“Central and Eastern Europe” – roughly, the European countries east of Germany from the Baltic states to the Balkans. Some of these countries use scripts very similar to those in western Europe but containing additional characters and therefore requiring what are know as CEE fonts.
Translation checking looks at all aspects of a translation, including spelling, grammar, accuracy against the source text and appropriateness for the intended audience. (cf proofing)
One of the two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. This one is was simplified from the more complex Traditional Chinese, in a bid to promote literacy. Different varieties of spoken Chinese can be written in this script, the most common being Mandarin. The script is used mainly in the People’s Republic of China.
One of the two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. Used mainly in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Again, different varieties of spoken Chinese can be written in this script, the most common being Cantonese.
Abbreviation for “Chinese, Japanese and Korean”. The term is used mainly in software and communications. Because the fonts for these languages contain thousands of characters, they require special coding and software. Basic CJK fonts may be included with some computers, but its’ best to use specialised software when producing layouts to ensure correct character spacing and positioning.
Desktop publishing – creating page layouts on a computer, using software such as Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign. The phrase is attributed to the founder of the Aldus Corporation, which made the first DTP software for the Mac in 1985.
“French Italian German Spanish”. Often used in west European localisation to describe this common set of target languages.
A translator who translates into his or her native language. WorldAccent only uses mother-tongue translators, as they can convey the text’s nuances in an appropriate style in the target language.
Turning text in a layout into shapes. This means the layout can be printed without requiring any special fonts or software – which is useful when dealing with non-Roman scripts.
Reading a translation to correct any grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors. It does not checking the translation against the source text, so cannot determine translation accuracy. (cf Checking)
Text written in the Latin or Roman alphabet, such as English or French. Roman script is used in western Europe, the Americas and beyond.
The original text that needs to be translated to another language.
The language that the source text is translated into. Design tip: bear in mind that languages run to different lengths, and allow space for this in your DTP template. For instance, German runs to about 20% longer than English. We are happy to advise on this at an early stage.
The rendering of the meaning of a text in one language (the source) into another language (the target). Translation generally refers to written text only. Interpreting refers to the spoken word.
Formatting text (typeface, size, colour etc) and positioning it on a page. Typesetting translated text often involves setting it over the source text of an existing DTP document.
Language code for Simplified Chinese.
Language code for Traditional Chinese.
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