| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: While looking for a very specific and rare term, which source do you tend to trust the most? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Irene N
United States
Local time: 06:27
English to Russian
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Meaning multiple sources.
Branch expert is my standard checkout procedure and its importance can hardly be overestimated but it is also possible that h/s can be a source of huge confusion as bull fights over terminology between equally reputable experts are not all so uncommon in certain fields. Given that in a number of cases it is possible to get a confirmation of 2 or even more options being equally valid, I sometimes use my own judgement based on verified frequency of each term'... See more Meaning multiple sources.
Branch expert is my standard checkout procedure and its importance can hardly be overestimated but it is also possible that h/s can be a source of huge confusion as bull fights over terminology between equally reputable experts are not all so uncommon in certain fields. Given that in a number of cases it is possible to get a confirmation of 2 or even more options being equally valid, I sometimes use my own judgement based on verified frequency of each term's usage in the Internet taking into account the trustworthiness of the sources of the found hits. ▲ Collapse
| | | | yam2u 
United States
Member
English to Malay
+ ...
| Specialized Dictionary, on the Internet or otherwise | Aug 6, 2006 |
I chose Specialized Dictionary, though I agree with GoodWords of Mexico
GoodWords wrote:
I base my confidence in the term not on the source where I found it, but on the supporting evidence accompanying it, such as references and context. I mean "context" here in the widest sense, encompassing who wrote or said it, when, why, what for, where, and what else was written or said in the text or speech where the term was used.
because, for me, it's a matter of course that the specialized dictionary, if one is available for a particular field, is and should be the most reliable authority on the definition of a specialized word or term.
The fact that nowadays specialized dictionaries can also be found on the Internet may make the Internet the first place I go to to look up a term, but that does not make it the source I trust first.
It is however the source I trust second if a particular term I'm looking for is not in any dictionary I have accessed to, specialized or otherwise. The various Internet search engines are very good at coming up with usage and context and necessary supporting evidence of new terms and coinages that have not been formally corralled into dictionaries yet. I may include KudoZ glossaries here.
Other sources come only after the above two for me.
-may-
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 05:27
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam | Branch expert | Aug 6, 2006 |
That term had me stumped for a moment, in the USA I'd say "an expert in the field".
I just use all resources at my disposal.
| | | | Mats Wiman
Sweden
Local time: 13:27
Member (2000)
German to Swedish
+ ...
In memoriam | Where is KudoZ as an alternative? | Aug 6, 2006 |
"for a very specific and rare term", the KudoZ arena is the most trustworthy place to go, often combined with several others,
especially for new terms that haven't found their way into dictionaries or databases.
[Edited at 2006-08-06 21:04]
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Nikki Graham
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
Spanish to English
| on specialised dictionaries | Aug 7, 2006 |
yam2u wrote:
for me, it's a matter of course that the specialized dictionary, if one is available for a particular field, is and should be the most reliable authority on the definition of a specialized word or term.
I agree that a specialised dictionary (especially if it cost a fortune) should be the most reliable source for the translation of a term. However, given that I have quite a few dictionaries on the same field (construction/civil engineering) which constantly contradict each other, I do not automatically trust them. In my experience, a general dictionary is usually far more reliable than a specialised one.
| | | | JCEC
Canada
Local time: 07:27
English to French
| You must be kidding | Aug 7, 2006 |
Mats Wiman wrote:
"for a very specific and rare term", the KudoZ arena is the most trustworthy place to go, ...
I very seldom use the KudoZ Glossary because it takes so much time to weed out the bad entries and to determine whether answerers are truly qualified.
And I know what I'm talking about!
I correct glossary entries almost every day in English>French and it will take me months just to catch up with a single alingual user who has generously contributed several hundred asinine entries.
The problem is that each correction has to be backed up by serious terminological research and consultations with colleagues. And even then, these avid KudoZers feel persecuted...
Even with the guidance of some of the best translators on the site and the current drive to use disagrees more generously, it's an uphill battle all the way.
In the meantime the English>French KudoZ Glossary is a huge garbage can and nothing to be proud of.
My thought for the week,
John
| | | | df49f (X)
France
Local time: 13:27
| you must be kidding (repeat) | Aug 7, 2006 |
JCEC wrote: Mats Wiman wrote:
"for a very specific and rare term", the KudoZ arena is the most trustworthy place to go, ...
I very seldom use the KudoZ Glossary because it takes so much time to weed out the bad entries and to determine whether answerers are truly qualified. And I know what I'm talking about! I correct glossary entries almost every day in English>French and it will take me months just to catch up with a single alingual user who has generously contributed several hundred asinine entries. The problem is that each correction has to be backed up by serious terminological research and consultations with colleagues. And even then, these avid KudoZers feel persecuted... Even with the guidance of some of the best translators on the site and the current drive to use disagrees more generously, it's an uphill battle all the way. In the meantime the English>French KudoZ Glossary is a huge garbage can and nothing to be proud of. My thought for the week, John
My thoughts exactly! (including the you must be kidding )
Question is "which source do you tend to TRUST the most": kudoz and the KOG and most personal glossaries are the most UNtrustworthy sources there can be!! any one "trusting" them would have to be completely masochistic or looking for failure!!
(at least in my Fr/En & En/Fr pairs - hopefully others are less of a garbage dump than ours...)
dominique
| | | | Nesrin
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:27
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Not the Kudoz Glossaries but the Proz Term Search | Aug 7, 2006 |
I guess when Mats referred to "the Kudoz arena" he didn't necessarily refer to KOG in particular.
One of the very first places I often go to (when I kind of have a feeling that I won't find the term in the dictionary), is the Proz.com Term search, which lists KOG, KudoZ archive, Personal glossary results and Glosspost results.
The Kudoz archive is extremely useful (as I said above), because the questions often lead to rich discussions of different usages and contexts, a... See more I guess when Mats referred to "the Kudoz arena" he didn't necessarily refer to KOG in particular.
One of the very first places I often go to (when I kind of have a feeling that I won't find the term in the dictionary), is the Proz.com Term search, which lists KOG, KudoZ archive, Personal glossary results and Glosspost results.
The Kudoz archive is extremely useful (as I said above), because the questions often lead to rich discussions of different usages and contexts, and include references, links etc.
[Edited at 2006-08-07 19:31]
[Edited at 2006-08-07 22:33] ▲ Collapse
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df49f (X)
France
Local time: 13:27
| all of the above are untrustworthy... (at least in my pairs) | Aug 7, 2006 |
Nesrin wrote:
I guess when Mats referred to "the Kudoz arena" he didn't necessary refer to KOG in particular.
One of the very first places I often go to (when I kind of have a feeling that I won't find the term in the dictionary), is the Proz.com Term search, which lists KOG, KudoZ archive, Personal glossary results and Glosspost results.
Yes, I also understood Mats' comment to mean the entire "Kudoz arena"...
but the entire "Kudoz arena in my pairs (Fr/En&En/Fr) is mostly worthy of the garbage dump, and I do mean ALL of it: KOG, personal glossaries, kudoz archives and the majority of answers given and/or chosen and/or unfortunately entered in the glossay...
I barely need more than one hand to count the proz colleagues that I could trust in my languages...
It sounds like your pairs do not fit my not-cynical but-realistic comment above, and in that case it is good news, maybe there's some hope after all!!
Nesrin wrote:
The Kudoz archive is extremely useful (as I said above), because the questions often lead to rich discussions of different usages and contexts, and include references, links etc
Discussions may indeed be the only thing of any interest in the kudoz arena in my pairs - that is when discussion arise because people were bold enough to dare disagree with asinine answers - or else if intelligent consciencious translators were involved in the questions giving rise to discussions.
But sifting through the garbage to find the rare nugget (i.e. generally the correct answer discarded in favor of the "go-with-the herd-twelve-times-agreed-by incompetent-or- vengeful-"translators" ludicrous answer) takes more time and effort (without any real assurance) than just searching other genuinely reliable sources elsewhere (experts, print or on-line dictionaries and glossaries, web sources, articles, corporate or institutional websites and their glossaries, colleagues...).
The "Kudoz arena" is the ONE arena I would NEVER go to for advice or help or sources (except for the handful of colleagues mentioned earlier whom I would then contact directly).
It seems however that the Kudoz arena has become the one and only source of ready-made (free of charge and free of effort) answers for a whole new generation of would-be translators... sad ...
df
[Edited at 2006-08-07 22:17]
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