This has been an exciting month for language technology folks, first with the initial beta release of the My Glossary feature at TermWiki.com, which is a free online tool that enables freelance translators, technical writers and other glossary owners to store, translate, develop, share, and perfect their own personal glossaries online—all in a real-time, collaborative environment.
This month also brought TermWiki’s first Galaxy Pad Contest to an official close. In the contest, translators, technical writers, and other developers of multilingual content were invited to enter terms and translations into TermWiki’s master termbase, and the person who entered the most terms would win a free Samsung Galaxy Pad. After a fierce competition, Cristina Fernández —a professional translator from Spain—ended up taking the prize after entering and translating over 10,000 terms!
The cool thing was, Christina Fernández didn’t even know there was a contest going on—she just entered 10,000 terms of her own accord. What possessed Cristina Fernández to manage her glossaries like a crazed logophile? Check out this exclusive interview with the winner of the 2010 TermWiki Galaxy Pad Contest to find out! (And congratulations, Cristina!)
Raised in Cádiz, Cristina Fernandez Salas now resides with her husband and son in Seville, Spain, where the sun shines most of the time and people are incredibly friendly. Having studied English Philology at the University of Seville, she names literature as one of her passions. She loves discovering and understanding the literature and culture behind languages and traveling to countries where they are spoken. Since 2002, she has undertaken translation work for a number of clients and various translation agencies.
How did you hear about TermWiki?
Cristina: It was quite by chance that I heard about it. A project to add and translate terms was posted on Proz.com and I sent a message expressing my interest. Some days later, I was contacted by CSOFT’s resource manager.
What made TermWiki appeal to you?
Cristina: It appealed to me because it was a chance to complete and expand my TMs and personal glossaries. My profession involves collecting terms within particular fields and doing research and verification. I love languages and this was a challenging way for me to expand my knowledge. I have learnt a lot from translating terms, and I hope the terms and translation I input will help others.
What made you want to contribute as many words and translations as you did?
Cristina: It is good to have your name on terms in TermWiki. The more the better! For each term you translate first, you get to own the title as the original translator for that term. It seems to be similar to internet domain names.
What were your initial thoughts when first using TermWiki?
Cristina: I found it interesting. As a language technology, it was very useful and functional from the start because it allows users to find, share, translate and browse terms. You can also download terms in Excel, XML or Multiterm. At first I thought it was very similar to other terminology software, but as I began adding more terms, the system became more familiar, more instinctual.
I had some difficulties storing certain terms, but soon the TermWiki team solved those problems. From that moment on, everything was much easier. In addition, a wide variety of terms were added, so I could choose those which best suited my areas of specialization.
Did your initial impression of TermWiki change after you began adding more terms?
Cristina: At first, although I work in multiple subject fields, there were not many terms in my areas of expertise and I believed I wouldn´t get to 5,000, but later new terms were added. It was a way for me to challenge myself to build and complete my glossaries. Once I got used to how the platform worked, it became much easier and I could translate faster.
Would you recommend TermWiki to others? If so, why?
Cristina: Yes, of course! I think it is well worth joining TermWiki for its usability and functionality.
Do you have any suggestions for the TermWiki team regarding further development or improvements on any component of TermWiki?
Cristina: I would like to propose a set-up box in which translators could provide context information (in the target language), examples, useful information including country/dialect, reference links, etc. I think it would be a helpful feature.
And that’s it for the interview. Congratulations again to Cristina Fernández, the Term Master of 2010. We hope you enjoy your Galaxy Pad! For all our readers out there, if you haven’t hopped on board yet, be sure to give TermWiki.com a try and start your own personal My Glossary today. It’s free!
If you’re interested in translation, localization, or even if you just like to read the occasional blog, make sure to visit csoftintl.com!
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GREAT