Bilingual vs. multilingual Translation Memories
WorldServer supports both bilingual and multilingual TMs. SDL recommends that, for performance reasons, each translation memory be bilingual—that it contain a single source and single target language. However, there management advantages in using multilingual TMs, in some cases.
Using separate TMs for each target language is already a common practice for many customers. Even though this is the recommended practice, WorldServer continues to support all previous multilingual configurations, and even the other configurations may experience performance enhancements for various operations when compared to environments earlier than WorldServer 8.0.
Some advantages of using bilingual TMs are as follows:
- Optimal performance of WorldServer translation memory architecture for critical translation memory operations. This configuration minimizes the performance impact that one translation memory has on another translation memory. The data is now separated at the database level for different user-defined translation memories.
- Optimal scalability of the WorldServer translation memory architecture. New translation memories can be added to the system without inheriting sizing limitations previously introduced by the presence of other translation memories.
- Elimination of most, if not all, currency issues associated with operations that require database level locks. Using bilingual translation memories will prevent all known potential concurrency risk points.
Some advantages of using multilingual TMs are as follows:
- You gain certain TM management advantageous because settings made when you create the TM apply to all language pairs. For example, if you set Allow Reverse Leverage, Attribute Masks, or ACLs on the TM, the setting applies to all language pairs, and can be adjusted for all pairs at once. Similarly, if you employ TM groups, you can set the TM penalty for each TM in the group, and can therefore control the penalty for all language pairs in the TM at the TM level. If each language pair had its own TM, you would have to create and maintain your settings in more TMs.
- You can search multiple languages without changing TMs. For example, if you had two related target languages, like Danish and Swedish, in the same TM, and you didn't find a match in one language, you might look in the other language to see if a close translation appears there for a hint.
In summary, bilingual TMs offer better performance, but multilingual TMs offer some management overhead benefits. If you need assistance deciding which strategy to use, please contact WorldServer Technical Support.