Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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I have no preference, it depends. The one I visit most is IATE (the EU terminology database), but over the years I’ve compiled glossaries for a few long-standing clients, some are in Word, others in Excel.
| | | | | Tab-delimited text files: the simplest glossary format | Nov 8 |
Tab-del: simple, flexible and economical
Native glossary format of CafeTran Espresso and omegaT
Glossaries can be edited with any text editor
Bulk changes in seconds
[Edited at 2024-11-08 06:31 GMT]
| | | | | Whatever is supported by GoldenDict | Nov 8 |
.dz, .dsl, .mdx—don't know what else it suports. I have hundreds of dictionaries and encyclopedias for GoldenDict accessible through one simple interface (I know where I can get many more if I so wish), and I could (albeit I don't) use hotkeys to make GoldenDict results pop up right from my CAT tool window. For glossaries, I'll take whatever can be converted into a Trados or memoQ termbase: I like fast-paced workflows so it would be a nuicance for me if I had to go online or browse through an ... See more .dz, .dsl, .mdx—don't know what else it suports. I have hundreds of dictionaries and encyclopedias for GoldenDict accessible through one simple interface (I know where I can get many more if I so wish), and I could (albeit I don't) use hotkeys to make GoldenDict results pop up right from my CAT tool window. For glossaries, I'll take whatever can be converted into a Trados or memoQ termbase: I like fast-paced workflows so it would be a nuicance for me if I had to go online or browse through an Excel file to search for a translation for a particular term. I do lots of online research, but it's never about how to translate words: it's always about how to understand meanings ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 23:12
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Hans Lenting wrote:
Tab-del: simple, flexible and economical
Yes, but the question was: how do you access it? Via your CAT tool, via a text editor, via a website that loads it and displays it, ...?
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I have recently upgraded to 3 monitors for work, but if I can have everything neatly within one app window (including a QA check for terminology based on the integrated TB), why keep switching between apps and screens?
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Hans Lenting wrote:
Tab-del: simple, flexible and economical
Yes, but the question was: how do you access it? Via your CAT tool, via a text editor, via a website that loads it and displays it, ...?
poll question "Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?".
Where do you read anything about how to access the glossaries?
(AAMOF, I already wrote in which CAT tool I access my glossaries.)
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:12
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Can be nice for some things.
Dan
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Dan Lucas wrote:
Can be nice for some things.
Dan
Sure. But the file format is more complex and less intuitive.
BTW: Here's a nice TSV and CSV editor. Michael Beijer once mentioned another one (Ted's?, Ed's?)
BTW2: TSV handling in CafeTran Espresso is already very advanced. It even offers an optimization feature (Glossary > Merge alternative translations).
[Edited at 2024-11-08 10:52 GMT]
Not Ed, not Ted but Ron:
https://www.ronsplace.ca/products/ronseditor
[Edited at 2024-11-08 13:12 GMT]
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Having terms popping up automatically in CAT tools is handy. It's helpful intelligence. No unnecessary clic needed.
I also have Archivarius, which finds any term anywhere in any file format on my computer, including a pile of local glossaries.
And then there is the bottomless cornucopia of internet resources, most of which not suitable due to the amount of translated and MTed content already there in my target language. At least, forums natively in my target language re... See more Having terms popping up automatically in CAT tools is handy. It's helpful intelligence. No unnecessary clic needed.
I also have Archivarius, which finds any term anywhere in any file format on my computer, including a pile of local glossaries.
And then there is the bottomless cornucopia of internet resources, most of which not suitable due to the amount of translated and MTed content already there in my target language. At least, forums natively in my target language remain a reliable source of inspiration.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:12
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| "Ron's Data Edit" = the best CSV editor I have ever used | Nov 8 |
Hans Lenting wrote:
Dan Lucas wrote:
Can be nice for some things.
Dan
Sure. But the file format is more complex and less intuitive.
BTW: Here's a nice TSV and CSV editor. Michael Beijer once mentioned another one (Ted's?, Ed's?)
BTW2: TSV handling in CafeTran Espresso is already very advanced. It even offers an optimization feature (Glossary > Merge alternative translations).
[Edited at 2024-11-08 10:52 GMT]
Not Ed, not Ted but Ron:
https://www.ronsplace.ca/products/ronseditor[Edited at 2024-11-08 11:02 GMT]
Indeed, "Ron's CSV Editor", now called "Ron's Data Edit". This is hands down the best CSV editor I have ever used. Highly recommended for anyone messing with this format.
https://www.ronsplace.ca/products/ronsdataedit
| | | | Mario Chávez
United States
Local time: 17:12
Member (Jun 2024)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Printed dictionaries are the way to go | Nov 8 |
I am assuming most young (22-32 year olds) translators prefer online, digital, PDF or in-tool dictionaries for convenience and easy to refer to while using a CAT tool. I'm also assuming the arguments against having or buying printed dictionaries is cost, size and inconvenience, aside from the time it takes to look for a term in a printed dictionary. Fair enough.
My arguments for continuing to use printed dictionaries:
1) Cost: a $50-100 dictionary may be a heavy investment, bu... See more I am assuming most young (22-32 year olds) translators prefer online, digital, PDF or in-tool dictionaries for convenience and easy to refer to while using a CAT tool. I'm also assuming the arguments against having or buying printed dictionaries is cost, size and inconvenience, aside from the time it takes to look for a term in a printed dictionary. Fair enough.
My arguments for continuing to use printed dictionaries:
1) Cost: a $50-100 dictionary may be a heavy investment, but so are the years of composing it with the help of technical writers, lexicographers, translators and editors. Oh, wait, they are us!
2) Craftmanship: a good printed dictionary is only published by experienced publishers, not only in general domains but in specialized ones. That is to me a warranty that the terms are properly researched, defined and written. Not so much with online so-called dictionaries or PDF dictionaries or glossaries manipulated by non-lexicographers.
3) It takes 5-10 years to prepare and publish a good printed dictionary in a given specialization (legal, finance, oil & gas, etc.). Just about the same amount of time it takes for a greenhorn translator to become competent and expert as a professional translator.
4) The research quality is there, unlike the thousands of online and company-published specialized glossaries.
Ask yourself: who prepared, researched and wrote your online or digital dictionary or glossary? The author may be a lawyer, a software engineer, a doctor or a government official, but they're not writers, translators, editors or lexicographers.
For those unswayed by my arguments, give lexicography as a discipline and profession a try, at least read deeply about it. It should be taught more often at least as an elective in beginner's translation courses, and definitely as a required subject in any translation-oriented master's or Ph.D's program for translators. ▲ Collapse
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Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:12
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Convenience is fine, quality of the source is far more important. | Nov 16 |
Mario Chávez wrote:
I am assuming most young (22-32 year olds) translators prefer online, digital, PDF or in-tool dictionaries for convenience and easy to refer to while using a CAT tool. I'm also assuming the arguments against having or buying printed dictionaries is cost, size and inconvenience, aside from the time it takes to look for a term in a printed dictionary. Fair enough.
My arguments for continuing to use printed dictionaries:
1) Cost: a $50-100 dictionary may be a heavy investment, but so are the years of composing it with the help of technical writers, lexicographers, translators and editors. Oh, wait, they are us!
2) Craftmanship: a good printed dictionary is only published by experienced publishers, not only in general domains but in specialized ones. That is to me a warranty that the terms are properly researched, defined and written. Not so much with online so-called dictionaries or PDF dictionaries or glossaries manipulated by non-lexicographers.
3) It takes 5-10 years to prepare and publish a good printed dictionary in a given specialization (legal, finance, oil & gas, etc.). Just about the same amount of time it takes for a greenhorn translator to become competent and expert as a professional translator.
4) The research quality is there, unlike the thousands of online and company-published specialized glossaries.
Ask yourself: who prepared, researched and wrote your online or digital dictionary or glossary? The author may be a lawyer, a software engineer, a doctor or a government official, but they're not writers, translators, editors or lexicographers.
For those unswayed by my arguments, give lexicography as a discipline and profession a try, at least read deeply about it. It should be taught more often at least as an elective in beginner's translation courses, and definitely as a required subject in any translation-oriented master's or Ph.D's program for translators.
If can get a CD version of a dictionary that I know from its paper version to be a really good one, I would surely use it. Same for online dictionaries.
But there is still A LOT of very specialised terminology can be found only in paper dictionaries. Some very useful paper dictionaries are aimed at a so limited audience that they will probably never be digitised.
| | | | MassimoA
Italy
Local time: 23:12
English to Italian
+ ...
| Dictionary is valid | Nov 18 |
I think that in the end printed dictionaries are the best solution, they are updated - in reality languages don't change easily! - and terms that have multiple meanings are presented in different variations.
If dictionaries cost too much, you can borrow them from libraries, or you can do a detailed search on search engines - sometimes they have helped me clarify the meaning of words and sentences.
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