Imagine this.

You’re a mid-sized company that has discovered that yes, you do need terminology management and need to get a team on the task right away. Furthermore, your business has recently sprouted roots in China, requiring a comprehensive translation management application – one capable of handling any character system. Oh, and there’s one more thing: you’ve done research into some of the more elaborate solutions out there and there’s no way your company can shoulder the 5-digit sum it costs for a license. What to do?

TippyTerm: trim, yet effective

TippyTerm – a terminology and translation management application from SysKon – is trim with an eye towards fulfilling the requirements of medium-sized companies, i.e., those large enough to require terminology management, yet not large enough to cope with the expenses, resources and demands of larger, more complex terminology software. Its unicode-capability makes TippyTerm powerful enough to handle every extant language and writing system (important for companies in – or looking to enter – burgeoning Asian markets); at the same time, the application’s relative simplicity allows a small team of employees to effectively manage all of the company’s various relevant terminologies.

Can I create a terminology to suit my needs?

Every company already has all the terminology it needs residing in its business and technical documentation; it is only a matter of extracting, standardizing and incorporating the terms into a software database. In the case of TippyTerm, the first step is quickly accomplished by means of its TermExtract function. Simply run TermExtract on any Microsoft Word document or .txt file and all words occurring therein are automatically incorporated into the specified terminology. Inspect terms for irregularity/synonymy and delete/rename as required. That’s that.

Teamwork? No problem!

If your company is looking to set a team on the task of tackling the terminology question, TippyTerm presents itself as a viable solution. The database – stored on a server – can be accessed simultaneously by any number of team members,  meaning there’s no waiting in line to get work done. Moreover, since TippyTerm licenses are reasonably priced, your company can afford to purchase the number required for several team members.

Term limits

Although TippyTerm can be implemented for the automatic extraction of terminology, any such extractions must be supplemented with a close visual inspection by those responsible for terminology at your company. For example, TippyTerm cannot find/extract often-used phrases or word constellations; any such multi-word terms must be added to the list by hand. (TippyTerm does support entries up to 250 characters, though, so standardizing complete sentences/bullet points/etc., is certainly within reach.)

Furthermore, TippyTerm does not have “linguistic innards” (so to speak), i.e., the ability to automatically recognize grammatical and lexical features such as plural forms, irregular verb forms, conjugations/declinations, etc. Terminology team members must keep a sharp eye out for any such aspects in order to ensure proper standardization in subsequently checked documents.

The deciding factor in quality terminology management

One mustn’t forget that TippyTerm is what it is: a software tool, i.e., an instrument that has little use without a competent, knowledgeable user behind it. Whoever believes it’s possible to meet a company’s terminology management needs via the purchase of a software license is in for an unpleasant surprise. Correct procedures and usage are more important than software solutions. Proper development of the former can often be an arduous process. And (self-promotion ahoy!) it’s always good to work with an experienced and knowledgeable partner.

http://www.syskon.de/

http://www.syskon.de/index.php?TippyTerm