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Translation practices help translators save time, maintain consistency, and reduce costs. But to maximize its potential, customization is key. Here’s a quick guide to get started:

• Why Customize TM: Tailored TMs ensure consistent terminology, especially in industries like healthcare, finance, and legal. They can cut costs by up to 70% and speed up project completion.
• How TM Works: Stores source-target text pairs, retrieves exact or partial matches, and supports faster, more accurate translations.
• Organizing TM: Use segmentation (e.g., by sentence for documents, strings for software) and separate TMs for different content types (e.g., UI, support, legal).
• Term Databases: Build and link glossaries for industry-specific terms to improve accuracy and workflow efficiency.
• Quality Control: Regular updates, automated checks, and manual reviews keep TM reliable and error-free.
• Tools: Platforms like BeLikeNative integrate with TM systems to enhance translation workflows.

Quick Tip: Regularly clean and update your TM, train your team on its use, and integrate it with tools like CAT systems for better results.

The benefits of translation memory and CAT tools

Translation Practices: Setting Up Memory Structure

Organizing your translation memory (TM) effectively starts with proper segmentation and clear structure. Francesca Sorrentino, Localization Director at Phrase, highlights the importance of segmentation: “Segmentation is a cornerstone setup for the future leveraging of already existing translated content”.

Segmentation Guidelines

Segmentation breaks source text into smaller, manageable pieces using consistent rules. These rules often depend on the type of content being translated:

• Documentation: Break content into sentences.
• Software: Use string-based segmentation for UI elements.
• Gaming: Segment game content into cells.

These rules help ensure smoother organization and better use of translation units.

Translation Practices Unit Organization

Properly organizing translation units can significantly improve efficiency and scalability. For example, Company A successfully implemented a TM separation strategy:

When dealing with large volumes of content, consider these guidelines:

• 5,000-25,000 phrases: Divide into multiple focused projects.
• 25,000+ phrases: Split into distinct projects for faster loading and smoother localization workflows.

A well-structured TM can cut translation time by up to 70% and reduce costs for repetitive content by as much as 30%.

To maintain an organized TM, follow these principles:

• Use clear file naming conventions (e.g., ProductName_UserGuide_v2.1_FR.docx).
• Build hierarchical folder structures based on product line, content type, and language.
• Include detailed TM descriptions to guide proper usage.

Regular updates and reviews are essential to remove inconsistencies and keep the TM reliable.

Industry Terms in Translation Practices 

Organizing segments is just one part of the equation – using the right terminology for your industry is key to ensuring accurate translations. Research confirms that managing terminology properly can boost workflow efficiency and improve quality control processes.

Building Term Databases

Start by identifying and documenting essential terms specific to your industry. Wael El-Sayed, Senior Manager Arabic Editor at KAPSARC, highlights:

“Maintaining consistent industry-specific terminology in translations is crucial. Firstly, build a specialized glossary for each industry. Collaborate with subject matter experts to create and update these glossaries.”

Creating a term database involves several steps:

In highly specialized fields like legal or medical translations, term databases demand extra care. For example, translating GDPR-related content requires careful handling of terms like “processor” to ensure they align with legal context and the target language.

After your database is ready, link it to your translation memory system to streamline processes.

Connecting Terms to Translation Memory

Integrating term bases with translation memory (TM) enhances both accuracy and efficiency. While TM stores full sentence pairs, term bases focus on individual terms and their proper usage.

Key elements to include in your term base:

• Context Information: Add usage examples and visual references.
• Matching Rules: Define specific rules, such as case sensitivity.
• Status Tracking: Monitor term usage and approval workflows.

Mariona Bolohan, a Human Translation & Localization specialist, advises:

“Glossaries are great. When starting a new project, ask the client if they have one. If they don’t, I would highly recommend that you create one, especially if you are going to work for that client long term.”

For technical industries, systematic updates are essential. Luisa Portocarrero, a mining industry translator and Intérprete AIIC Member, shares her experience:

“In my experience as a technical translator in the mining field, the creation of a glossary inside my CAT-tool (I use WordFast) helps me with consistency.”

A well-structured term base should include:

• Source terms and approved translations
• Terms that remain untranslated
• Contextual information and usage guidelines
• Grammatical details
• Industry-specific rules and exceptions

Regular updates are necessary to keep both the translation memory and term bases effective. This is especially important given that English serves as the source language for 90% of texts in the localization industry.

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Translation Practices: Quality Control Methods

Ensuring accuracy and consistency in translation memory is key to maintaining high-quality translations and improving project workflows.

Regular Memory Updates

Regularly updating and reviewing your translation memory helps eliminate outdated or incorrect translations. Here’s what periodic assessments should include:

• Reviewing terminology to align with industry standards
• Validating the accuracy and context of translations
• Checking formatting and fixing character-related issues
• Removing duplicate entries to streamline the memory

“Maintaining consistency in the translation memory (TM) is crucial for ensuring the quality and coherence of translated materials. Key terminology should be added to a glossary, which helps in keeping the language consistent across various documents and projects. This is especially important for specialized fields or when dealing with brand-specific language.”

To improve translation memory quality, consider creating a master TM with only approved translations. Assign dedicated oversight to monitor its proper use and integrate automated tools to catch errors more effectively.

Quality Check Tools

In addition to regular updates, combining automated tools with manual reviews strengthens quality assurance. For example, in October 2022, Smartling introduced a TM scoring system at the TAUS Conference. This system measures translation memory quality, with high-quality TM scoring 80.4 points compared to 53.8 for low-quality TM.

Quality assurance tools typically focus on two categories:

Automated Checks

• Spelling and grammar verification
• Ensuring terminology consistency
• Formatting compliance
• Punctuation accuracy

Manual Reviews

• Assessing cultural relevance
• Validating context
• Following style guides
• Ensuring technical precision

“High-quality TM means cost-savings and higher-quality translation in the long run!”

Translation management systems like memoQ offer built-in tools to flag potential issues during the translation process. Research shows that websites available in 82 languages can boost traffic by 47%, highlighting the importance of maintaining a reliable translation memory for global reach.

Translation Practices: Multi-Language Project Management

Managing multilingual projects goes beyond translation – it demands precision tailored to each local market. Here’s how to approach it effectively.

Working with Multiple Languages

Choosing the right tools and workflows is critical. Many top CMS platforms support multilingual capabilities, making them strong options for managing diverse content needs:

Translation management systems (TMS) like Phrase and Localazy use AI-driven translation memory (TM) and automated workflows to streamline processes. To maximize efficiency, centralize TM management, train your team on best practices, and conduct regular audits to eliminate duplication and errors.

Local Market Requirements

Localization isn’t just about translating words – it’s about adapting content to meet the expectations of specific markets. Research highlights key areas to focus on for successful localization:

• Currency formats
• Communication style
• Tone of voice
• Formality

To achieve this, consider these steps:

• Create Market-Specific Guidelines: Develop style guides that reflect local language quirks and cultural preferences.
• Set Up Quality Control Systems: Build verification processes that ensure content aligns with local expectations.
• Track Performance Metrics: Monitor KPIs such as TM match rates, error counts, and feedback from regional users.

Modern TMS platforms also include features to help with market-specific customization:

These tools help maintain consistency while allowing for the necessary adjustments to meet local market demands.

Translation Practices: BeLikeNative Integration Guide

BeLikeNative enhances translation workflows by offering language customization and seamless cross-platform functionality. Built on established translation memory systems and quality control methods, it helps streamline processes for industry-specific needs.

BeLikeNative Tools Overview

BeLikeNative boosts translation memory workflows with a powerful Chrome extension. It supports over 80 languages and integrates smoothly with platforms like Google products, Notion, and Microsoft Teams. Here are its standout features:

Users have reported up to a 66% boost in productivity and an average of 85 hours saved monthly. Pricing options include:

• Explorer: Free, 500-character limit
• Learner: $4/month, 2,000-character limit
• Native: $6/month, 4,000-character limit
• Premium: $14/month, 6,000-character limit

This tool complements existing translation memory systems effortlessly, requiring no additional setup.

Translation Practices: Using BeLikeNative with Translation Memory

1. Configure Language Settings
   Match BeLikeNative’s language settings with your translation memory system to ensure consistent results.
2. Integrate into Your Workflow
   • Use translation memory for exact matches and pre-approved content.
   • Leverage BeLikeNative for new or context-sensitive translations.
   • Keep separate translation memories for different content types while using BeLikeNative as a supplementary tool.
3. Maintain Quality Assurance
   Apply a two-step process: rely on translation memory for approved terminology, then refine with BeLikeNative. Regular updates to both systems will keep your workflow running smoothly.

Conclusion

Key Takeaways

To get the most out of your translation memory (TM) system, a focused and methodical approach is essential. Here’s a quick breakdown of the main areas to prioritize:

“Translation memory takes the words and phrases you’ve already translated and automatically puts them to work throughout your projects”

These steps provide a solid starting point for improving your TM processes.

Actionable Steps

Take your TM system to the next level by focusing on these priorities:

• Set Up a Maintenance Routine
  Schedule regular updates to remove outdated entries and merge duplicates. This keeps your database accurate and efficient.
• Introduce Quality Oversight
  Create a master TM with only approved translations. Assign an admin to manage it and monitor consistency across language pairs and contexts.
• Train Your Team
  Offer thorough training to your localization team. Proper education on TM use minimizes errors and increases efficiency.

Incorporate these strategies into your current workflows and leverage automation tools to maintain long-term success.

Related Blog Posts

• Best Practices for Using Translation Tools in Teams
• What Is Translation Memory and How It Works
• Translation Memory for Multilingual Teams
• Real-Time Collaboration with Translation Memory: Key Benefits