ITR International Translation Resources Ltd, today announced the release of ITR BlackJack 2.03 - its translation quality evaluation tool. This easy-to-use software application is designed to help translation evaluators analyse and measure translation quality and provide diagnostic reports.

The ongoing debate surrounding quality standards suggests that one of the greatest challenges is the ability to set, achieve and maintain consistent standards in translation. Hardly a trade journal or conference agenda is published without reference to QUALITY and the difficulties involved in measuring quality in relation to such a subjective process as translation.

A buyer or translation manager is often in an uncomfortable position – having to act as an intermediary in a dispute relating to translation quality. Sometimes the criticisms stem from real linguistic concerns. Sometimes they stem from the subjective preferences of an individual reviewer or a political power struggle within the organization.

The challenges surrounding these issues are the driving force behind the development of ITR BlackJack. i.e.

• how to remove subjectivity from the translation evaluation process
• how to measure accuracy and quality against set standards
• how to improve translation quality and achieve time savings in the long run

ITR BlackJack introduces a new dimension to this critical aspect of the translation workflow: QUALITY ASSURANCE and addresses the need for a reliable, consistent and objective method for measuring accuracy in translations. Users (e.g. editors, in-country reviewers, examiners) now have access to a tool that not only highlights errors but also allows them to drill down and diagnose their root causes and take remedial action. The result of which is ultimately an improvement in translation quality and a reduction in turnaround times.

What is ITR BlackJack?

ITR BlackJack is a software application developed by ITR to form an integral part of the translation workflow process. It provides a robust procedure for evaluating the quality of translations. "Our R&D capability constantly seeks to deliver efficiencies into the language engineering process. It’s about creating methodologies and products that improve performance and add value to our clients,” says John Gregory, Director of Technology at ITR.

The tool allows translation reviewers to easily measure linguistic accuracy, rate translations against a benchmark comprising 21 error types and analyse the results. The reports that are generated facilitate an objective assessment of a translation which allows managers to determine the cause of errors and take the necessary remedial action.

In addition, testing translations for recruitment or examination purposes also becomes a simple matter of measuring text components against pre-defined criteria.

How does ITR BlackJack work?

The software works in conjunction with XML-tagged files and MS Word. The files that are to be evaluated are imported into ITR BlackJack. The evaluator then works through the document, assigning one of the 21 available tags to each error identified in the translation. Comments may be added to qualify decisions. ITR BlackJack automatically allocates the pre-determined score to each error.

When tagging has been completed, an error report with a total score is generated. This can be presented on screen, as a text file or MS Word document for analysis by the evaluator or translation manager.

Common types of translation error

Common types of translation error include wrong terminology, grammatical errors and omissions. The ITR BlackJack scoring system rates 21 types of error according to:

• the impact the error has on the acceptability of the translation
• the impact the error has on the intelligibility of the translation
• the amount of time needed to improve the translation

Scope of ITR BlackJack

ITR BlackJack was developed for use on any translation project for all industries including customer-facing literature and marketing literature with a high public profile. Its primary function is translation evaluation with a view to performance improvement.

The tool forms only one component in a total quality assurance strategy, which might include authoring tools, terminology management, translation databases etc. And, as with all tools, it is a question of making sure that your toolbox is well equipped and the most appropriate tool is selected for the job.

Availability

ITR BlackJack 2.03 is available now. For more information please visit us at www.itrblackjack.com or email us at info@itrblackjack.com.

ITR

ITR is a wholly independent British company offering exporters a comprehensive range of foreign language solutions including technical translation, software localisation and foreign language publishing.

Founded in 1985, the company has carried forward its traditional linguistic skills into the 21st century and is now widely renowned for its expertise with language technology and for producing high quality technical translations.