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SDL Translation Management System

This section provides an overview of the SDL Translation Management System (SDL TMS).

The integration of the SDL Translation Management System and the Content Manager enables the creation and maintenance of multilingual content. Content is created in the Content Manager and sent for translation to SDL TMS which manages all aspects of the actual translation process. SDL TMS handles the entire translation process and performs the actual translations based on a knowledge base of previous translations called a translation memory.

Translation Memory

At its core, SDL TMS uses a translation memory. A translation memory is a linguistic database that continually grows and “learns” from the translator. All previous translations are accumulated within the translation memory (in source and target language pairs called translation units) and reused so that the same sentence never has to be translated twice. Any new content that needs to be translated is analyzed against the repository. Previously translated content is translated automatically, while any new content (or content that does not match completely) requiring translation is delivered seamlessly down the translation supply chain for human translation. As the translator works through the source file, the "matches” suggested by the translation memory can be either accepted or overridden with new alternatives. If a translation unit is manually updated, then it is stored within the translation memory for future use as well as for repetition in the current text. In a similar way, all segments in the target file without a “match” are translated manually and automatically added to the translation memory.