your enterprise.

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2 Interpersonal business communication Interpersonal business communication in industry&business takes place mainly in written or spoken form with different communication partners or audiences, such as:

◉ With customers,

◉ With business partners,

◉ With suppliers,

◉ In associations,

◉ At conferences, workshops, festivities, etc.,

◉ At media events,

◉ For lobbying purposes,

◉ With ICT (incl. LTT) developers,

◉ With service providers (incl. LSP), etc.

Efficient and effective communication in various situations facilitates cooperation, avoids misunderstanding and is definitely beneficial for business in general. More than ever, inter-personal communication is carried out in foreign languages and increasingly supported by suitable LI products and services.

Where and how is interpersonal business communication taking place?

Inter-personal communication may have to be conducted whether at home or abroad at different language levels (registers) and – especially when carried out in foreign languages – have to take into account cultural differences. Its purpose may vary, e.g. if it takes place in highly formal environments or very informal settings – with many variations in between. They may also take place at different levels of the enterprise – management, research and development (R&D), administration, work-place levels (e.g. office assistants, workshop) – all having their specific language conventions. Different language levels, purposes and other needs may require different solutions (incl. training) for optimizing the results. Besides, the different needs may ask for the use of different LI products and language services. You can largely distinguish between:

◉ Spoken interpersonal communication,

◉ Written interpersonal communication,

◉ New forms of interpersonal communication. In this chapter:

◉ Spoken interpersonal communication refers to all kinds of encounters with foreign business partners or guests, where oral communication in a foreign language (duly respecting also intercultural communication aspects) are or could be an asset. Increasingly such encounters take place via traditional and modern forms of telecommunication.

If such a communication is or could become very sensitive, it may be advisable to contract a professional interpreter – or train your own managers, employees or interpreters accordingly.

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◉ Written interpersonal communication refers to e-mails, letters and other forms of formal and informal written interpersonal communication that have to be written adequately depending on the communication partner, the degree of formality and the purpose. Therefore, cultural differences and conventions may have to be observed here, too, as well as the degree of familiarity with the communication partner and the critical nature of the communication content.

Specialized translation will not be required in many cases in connection with written interpersonal communication. Nevertheless, there may be instances where translation by a specialized translator is advisable for example when the communication can have serious socio-economic, cultural, security, or legal implications.

Office automation and communication technology is developing more and more support tools (in terms of ICT hardware and software) that can be used in new or different ways for written interpersonal communication with or without additional use of LI products and services. At the same time, these developments demand for specific competences /skills on the part of people.

It is advisable to see the language competences/skills of management, employees and external collaborators from the point of view of a communication strategy including aspects of corporate language, corporate identity, branding, image cultivation, etc. Some organizations even may consider to develop an education and training strategy (incl. foreign language acquisition) – with or without making use of learning technologies, with or without external service providers.

How can competences/skills for interpersonal business communication be

developed? Some sort of foreign language learning/training is indispensable to develop the necessary competences/skills for interpersonal business communication. When planning to develop the necessary foreign language competences/skills for interpersonal business communication in-house, the following questions may be considered:

◉ For which purposes and levels are the language competences/skills needed?

◉ To which extent is it necessary/sufficient to learn only the spoken language?

◉ To which extent is it necessary/sufficient to learn only the written language?

◉ When is it necessary to acquire both oral and written language competences/skills?

◉ Do cultural differences (such as e.g. mimic and gestures in oral communication or linguistic conventions in written communication) have to be included?

◉ Which LI products or language services may be useful? An alternative may be to employ people having already acquired the respective language competences/skills or to employ the respective mother-tongue speakers.

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How can you support foreign language learning?

If language competences/skills are the responsibility of individual managers, staff and external cooperators, you could support them among others by

◉ Giving them general guidelines and recommendations,

◉ Letting them have access to the most suitable language learning technology,

◉ Providing them with information on language training opportunities, including language travels, language learning platforms on the Internet, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and other self-learning opportunities,

◉ Offering arrangements with individual language trainers or language training organizations,

◉ Making them aware of the importance of cultural differences in connection with spoken communication,

◉ Implementing incentive systems for acquiring language competences/skills. Is intercultural communication an issue?

If intercultural communication training is important for some or all managers, employees or external collaborators of the enterprise, you could support the respective training among others by

◉ Giving them general guidelines and recommendations,

◉ Providing them with information on intercultural communication training opportunities,

◉ Offering them in-house intercultural communication training courses,

◉ Implementing incentive systems for acquiring intercultural communication competences/skills.

2.1 Spoken interpersonal communication – employing interpreters Spoken interpersonal communication can be facilitated by:

◉ Developing (foreign) language competences/skills in-house, (e.g. by training, see above)

◉ Employing interpreters,

◉ Outsourcing interpreting to external interpreting service providers. Professional interpreting is not always required in oral interpersonal business communication, but there may be occasions where interpreting by a professional interpreter is strongly advisable – for instance, when the communication can have serious socio-economic, cultural, security, or legal implications.

Be aware of the fact that today there are several distinct kinds of interpreting. (see: para. 3.1.1)

Do you want to employ in-house interpreters?

When employing an interpreter you may look for the following competences:

◉ Excellent mother-tongue and foreign language competences,

◉ Excellent intercultural communication competences,

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◉ Familiarity with information search methods and technology for preparing the interpreting task at the event,

◉ Good knowledge of the domains related to your enterprise in general or specific events/projects or activities.

Depending on the purpose, place/situation and duration of the employment, you may need to consider that:

◉ Highly specialized interpreters may be overqualified for some kinds of interpreting or under-qualified for others,

◉ Interpreters are specialized only for certain language combinations,

◉ Interpreters are not necessarily qualified for certain kinds of translations,

◉ For limited or urgent interpretation needs you may use the services of a telephone interpreting provider (if possible using teleconferencing facilities).

How can you support your interpreters?

You can support the work of your interpreters by:

◉ Providing them with necessary and standard-conformant interpretation equipment (e.g. sound-proof cabins, professional earphones, microphones, etc.) – which, if not needed on a regular basis, can also be rented from specialized agencies or provided by a language service provider,

◉ Offering them access to your company’s terminology (e.g. in the form of your terminology database if it exists),

◉ Giving them the chance for a regular updating and upgrading of their competences/skills in order to keep them abreast with the developments on the market.

Do you want to outsource interpreting to external interpreters or interpreting

services? See para. 3.1.1

2.2 Written interpersonal communication – employing translators Written interpersonal communication (in foreign languages) can be facilitated by:

◉ Developing the respective language competences/skills in-house, (e.g. by training, see above)

◉ Employing translators,

◉ Outsourcing translations to external translation service providers. Specialized translation is not always required in written interpersonal communication, but there may be occasions where a translation by a specialized translator is strongly advisable – for example: when the communication can have serious socio-economic, cultural, security, or legal implications.

Be aware of the fact that in the last 10-15 years human translation has diversified and specialized on the one hand, and the use of translation technology has tremendously increased, on the other hand. (see: 3.1.2)

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Do you want to employ in-house translators?

When employing a professional translator you may look for the following competences:

◉ Excellent mother-tongue and foreign language competences,

◉ Awareness of intercultural communication aspects,

◉ Familiarity with translation technology and translation-related standards,

◉ Good knowledge of the domains related to your enterprise. Depending on the purpose of the translation work, you may need to consider that:

◉ Highly specialized translators may be overqualified for some kinds of translation or under-qualified for others,

◉ Translators are not necessarily qualified for interpreting jobs,

◉ For limited or urgent translation needs you may use the services of a professional translator or a translation service provider equipped with state-of-the-art translation technology.

How can you support your translators?

You can support the work of your translators by:

◉ Providing them with the necessary translation tools (e.g. for terminology management, translation memory, etc.),

◉ Offering them access to your company’s terminology (e.g. in the form of your terminology database if it exists),

◉ Making them familiar with your organization’s conventions, e.g. laid down in a style guide (see: 8.2.3), in order to avoid later revision,

◉ Giving them the chance for a regular updating and upgrading of their competences/skills in order to keep them abreast with the developments on the market.

Special requirements, such as different writing systems (e.g. Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic, etc.), may necessitate more time for individual translation jobs, or need extra language technology tools (LTT) or specialized language and other content resources (LCR). Do you want to outsource translation to external translators or translation

services? See para. 3.1.2

2.3 New forms of interpersonal business communication New forms of interpersonal business communication supported by ICT developments are emerging nearly every year. Some – like the social media – are so widely used that companies can no longer neglect them (in spite of potential security problems and other risks).

It may be advisable to formulate guidelines on the use of new ICT communication systems and channels – not least with a view to information

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security. Such guidelines should comprise foreign language as well as intercultural communication aspects, if necessary. In the case of highly knowledge-sensitive enterprises it may be worthwhile to organize trainings or information activities concerning the benefits and pitfalls of modern communication systems.

2.3.1 Teleconferencing Today, you can communicate orally through many channels (Skype, Google, Microsoft etc. – not to mention professional teleconferencing services/systems) bilaterally or in groups. If there are several communication partners, you may have to take into consideration the nature of your relation to and cultural background of each individual communication partner. If you can see each other while teleconferencing, you may have to be aware of the “hidden dimensions” of communication, i.e. the effect of your mimics and gestures on the others and the others’ mimics and gestures on yourself. How can you make best use of teleconferencing?

Teleconferencing can be used at various levels of technical sophistication, from video conferencing (equipment or service providers) to freely available software. It can be used in-house, between different parts of the enterprise or with any communication partner outside. You can

◉ Chat (=written communication) in parallel to a group call with one or all participants to a teleconference;

◉ Work on formulating texts together via teleconferencing;

◉ Ask an interpreter to assist in the teleconference;

◉ Ask a translator to provide instant translations to limited lines of text or formulations during a teleconference;

◉ Include participants through their mobile devices.

The booming ICT development in direction of mobile devices will only generate more aspects to be taken into account in the future.

Not least with respect to the potential threat of knowledge leaks you may consider to formulate guidelines for using modern teleconferencing systems which are increasingly also usable on mobile devices. Such guidelines should include aspects related to language use and intercultural communication.

2.3.2 Instant translation and interpreting Due to most recent breakthroughs in speech and text recognition technology, the first practically usable tools emerged among others:

◉ To “read” any kind of text you may find anywhere and capture e.g. with the camera of your mobile phone and

o pronounce it to you by speech synthesis, o translate it to you by machine translation;

◉ To interpret spoken utterances into another language by mobile phone in such a way that

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o the utterance is displayed in textual form on the display of your mobile phone,

o rendered into another language in textual form and displayed on the display of your mobile phone,

o pronounced to you by speech synthesis;

◉ To combine the above with information gathering in such a way that for instance

o you can talk in your language to a communication partner in his/her language,

o about meeting in a given place and at a given time for eating Japanese-style “sushi”,

o and immediately be able to locate a restaurant and make a reservation, o this is communicated instantly to your communication partner in his/her

language. How can you make best use of instant translation and interpreting?

Instant translation and interpreting can be or become very useful to anybody in your organization, for instance going abroad or communicating with employees speaking a different language. Some have additional features, such as vocabulary trainer for language learning.

Some of the functions and features offered by instant translation and interpreting are still at a low level of maturity and reduced to dialogues. However, it may be only a matter of a couple of years that you will have to seriously consider the impact of this integration/interoperability of systems and content on your organization’s internal and external communication – especially with respect to potential benefits and risks.

2.3.3 Communication with and among persons with disabilities (PwD) According to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), adopted on 13 December 2006, persons with disabilities shall not be discriminated. Sooner or later all signatories of the UNCRPD will have to take eAccessibility/eInclusion into account not only in their legislation, but also by enforcing the respective legal provisions in all public affairs (e.g. public eProcurement). Independent from any legal obligations, you may wish to fulfill general ethical obligations e.g. out of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

There may be several good reasons anyhow why it may be beneficial for your enterprise to employ PwD. Besides, there exist already in many European countries support schemes for enterprises to employ PwD.

How can you make best use of assistive technologies?

In connection with language/communication impairments there are pertinent assistive technologies and professional communication services which help persons with:

◉ Communication disorders,

◉ Hearing impairment,

◉ Vision impairment,

◉ Cognitive impairment.

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What is the mutual benefit?

Persons with language/communication impairments – not necessarily only those with a low degree of impairment – could become valuable collaborators in your enterprise. Besides, in many countries there are support schemes for those with a higher degree of impairment. In addition, new assistive technology tools/systems are emerging allowing new types of

communication services for PwD which refer, for instance, to the development of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) content resources or the adaptation of existing language and other content resources LCR. Sign interpreting – in one language

or between languages – can already be called a “traditional” language service (LS). There are new developments on the market, such as tools enabling instant subtitling of PowerPoint presentations at conferences, dubbing of movies, etc. This facilitates communication with PwD on the one hand, while helping you to comply with societal and legal requirements on the other hand. In addition, most assistive technologies have proved to be useful not only to PwD, but to everybody (especially on mobile devices).

Given the interdependence of interpersonal communication with other aspects where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see: chapter 8)

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3 Professional interpreting, translation, localization This chapter deals with regular outsourcing of language mediation tasks to language service providers (LSP). These tasks traditionally comprise:

◉ Interpreting services,

◉ Translation services, to which we can add today:

◉ Localization (and internationalization) services. Other kinds of language services, such as language teaching and training (LT&T) services and text-related services are dealt with in chapters 4 and 5, respectively. Do you want to keep interpreting, translation and localization done in-house?

If you want to get some or all of the interpreting, translation and localization tasks done in-house, (see also: chapter 2) you may consider that:

◉ For the sake of efficiency, effectiveness and quality you will have to purchase, lease or develop yourself the tools/systems best fitting your needs,

◉ Such tools/systems are particularly effective when used by competent professionals,

◉ Competent interpreting, translation and localization experts need regular updating and upgrading of their competences/skills in order to keep abreast with the developments on the market.

Do you want to hire interpreting, translation and localization services?

Make sure that professionals and agencies specialized on interpreting, translation and localization services:

◉ Know the necessary language technology tools/systems,

◉ Are familiar with the pertinent legal provisions and standards,

◉ Are certified based on standards if there is a trustable certification scheme. If you expect that the LSP you choose is qualified, you may request a pertinent certification of the qualification:

◉ By a neutral certification authority (i.e. third-party assessment),

◉ On the basis of a pertinent standard (if it exists),

◉ On the basis of general quality assurance (e.g. on the basis of the ISO 9000 series).

3.1 Interpreting and translation services First observation: interpreting ≠ translation – although:

◉ Some interpreters also do (usually only certain kinds of) translation,

◉ Some translators also perform (usually only certain kinds of) interpretation. Some LSP agencies are both, interpreting and translation service providers. Interpreting agencies as well as groups of cooperating conference interpreters may offer additional services helping you to organize events of all sorts.

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What can you expect from a professional interpreter or translator? – What can a professional interpreter or translator expect from you as customer? (1) September 2009, FIT Europe, the Regional Centre Europe of the International Federation of Translators, adopted a Code of Professional Practice which lays down the basic rights and obligations of translators and interpreters as a non-exhaustive guide for its member associations. You can find this Guide and equivalent national codes at: http://www.fit-europe.org/ethics.html (2) Many LSP enterprises have their own business rules, in some countries there exist model business rules for LSP formulated by their business associations.

3.1.1 Interpreting services Compared to 10-15 years ago, human interpreting has seen a tremendous diversification. From the once simple division of simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting, the following main modes of interpreting have emerged:

◉ Simultaneous interpreting (as common in conference interpreting),

◉ Consecutive interpreting (e.g. at negotiations),

◉ Community interpreting (typically including medical, educational, housing, social security and legal areas),

◉ Telephone interpreting (or over the phone interpreting, OPI),

◉ Signing (sign interpreting for situations where persons with hearing impairment are present).

In addition, film or video dubbing – depending on the way it is done – can also be seen as a kind of interpretation. Interpreting services can be rendered by individual interpreters, teams of interpreters or interpreting services providers (also called interpreting agencies). What should you consider when contracting interpreting services?

Depending on the purpose, place/situation and duration of the contracted interpreting job, you may need to consider:

◉ Highly specialized interpreters may be overqualified for some kinds of interpretation or under-qualified for others,

◉ Interpreters are not necessarily qualified for certain kinds of translations,

◉ There are associations of professional interpreters and specialized language service providers (LSP) whom you can ask for assistance,

◉ For limited or urgent interpretation needs, you may use the services of a telephone interpreting provider (if possible, using teleconferencing facilities).

How can you support the interpreters? You can support the work of the contracted interpreters or interpreting service – and thus, increase the potential for a good result of the interpretation in your own interest – by:

◉ Providing the interpreter with background information as well as with pertinent documentation in preparation of the interpreting job,

◉ Offering the interpreter access to your company’s terminology (e.g. in the form of your terminology database if it exists).

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3.1.2 Translation services Compared to 10-15 years ago, human translation has seen a diversification and specialization, on the one hand, and the increased use of – and sometimes replacement by – translation technology, on the other hand. In the past, there were mainly two types of translation: literary and specialized translation. Over the last decades, specialized translation activities have skyrocketed and diversified tremendously into many different kinds including:

◉ Specialized translation in domains, like legal, technical, scientific, medical, etc.;

◉ Specialized translation in application fields, such as patent translation;

◉ Media translation;

◉ Subtitling and dubbing, etc. All of the above further differentiate into new specializations, sometimes requiring:

◉ A high level of domain knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology as well as textual, social, cultural and linguistic conventions;

◉ Specific training, legal-administrative and domain knowledge (such as in medical and pharmaceutical translation), because of the highly technical content on the one side, and societally sensitive and legally regulated nature of many of these texts on the other side.

Similar developments have taken place in the fields of legal, scientific and business translation, where the growing demand has led to further diversification of specialization. This has triggered further specialization among service providers. While not necessarily excluding general language translation, translation service providers in the LI focus on specialized translation. What should you consider when contracting translation services?

Depending on the purpose of contracting translation services, you may need to consider that:

◉ Highly specialized translators may be overqualified for some kinds of translation or under-qualified for others,

◉ Translators are not necessarily qualified for certain interpreting jobs

◉ There are associations of professional translators and translation service providers (LSP) whom you can ask for assistance,

◉ For limited or urgent translation needs you may use the services of a translation agency or individual translator with a long-standing working relation equipped with state-of-the-art ICT and in particular LT.

How can you support the contracted translators? You can support the work of the contracted translator or translation service – and thus increase the potential for a good result of the translation in your own interest – by:

◉ Providing the translator with background information as well as with pertinent material in preparation of the translation job,

◉ Offering the translator access to your company’s terminology (e.g. in the form of your terminology database if it exists),

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◉ Making the translator familiar with your organization’s conventions, e.g. laid down in a style guide (see: 8.2.3), in order to avoid later revision.

Special requirements, such as different writing systems (e.g. Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic, etc.), may necessitate more time for the translation job, extra language technology tools (LTT) or language and other content resources (LCR).

3.2 Localization (and internationalization) services Localization services - in the sense of the LI - are extensively using any of the language technology tools/systems necessary for their activities. Besides, they belong to the most intensive users of such tools and LCR. How does internationalization relate to localization?

Internationalization was developed as an approach to facilitate localization into a multitude of target markets. It is the process of designing a software application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes. In connection with internationalization, localization pertains to or is concerned with anything that is not global and is bound through specified sets of constraints of:

◉ Linguistic nature: including natural and special languages and associated multilingual requirements;

◉ Jurisdictional nature: i.e. legal, regulatory, geopolitical, etc.;

◉ Sectoral nature: i.e. industry sector, scientific, professional, etc.;

◉ Human rights nature: i.e. privacy, disabled/handicapped persons, etc.;

◉ Consumer behavior requirements;

◉ Safety or health requirements. Localization has diversified among others into:

◉ Manual localization,

◉ Catalogue localization,

◉ Software localization,

◉ Website localization,

◉ Games localization. What should you consider when contracting localization services?

Contracting localization services may need intensive and detailed negotiations and investigations to make sure that the LSP (here: localization service provider):

◉ Is sufficiently familiar with language, culture, customs, and other characteristics of the target locale (=market) in order to be able to adapt your products so they seem natural to a particular region's residents;

◉ Fully masters localization methods and tools and has reliable access to the tools;

◉ Can assist your company in further developing your internationalization methods, rules and guidelines.

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How can you support the contracted localization service provider?

You can support the work of the contracted localization service provider by:

◉ Fully instructing the LSP about your internationalization strategy, methods, rules and guidelines;

◉ Providing the LSP with all necessary information and material in preparation of the localization job;

◉ Offering the LSP access to your company’s terminology (e.g. in the form of your terminology database if it exists),

◉ Making the LSP familiar with your organization’s conventions, e.g. laid down in a style guide (see: 8.2.3), in order to avoid later revision.

Given the interdependence of interpreting, translation and localization with other aspects where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see: chapter 8)

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4 Training and learning technologies This chapter is not only referring to large-scale industry, but also to business representative organizations (BRO) and higher education institutions (HEI) sharing efforts with industry. SME may benefit from the cooperation and resource sharing, if they have access to the results of that cooperation and resource sharing. As most learning processes rely on language, you may consider extending your enterprise education and training strategy to include also language teaching and training (LT&T) and also use one of the systems on the market, such as

◉ A learning management system (LMS),

◉ A learning content management system,

◉ A course management system, or combinations of the above. In the past companies (and other organizations) more or less had only a few ways to raise the level of language competences in the organization:

◉ Employ foreigners, migrants, people from bi-/multi-lingual family background,

◉ Employ people having undergone formal foreign language training at public or private educational institutions,

◉ Encourage or even organize formal foreign language training for their employees.

What should you consider when implementing a company-wide training

strategy? Although there are dedicated approaches and systems for LT&T, it may be worth to consider including LT&T in your general training strategy and use or adapt the training and learning technologies available for this purpose. This would also facilitate the preparation of multiple-use content – i.e. content to be used for subject matter training as well as for language training. For your own company, it could further be coordinated with the corporate language (CL) strategy so that trainees – while learning – are at the same familiarized with the CL and corporate identity (CI) of your organization. The authoring, storage, delivery and reuse of educational content are rapidly becoming a significant problem for industry and HEI alike. As the tertiary sector is beginning to show examples of opening its eLearning systems and content to the public, you may consider sharing your efforts with those of HEI. Effectively being able to manage this authoring process (authoring, storage, delivery and reuse) and sharing efforts with HEI obviously offers significant advantages. What are the challenges to face in content development?

The challenges being faced in the content development process can be summarised as follows:

◉ Little or no archiving of content (each lecturer redevelops content);

◉ Tools used are content developer specific;

◉ Content types supported depend on the platform used by each developer;

◉ Important standards are not necessarily supported (i.e. WCAG, SCORM, etc…);

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◉ Content is typically recreated for each delivery mode (i.e. PDF, PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, etc…);

◉ Content cannot be updated easily.

Given the interdependence of training and learning technologies with other aspects where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see chapter 8)

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5 Text-related activities and technologies In order to stay competitive in your own and expand into new markets, your company should be able to reach as many (potential) customers and markets or countries as possible – or at least as necessary. For this purpose, it is essential to create and distribute high-quality texts or other content in a variety of languages and formats as quickly and professionally as possible. Today, foreign customers demand that your texts have to be not only as professionally correct as possible, but also as linguistically correct as possible. Text technologies greatly improve the professional image while increasing effieciency and assuring quality. Where do texts and other content occur?

Some or all of the following forms of written communication can be important:

◉ Interpersonal business communication, see: chapter 2

◉ Website texts and other content,

◉ Presentations at events (e.g. conferences, workshops, festivities, etc.),

◉ Reports of all sorts,

◉ Technical documentation,

◉ Scientific, technical and other publications. Text technologies today are indispensable for the creation, revision, editing, archiving, re-using and re-purposing of all kinds of texts in industry&business and for professional use in general. Marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising and related activities as well as the respective LI-solutions are dealt with in chapter 6. What kind of tools/systems are covered by text technologies?

Text technologies cover among others:

◉ Authoring tools (AT) e.g. for scientific and technical writing, web authoring,

◉ Technical documentation systems for all kinds and levels of technical documentation (TD),

◉ Desktop publishing (DTP) tools/systems for producing high-quality layout. Some of the above are supported by corpus technology or content management systems (CMS). There are basic or sophisticated tools/systems supporting text-related tasks:

◉ Basic systems for use by individuals,

◉ Professional systems for use by individuals,

◉ Cooperative work systems,

◉ Enterprise solutions. These tools/systems support professionals in-house or at LSP specialized on:

◉ Scientific and technical writing,

◉ Technical documentation/communication,

◉ Texts related to marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising, etc.,

◉ Corporate documents.

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Do you want to keep text-related tasks done in-house?

If you want to get some or all of the text-related tasks done in-house, you may consider:

◉ To purchase, lease or develop yourself the tools/systems best fitting your needs,

◉ That such tools/systems are particularly effective when used by competent professionals,

◉ Your experts need regular updating and upgrading of their competences/skills in order to keep abreast with the developments on the market.

How can text-related tasks be facilitated?

Are there too many different kinds of texts and is there too much variation occurring in your texts? Consider controlled natural language (CNL) or simplified language approaches – Why?

◉ To reduce variation,

◉ To make all texts clearer,

◉ To render all texts better processable by text technologies,

◉ To make all texts more easily translatable while saving cost and time. Measures in this direction – for the sake of a transparent corporate language (CL):

◉ The formulation of a company-wide “style guide”, (see: 8.2.3)

◉ The harmonization of content in your terminology database (TDB) and content management systems (CMS).

Do you want text-related tasks to be outsourced?

If you consider outsourcing some or all of the text-related tasks to LSP, you will find on the market:

◉ Professionals and agencies specialized on either or all of the above-mentioned tasks;

◉ Many professionals or agencies highly specialized;

◉ Other professionals or agencies being all-rounders. In any case, analyse your needs and expectations well and communicate them clearly to your LSP before starting to outsource. Make sure that professionals and agencies specialized on text-related work:

◉ Know the necessary language technology tools/systems,

◉ Are familiar with the pertinent legal provisions and standards, If you want to be sure that the LSP you have chosen is qualified, you may request a pertinent certification of the qualification:

◉ By a neutral certification authority (i.e. third-party assessment),

◉ On the basis of pertinent standards (if they exist),

◉ On the basis of general quality assurance (e.g. on the basis of the ISO 9000 series).

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What can you expect from a professional author/editor? – what can a professional author/editor expect from you as customer? (1) You can consult guides, recommendations and best practices concerning domain- and business-related text activities in the Internet. (2) Many LSP of this specialization have their own business rules, in some countries there exist model business rules for LSP formulated by their business associations.

Given the interdependence of domain- and business-related text activities and LI solutions with other aspects where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see: chapter 8)

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6 Digital marketing and LI solutions Globalization (in the sense of the LI) goes much beyond localization and includes the revision of business processes, management procedures and even the adaptation of marketing tools, among other initiatives. It can be assumed that for being successful in foreign markets, such as China, Russia, Brazil, etc. it is crucial to get not only product descriptions and manuals, etc., but also your website (as one of your marketing and promotion tools), marketing and promotion material localized into the target markets’ languages. This may also apply to ethno-marketing in your own country. Innovative marketing by telephone, social media and other channels, digital marketing etc. can be very successful, if well-conceived. What new trends are emerging?

It is generally expected that the “post-PC Web CMS” industry will bring many changes. Web CMS software will continue to evolve by supporting better mobile devices – and by aligning (with high return on investment) business intelligence, digital marketing and other solutions. It is heading for integrating customer relationship management (CRM), becoming easier to use and implement and delivered as a much more affordable value-priced software as a service (SaaS) solution. Since a couple of years, language service providers (LSP) have already forseen these developments. New requests to LSP include the localization of global marketing operations, website and marketing content, multimedia, eLearning and training, etc. Besides, some large LSP offer comprehensive industry solutions. What should you bear in minde?

The more language aspects inevitably appear in new guises in your enterprise, the more coordination and control efforts – and tools to support this coordination and control – are necessary. Just think about the impact on

Corporate language (CL),

Corporate identity (CI),

Branding,

Image cultivation, etc.

Given the interdependence of marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising etc. with other activities where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see: chapter 8)

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7 Information gathering and business intelligence Information gathering comprises at least three major aspects:

◉ Using some of the tools/systems for searching for pertinent information in own documents, archives and data,

◉ Using technology for systematically browsing external sources,

◉ Using technology specialized on business intelligence (BI). With regards to the first two aspects, you may consider including them in the framework of an enterprise-wide life-long learning (LLL) strategy because ICT development is so fast that it needs regular updating of human resources. For large-scale enterprises, constant BI activities reduce the risks of decisions concerning future developments. Today, next to all LSP use translation technology in sophisticated combinations with CMS for BI and other purposes applied to written sources. With more recent advancements in customer-facing speech technology solutions, mining calls for specific content and spoken phrases has become easily available, affordable, and within reach for different sectors and SME. Businesses can now discover critical customer intelligence without additional costly hardware or software installations, and can implement an automated market research tool at affordable cost – or outsource the respective tasks to service providers. Apart from the communication and other needs – see previous chapters – the need of gathering information about foreign markets has become a key element for the success of a company that wants to operate internationally. Most of the information to gather comprises data in human language, such as information, for example, on the following aspects:

◉ National, regional or international policies, legislation/jurisdiction and other regulations,

◉ Competitors’ activities,

◉ Intellectual property rights (IPR),

◉ Research and development activities abroad,

◉ Markets in general and results of market research in particular. Some countries – for instance Japan with a big and high-potential market – may also have very strong cultural traditions, linguistic and communicative peculiarities and distinct formal as well as informal socioeconomic differences. This information, therefore, is necessary not only for the localization of technical documentation (or even the product itself), but also for the adaptation of marketing, promotion, publicity and advertising strategies to foreign markets. The more an enterprise globalizes, the more a systematic screening of information coming from different countries with different languages is becoming a necessity. What may be the impact on your products or services?

When exporting products to foreign countries, the following issues have to be considered among others:

◉ Varying labeling, certification, quality and design requirements from country to country;

◉ Varying customs clearing procedures from country to country;

◉ Varying import restrictions such as quotas and bans from country to country.

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In order to be able to reach (potential) overseas customers and to market effectively, the information on these and more aspects have to be collected, evaluated and considered from the design via production/development to the marketing of your products or services. What do business intelligence tools offer?

The ultimate goal of business intelligence tools is to support better business decision-making. They retrieve, analyse and report data that have been stored, for example, in a data warehouse or a data mart – whether in-house or at specialized information services. You can choose from a range of business intelligence tools. They are sold as standalone tools, suites of tools, components of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, or as components of software targeted to a specific industry. If you consider investing in business intelligence tools, make sure that they reliably retrieve information from all language (and scripts) that you need – not forgetting that you may need more of them in the future. What can specialized LSP offer?

A language service provider specialized on business intelligence can take care of your information gathering needs concerning foreign markets in a comprehensive way using state-of-the-art technology. This can be contracted in the form of a project or as a permanent service. Depending on the scope of the contract, the LSP would analyse your target market(s) against your strategies and should have the following qualifications:

Comprehensive knowledge of pertinent standards, policies, legislation, jurisdiction and other regulations in your target countries;

Experience with multinational market research;

Comprehensive knowledge about language- and localization-related issues;

Experience with various language technology tools, language and content resources as well as language services;

Familiarity with management approaches.

Given the interdependence of information gathering with other activities where language is an issue, it may be worth to consider formulating a comprehensive language policy for the enterprise. (see: chapter 8)

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8 Language policies/strategies Most papers on enterprise language policies/strategies view “language” in connection with:

◉ Foreign language learning strategy,

◉ Corporate language (CL) and corporate identity (CI),

◉ Communication management,

◉ Information/knowledge/content management,

◉ Research and development management,

◉ Human resource management (incl. education and training),

◉ Globalization and internationalization,

◉ Standardization and certification, etc. In addition there are a few industry recommendations on certain aspects, such as:

◉ Globalization&localization: Globalization Industry Primer (Lommel/Ray, 2007),

◉ Terminology: Terminology Work – Fundamentals made simple. BS 8430-2005 (British Standard summarizing pertinent ISO/TC 37 standards)

◉ Terminology: Knowledge, Brands and Customer Loyalty – Terminology as a Critical Success Factor (RaDT, 2010),

◉ Terminology: Successful terminology management in companies. Practical tips and guidelines: Basic principles, implementation, cost-benefit analysis and systems overview (Schmitz/Straub, 2010),

◉ Interpretation and translation: Language services toolkit (Australia, s.a. – geared towards public agencies in the health sector),

◉ Language learning: Business language for a global economy (APEC, 2010), and even the international standard ISO 29383:2010 “Terminology policies – Development and implementation” which covers an important aspect of language policy geared towards language communities as a whole or individual organizations.

There are more LI solutions to your language issues available than you think! The CELAN “Language policy/strategy management toolkit for solving language problems” is the first comprehensive toolkit about this topic. But be aware of the fact that “One Solution Does Not Fit All”

Enterprise language policies/strategies can largely be subdivided into:

◉ Those focusing on certain aspects, (see chapters 2-7)

◉ Those for the whole enterprise. (see para 8.1) So far we have dealt with individual aspects of language policy/strategies from the point of view of certain language- or LI-related needs:

◉ Interpersonal communication, (chapter 2)

◉ Professional interpreting, translation, localization, (chapter 3)

◉ Training and learning technologies, (chapter 4)

◉ Text activities and technologies, (chapter 5)

◉ Digital marketing and LI solutions, (chapter 6)

◉ Information gathering and business intelligence (chapter 7).

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Besides, there are generic LI approaches, tools and other products or services to support virtually all aspects of language-related activities, thus rendering language policies/strategies more effective (see para. 8.2), such as

◉ Terminology and other language and content resources,

◉ Controlled natural language,

◉ An enterprise style guide.

8.1 Comprehensive enterprise-wide language policy In the above-mentioned language strategies focusing on one or a few aspects it can be stated that given the interdependency of these aspects with other management issues of the enterprise a comprehensive enterprise-wide language policy is recommendable. Enterprises in Europe using a holistic approach to formulate and implement a language policy have proved to be significantly more successful than others. Such a holistic approach may cover principles and rules concerning among others:

◉ Language policies of the target markets to be taken into account,

◉ The extent to which language technologies are useful/necessary,

◉ The kinds of language services to be used in which way,

◉ The kinds of language and other content resources to be used,

◉ Whether – and if so, which – standards need to be applied,

◉ Whether certification is considered essential/necessary,

◉ Whether– and if so which – language skills/competences of staff are important to the enterprise, as well as how they can be secured, e.g. by language teaching and training programmes,

◉ Whether – and if so – needs of communication with persons with disabilities (PwD) need to be taken into account.

However, the market situation with respect to LI products and services for industry&business that want to use them is very complex:

◉ The size of an enterprise using LTT and LCR (and maybe outsourcing to LSP) has a significant impact on the costs available to be spent on LTT and language related activities;

◉ The nature of the enterprise: belonging to the producing, trading or service industries strongly influences the approach to use LTT, LCR and LSP;

◉ Private industry is highly fragmented with lots of smaller or larger markets with special requirements concerning the use of LTT, LCR and LSP;

◉ The sector of the LTT, LCR and LSP in itself is complex;

◉ Given the day-to-day needs enterprises – in particular SME – might tend to look for quick solutions rather than for the optimal solutions based on a systematic analysis. Thus, they often miss economic potentials and opportunities.

Many in-house guidelines under many different names can be found in individual enterprises. Obviously, language-related needs differ from enterprise to enterprise depending among others on:

◉ The size of the enterprise and its degree of specialization,

◉ The company’s degree of globalization,

◉ Customer demands of the target markets,

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◉ The nature of the industrial sector of the enterprise,

◉ The degree of added value of the enterprise’s business. In any case a language policy/strategy should not be seen as an isolated issue, but rather in connection with other policies/strategies of the enterprise. For the sake of completeness it can be mentioned here that LI enterprises, too, have to think about a language policy, e.g. with respect to:

◉ The languages they are going to deal with,

◉ The focus on LTT for certain languages/scripts,

◉ The concentration on interpretation or translation or localization or technical documentation etc. or offering all-round services,

◉ Sub-contracting certain types of services or parts of services to specialized LT developers or LSP,

◉ Hiring the necessary experts. Even if they offer services in all languages, LSP usually carry out contracts in-house only in a limited number of languages. So they, too, need to develop an outsourcing or sub-contracting policy. The need for consultancy services is growing on the market, but there are still few LI consultants independent from a LTT vendor or LSP on the market. On the contrary, all large and most medium-sized LTT developers and LSP offer guidance on their homepages. Next to no consultancy service relating to a comprehensive language policy is offered on the market. But, not least due to the fragmented nature of the LI and its rapid development, potential industry&business customers as well as stakeholders of the LI need advice with respect to market developments up to the formulation of language policies/strategies.

If you contract a consultancy service concerning the formulation of a language policy, be sure that the consultant – in addition to economic factors and general ICT – is familiar with all or most of the language policy aspects addressed in this Toolkit.

8.2 Generic approaches, tools or services to support a language policy It is often overlooked that ICT without available content – even if it is games – are not much worth anything. This applies even more so to language technology. Here, issues of content, rules of and restrictions on content use, forms and formats – whether for content in Latin script or other scripts – are an important aspect which can cause innumerable problems, if not well reflected and decided in advance. In addition, “language” is also representing knowledge – this is why knowledge management should/must have a close relation with language processing. Why is this important?

Traditional information processing often generates duplicate processes and many updates. This means a huge loss of time and money. Under pressure, companies find themselves having to publish low-quality content – this often leads to a drop in customer satisfaction as well as the loss of market opportunities. On the other hand,

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it is crucial for a company’s success to present itself professionally via a professional multilingual website without mistakes where everybody from all over the world can effortlessly find what s/he looks for - correct reports, marketing brochures that are well adapted to various countries and cultures, etc. Thus, a number of – often conflicting – requirements have to be met:

◉ Time pressure,

◉ Limited budget,

◉ Language competences,

◉ Consistency throughout the enterprise,

◉ Cultural references,

◉ Culture-specific differences concerning structure, layout, style, etc.,

◉ Different scripts (e.g. Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic, etc.),

◉ Characteristics of foreign markets that are or could become interesting for the company.

The only effective solution to this difficult situation – although it means a big work in the beginning – is: Create internationally adaptable content!

In this part three generic aspects of combinations of LI approaches, products and services that can support virtually all aspects of language-related activities, thus rendering language policies/strategies more effective, are explained:

◉ Terminology and other language and content resources,

◉ Controlled natural language,

◉ A company style guide.

8.2.1 Terminology and other language and content resources (LCR) To create internally adaptable content – here first of all structured content – can be done most efficiently by:

◉ Using available high-quality content (to be adapted as well as supplemented);

◉ Preparing your own content in addition to the content selected from external sources by:

o Making use of a state-of-the-art content management system (CMS) which is best fit for processing multilingual data (including terminology),

o Using state-of-the-art methodology (e.g. based on British Standard BS 8430-2005),

controlled natural

language (CNL)

consistent terminology

style guide

CONTENT CREATION

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o Entrusting a trained terminologist with the task;

◉ Planning well the optimal re-use and re-purposing of this internationally adaptable content for use in all environments/applications where language plays a role.

The methodology and the systems used in the field of terminology can be a good starting point! Why is terminology in terms of terminology methods and systems so useful?

Entities of scientific-technical terminology, i.e. scientific technical terms (representing scientific-technical concepts explained by a definition or other form of explanation), are semantically structured content with three major functions:

◉ Knowledge representation at the level of concepts,

◉ Knowledge ordering (as scientific-technical concepts are always occurring in systems of concepts),

◉ Communication elements in scientific-technical communication – whether spoken or written.

The meaning of a term representing a concept is defined by its position in the system of knowledge (functioning as knowledge context). If other kinds of concept representation – e.g. graphical symbols – are also representing scientific-technical concepts, they are equivalent to terms. Other entities of structured content, such as different kinds of language and other content resources (incl. lexicographical data, icons, names of all kinds of objects, etc.) also represent language and other communicative conventions. Their context depends on language and communication situations. Their function of representing scientific-technical knowledge is very weak – therefore, they can hardly be used for knowledge ordering.

With terminology methods other kinds of structured content can be managed in multilingual form (also respecting aspects of cultural diversity) – in fact a blend of terminology systems and CMS would be useful!

Is this of relevance to you?

Obviously there are different kinds of structured content. If ICT systems just mix all kinds of structured content in one system without keeping their different nature and functions transparent, the whole content system will contain data garbage – and garbage creates more garbage. This will be exacerbated by using several languages. Content harmonization can help you to avoid being drowned in unreliable data! Why can terminology standardization serve as a model?

Terminology standardization has a long history and experience with respect to:

Standardizing terminological principles and methods (see: BS 8430-2005),

Standardizing terminological data itself,

Standardizing the system requirements for processing terminological data with the computer (see: ISO/TC 37 standards).

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The approaches in terminology work – if standard-conforming – are multilingual and multimodal from the outset! As a first step the terminology used in your company should be unified – if possible, in all relevant languages, and defined at least in your company’s main language(s). Unified terminology (including also standardized terminology, if available) serves as a quality tool for consistent communication and is an essential prerequisite for the following purposes:

◉ Efficient communication with (potential) customers / target groups,

◉ Efficient communication within your company,

◉ Easier understanding of content,

◉ Efficient serving of different markets with different languages,

◉ Efficient product development,

◉ Optimization of workflows,

◉ Homogenous company presentation,

◉ Consistent corporate language consistent corporate strategy,

◉ Comprehensive global product strategy,

◉ Facilitated recycling of texts for other purposes, such as a lecture, a presentation (e.g. with MS PowerPoint), etc.

This is shown in the following graph:

By unifying your terminology:

◉ Translation and localization costs can be substantially reduced,

◉ Deadlines for all content development can be reliably met,

◉ Texts in all languages automatically become consistent and accurate (especially if terminology has been laid down right from the beginning).

In addition, terminology unification has many positive side-effects on CI&CL, branding, image cultivation, etc.

The importance of unified structured content is so far-reaching that it deserves a management decision (within the framework of an overall language policy or not).

save time and money

optimization of workflows

easy understanding

Consistent terminology

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8.2.2 Controlled natural language (CNL) Texts that are conceived right from the beginning automatically leads to better translations and significantly reduces the production time and cost of each additional language. It facilitates re-use with the help of translation memory tools and authoring systems. Unified terminology is one means in this direction, another aspect is controlled natural language (CNL, for English also called simplified English) - this is very efficient for making documents more user-friendly (i.e. clearer, more readable and understandable), consistent and coherent – not to forget: better re-usable and re-purposable, aligned with company conventions etc. Unified terminology, language and other kinds of content resources (LCR) increase the efficiency of CNL and its use in all kinds of language technology tools/systems. That is why authoring systems and technical documentation (TD) systems are often combined with controlled natural language (CNL) approaches and tools in order to support style checking and other text quality control processes. Read more about this topic at: https://sites.google.com/site/controllednaturallanguage/ How can you make use of pertinent language technology and services most

effectively? While CNL usually focuses on one language, you will need a multilingual approach for your text creation in order to support its internationally adaptable nature. Given the expertise required in the tasks involved, more and more enterprises are turning to LSP specialized on such work and being equipped with the state-of-the-art language technology for this purpose. However, you will have to provide them with detailed instructions and specifications accompanying the contract with your LSP.

In any case the effects of the introduction of CNL to all kind of content in the enterprise – from web content, via technical documentation to promotional material – is so far-reaching that it deserves a management decision (within the framework of an overall language policy or not).

8.2.3 Style guide In order to be able to create internationally adaptable content consistently throughout your enterprise, simple and shared editorial rules for stylistic and design conventions should be set up among others for the following reasons:

◉ Uniformity in style and formatting of a document,

◉ Homogenous company presentation,

◉ Consistent corporate language,

◉ Time-saving for readers as well as for writers,

◉ Cut of translation costs. In some industrial fields – e.g. in pharmaceutics – a style guide is a prerequisite for the formulation of legally highly sensitive texts. Is it only about style and layout?

A style guide is defined as a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. Increasingly, it is also applied for website content and design as well as for the right use of all kinds of communication tools. The implementation of a style guide provides

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uniformity in style and formatting within a document and across multiple documents increasingly for use on several technology platforms. There are many best practices for formulating and using style guides. In addition there are lots of books and guidelines for formulating and implementing a style guide (for different purposes). Appropriate language technology tools (LTT) can help all collaborators of a company to stick to the style guide when creating content. This makes it easier to reuse documents or data, for example, for

◉ scientific and technical writing,

◉ the preparation of presentations,

◉ marketing, promotion or advertising purposes,

◉ training purposes. On the basis of a style guide and with appropriate language technology tools, content can be created much more easily, more sustainably and more uniformly. Especially consistency in your content is crucial for your customers’ satisfaction, and moreover, you can save a lot of resources. How are LCR, CNL and the style guide related to each other?

As mentioned above, unified structured content in the form of language and other content resources (LCR) helps to make CNL and the respective tools/systems to be more efficient. Add a comprehensive style guide and you will see that unified structured content, CNL and a style guide mutually render each other more efficiently. They have overlapping elements, but usually the style guide is more concerned with organization-specific language conventions, layout rules (often known as "house style") and the like. Style guides should not be seen in isolation - they have a smaller or greater impact on all of the aspects mentioned in this toolkit:

◉ Interpersonal communication,

◉ Professional interpreting, translation, localization,

◉ Training and learning technologies,

◉ Text-related activities and technologies,

◉ Digital marketing and LI solutions,

◉ Information gathering and business intelligence. No wonder that style guides need to be revised periodically to accommodate changes in conventions and usage. Therefore, it needs a regular procedure and somebody to take care of the updating. The more you outsource language-related activities, the more your LSP can look after the regular updating and maintenance of your style guide – this also in a computer-assisted form.

In any case the effects of the introduction of a really useful style guide is so far-reaching that it deserves a management decision (within the framework of an overall language policy or not).

Unified terminology and other language and content resources, the application of controlled natural language (CNL) approaches and a company-wide style guide can greatly support the implementation of a comprehensive language policy and its efficiency, but do not replace it.

CELAN D3.4 fv1.1

36

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United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), adopted on 13 December 2006, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007