ProZ.com Translation Forums

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Dictionary is valid

MassimoA — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 23:06:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: MassimoA
Post title: Dictionary is valid

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.

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Convenience is fine, quality of the source is far more important.

Daryo — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 10:12:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Daryo
Post title: Convenience is fine, quality of the source is far more important.

[quote]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. [/quote]

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.

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Printed dictionaries are the way to go

Mario Chávez — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:24:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Mario Chávez
Post title: Printed dictionaries are the way to go

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.

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | "Ron's Data Edit" = the best CSV editor I have ever used

Michael Beijer — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:09:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Michael Beijer
Post title: "Ron's Data Edit" = the best CSV editor I have ever used

[quote]Hans Lenting wrote:

[quote]Dan Lucas wrote:

Can be nice for some things.

Dan [/quote]

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:
[url removed]

[Edited at 2024-11-08 11:02 GMT] [/quote]

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.

[url removed]

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Integrated

CasaPhil — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:04:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: CasaPhil
Post title: Integrated

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

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Complexer format

CafeTran Trainer — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:20:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: Complexer format

[quote]Dan Lucas wrote:

Can be nice for some things.

Dan [/quote]

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:
[url removed]

[Edited at 2024-11-08 13:12 GMT]

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | JSON

Dan Lucas — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:15:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Dan Lucas
Post title: JSON

Can be nice for some things.

Dan

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Tool?

CafeTran Trainer — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:09:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: Tool?

[quote]Samuel Murray wrote:

[quote]Hans Lenting wrote:
Tab-del: simple, flexible and economical [/quote]
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, ...? [/quote]

[quote]poll question "Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?".
[/quote]

Where do you read anything about how to access the glossaries?
(AAMOF, I already wrote in which CAT tool I access my glossaries.)

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | In my CAT tool

Alex Lichanow — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 09:52:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Alex Lichanow
Post title: In my CAT tool

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?

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | @Hans

Samuel Murray — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:26:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: @Hans

[quote]Hans Lenting wrote:
Tab-del: simple, flexible and economical [/quote]
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: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Whatever is supported by GoldenDict

Denis Fesik — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 07:19:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Denis Fesik
Post title: Whatever is supported by GoldenDict

.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

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Tab-delimited text files: the simplest glossary format

CafeTran Trainer — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 06:30:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: Tab-delimited text files: the simplest glossary format

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]

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator? | Other

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 20:50:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: Other

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.

Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?

ProZ.com Staff — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 20:10:04 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?
Poster: ProZ.com Staff

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which dictionary/glossary format do you prefer as a translator?".

This poll was originally submitted by Ekaterina Chashnikova. View the poll results »