Terminology Infrastructure in Europe.
An Asset to Multilingual Knowledge Management.

Frieda Steurs, Lessius Hogeschool

Abstract : 
This paper consists of different parts :
First, we will briefly touch upon the fast changing parameters in modern information society : the market for international communication, translation and localisation, and more specifically the market requirements in Belgium as an example of a multilingual society. These needs have to be translated in a modern, up-to-date academic programme for translators and interpreters. We will discuss the main points of interest in the bachelor applied language studies, and the masters in translation and interpreting.
In a second part,, we will give an overview of  the current state of affairs as to the terminology infrastructure in Europe.  The status of the terminology associations, the need of terminology portals, and of government support for terminology infrastructure to sustain a strong and multilingual Europe will be discussed.

The technological evolution

What is Moore's Law?
Moore noted that the number of devices (which then included transistors and resistors) inside chips was doubling every year, largely because engineers could shrink the size of transistors. That meant that the performance and capabilities of semiconductors was growing exponentially and would continue to. In 1975, Moore amended the law to state that the number of transistors doubled about every 24 months. 

This has effected everyday life in an enormous way, to such an extent that the capacity of the hardware is growing so fast, that new and more complex applications (multitasking software) are possible.  This is especially interesting in the field of natural language processing, since human language is the most complex algorithm, and handling natural language through binary codes is not an easy matter. The professional challenges for people dealing with multilingual communication and document management, and translation, has changed drastically over the last decades.  The international trade depends on high level multilingual documents and the capability of handling the information in a digital way fast and smoothly.

The international market is characterised by a number of elements : a growing complexity of services and goods, a growing globalisation and yet at the same time a growing localisation.
Companies , governments, international services have to deal with an evergrowing complexity of goods and services, which automatically triggers the publication of many procedures, guidelines, contracts, legal documents, manuals, etc.  At the same time, publication of these documents is no longer exclusively done on paper, but different new  media will be used to store and distribute the information : websites, CD-Rom, DVD, electronic catalogues, e-commerce,….
This enhances the demand for a flexible informationmanagement, where questions such as versionmanagement, updating and digital storage have to be handled by the modern translator.

The expanding European Union.

The European Union started out with 4 languages (1958 : Dutch, French, German and Italian), slowly growing from 6 languages in 1973 (Danish and English) to 7 (Greek) and 9 (Spanish and Portuguese) in 1986.  From 1995 onwards, an additional 2 languages were added (Finnish and Swedish), but the major leap towards 20 official languages took place in 2004. In the foreseable future, it is possible that another 2 or even 3 languages will be added.
This growth is clearly reflected in the following diagram

 	2001	2003	2005
prognosis	2001>2005	
pages to be translated	1.320.000	1.480.000	2.400.000	+82 %	
translators	1182	1078	1440	+22 %	
official languages	11	11	20	 	
pages/translator	~1100	~1300	~1700	+55 %	
       source : Vesentini (2004)

This evolution shows clearly that the translators at work in the large number of European institutions will need all the language technology tools they can get in order to handle this ever increasing volume in texts to be translated.  

The market for translation in Belgium and the importance of local markets.

An up to date market survey of the Belgian market of translation is being conducted at this very moment, the results of which, however, are not yet known.  We can rely on a market survey that was conducted some years ago, and that investigated on the text types most frequently submitted for translation.

o	25% administrative texts, legal documents and contracts
o	24% scientific texts (esp. biomedical)
o	17% technical texts (ICT, telecom, etc.)
o	marketing,  publicity, catalogues
o	multimedia, films
(Subtitling, dubbing)
o	coursebooks and youthliterature

At the same time, the type of translation carriers and output is changing.   Many companies want texts and information to be distributed on different media , using DVD, CD-Rom, websites, e-catalogues, etc. as an alternative to the traditional output on paper. Due to the globalization of the market, a lot of international communication is needed, and this enhances at the same time the need for translation. Globalization is also a mighty instrument triggering localization.  For the translator, this means being confronted with challenges of adapting information to local markets, to specific needs of customers.  Preparing our students for these challenges means investing in courses dealing with diverse topics, such as intercultural communication, website-management, webtranslation tools, software translation tools, workflowmanagement, etc.

The training of translators and interpreters

The task of a modern translator is changing, and we need to improve the curriculum of the academic training institutes for translators and interpreters in the same way. In the Belgian context, the old academic degree in translation and interpreting has been converted into a modern Bachelor-Master structure, allowing students to start their education by taking a Ba in Applied Language Studies (3 years), and choosing afterwards for an Ma in Translation or an Ma in Interpreting, an Ma in Multilingual Business Communication or an Ma in Journalism.
As for the Ba, this focuses on four basic topics : 
-	general knowledge courses such as law, economy, history, philosophy, and also more linguistic oriented courses such as general linguistics, corpus-and textlinguistics, and translation studies or communication studies.
-	Dutch as the mothertongue (A-language), with intensive courses both in spoken and written communication, textdesign, textrevision, cultural history.
-	2 foreign languages (B-languages) : a choice is offered here from English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hungarian and Arabic
-	(a third foreign language can be studies optionally with a choice from the following list : Polish, Portugese, Greek,Spanish, Italian, Arabic (Standard) and Arabic (Morrocan) and Turkish
Once the Ba degree has been obtained, students can opt for a master in Translation, that leads them to become well trained specialists in a variety of translation tasks. This means they will be trained both in literary translation, cultural topics, and have to be able to handle medical, technical or legal texts.  Whatever topic they choose to specialise in, they will all receive a thorough training in translation studies, reflection and critique, and will have to do practical translation work in the skills lab, where all possibilities in language technology are offered. this also implies webtranslation, subtitling, handling translation memories, terminology databases, and the like.

ICT in the academic programme

Considering the enormous evolution in ICT-applications over the last decades, we must admit that this change affected almost everyone in their professional lives.  Due to the high performance of most software packages, a shift took place form technology to methodology, and most software applications became a lot more userfriendly.  It allows for professional translators to work in a totally different and more efficient manner.  In the same way it affects the training programmes, that have to be adapted and have to open up for the use of new courseware.
We therefore will focus on some new elements in the courseware development , and we will use the following acronyms : CALL (computer assisted language learning),  CAT (computer assisted translation) TM (Translation Memory), MT (Machine Translation) and CAIT (computer assisted interpreting training).

CALL : computer assisted language learning

The development of new insights in the teaching methods has brought about a whole revolution in the paedagogical practice : digital resources can be used in a variety of ways to help students master the different aspects of a foreign language : both insights in grammar, and the training of the written and oral communication have benefited largely from the new technological possibilities.

pedagogical insights

pedagogical insights in language training

language technology

foreign language training

technology

Reading the above scheme, we can immediately imply the advantages of the influence of language technology on the training of foreign language acquisition.
Over the last decades, the study process has evolved from an externally driven learning process, that was teacher driven, to an internally, selfguided learning process, that is student driven.  The benefits of this peadagogical shift can be used throughout the undergraduate programme : both in entrance level tests, selfassessment, and exercises (drill and practice).  Students are invited to test and improve their language skills using a variety of specially developed courseware tools. We can refer here to specially developed tools such as e-grammar, electravoc,( Spanish vocabulary), etc.  Students can build their own European language portfolio.  In our own institute, we created a Student Centered Approach on Education (Scape), that won a Microsoft Award in 1999.  Scape integrated different open software tools such as Blackboard, Perception, Hot Potatoes, Discussion groups, etc.  Special tools for the support of the translation courses have been built , such as the “translators net”, a tool that allows teachers and students to use a better system to present evaluation of translations.  Texts can be posted on the internet, can be commented, and new translated versions of the same text can be added.  The whole approach is supported by a new view on evaluation, combining evaluation schemes from industry, localization businesses, translation offices, and other institutes.

CAT : computer assisted translation

The evolution in the methodology for translation has been greatly influenced by IT, in such a way that the translator can choose from a large number of tools, and can define to what extent the machine can help. This involves a wide range from Machine Aided Human Translation (Maht) to Human Aided Machine Translation.
The whole spectrum of what can be found in between can be found in the following scheme :

HT	CAT	MT	
textprocessors	text analysis
termextraction	machine translation	
Spelling- and grammarcheckers	terminology management
		
e-resources	translation memories		
internet	localisation
webtranslation		

Students have to be introduced in the use of this software, and have to be able to perform their translation tasks in a semi-professional simulated setting.  They need some knowlegde of workflowmanagement, and organisation of a translation environment.  Other techniques are also worth while studying , such as subtitling for the media. This is an interesting professional challenge, in a growing market. It is also a very interesting translation exercise, with a language independent software system.
Looking at the large industrial partners, and the European institutions, a mixture of different software support tools will be used by translators, and this also includes the use of machine translation. Translators have to acquire new skills to deal with these challenges , such as the techniques of pre-and postediting of texts.

CAIT

In the interpreting training, absolute priority is given to the largest possible amout of hours in the interpreting booth, exercising.  This process can be enhanced and improved significantly, when using a softwaresystem that allows the teacher to create exercises and simulations of speeches, with the possibility to include comments, to adapt the speed of the interpreting, etc.
The Blackbox software allows students and teachers to work with realistic material, using reallife speeches and preparing these speeches as course material in different ways.  Assignments can be given, starting by listening comprehension exercises, then slowly tasks in interpreting can be formulated, with the possibility of variations in speed and difficulty of the oral task.  Apart from that, students can practice alone, and record their interpreting results ; these can be analysed later on by the teaching staff, or simulations and peer-to-peer assessment can be organised in small students groups.

Terminology infrastructure in Europe

We will first give a short impression of some important terminology associations in Europe.  

EAFT
The European Association for Terminology was founded in 1996, and is meant to be a professional association for the terminology community in Europe.  It constitutes a European platform for the promotion of terminological activities and to promote knowledge on terminological issues. The organisation whishes to stimulate cooperation between organisations, associations and institutes.  They organised different conferences and terminology summits.  (http://www.eaft-aet.org) 

The German speaking world
A leading organisation in the German speaking world is Deuterm, Deutsches Informations und Documentationszentrum für Terminologie.  This centre has an impressive experience dealing with the collection, evaluation and distribution of information related to terminology.
They especially focus on the distribution of data from electronically available collections.  They also advise companies and participate in applied research projects. The seat of the organisation is in Koln, Institut für Informationswissenshaft. (http://www.iim.fh-koeln.de/deuterm)
One of the projects Deuterm realised over the last years is DTP, Deutsches Terminologie Portal.  This project aimed at building  a portal website, including all the relevant information for German terminology.  The target group consist of all the terminology users in the German area.  Partners in the project were different companies (Volkswagen, DEG, Transline Localisations) and Lessius Hogeschool (Belgium)  (http://www.iim-fh-koeln.de/dtp). Finally in the German speaking aerea, we can mention DTT (Deutscher Terminologie Tag).  This organisation tries to answer communication problems in certain technical areas. They also want to raise awareness for the problems of neologisms, choosing the right term for a concept etc.  

Terminology infrastructure in the Low Countries

The Dutch language union

This government agency was established in 1980 and was created to build and sustain a common policy for the Dutch language for both The Netherlands and Flanders         (supranational).  The union represents 21 million speakers of the language, in a strong economic area.  The partners are the Ministries of Education and Culture of both The Netherlands and Flanders. There is one joint program, and one budget.  They support an active policy concerning 
- spelling, language advisory committees 
- Neerlandica extra muros, teaching and training of the Dutch language abroad
- language technology
- language resources (dictionary creation, terminology management)
(references : www.taalunieversum.org ; www.taalunie.org)

The committees and projectgroups working under the umbrella of the Taalunie and that are relevant for the terminology support are :

NL-TERM
The association for Dutch Terminology was founded in 1997, and combines the interests of the Dutch language speakers in the two countries concerned: the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). It is an independent membership organisation, both for individuals and companies, and is supported by the Dutch Language Union.  The organisation takes a lot of initiatives, e.g. conferences on medical terminology, legal terminology, terminology and lexicography, terminology in the professional life, etc.  The association also supports terminology teaching initiatives and the creation of a database on neologisms : Neoterm. (www.nlterm.org)

CLVV : the commission for lexicographical resources.  This working group of Dutch and Flemish lexicographers plans and organises the creation of multilingual dictionaries of the lesser spoken languages together with Dutch. A market survey was conducted to discuss the need for this type of bilingual dictionary. As a result, more than 20 different dictionaries have been created over the last 10 years.  Language pairs that have been supported are a.o. : Arabic, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Tjech, Turkish,etc.
The application of this policy resulted in a greater transparency of Dutch to other cultures, and the availability of interesting bilingual material for different language communities.

Language and speech technology platform
This platform is a unique joint effort to bring together all the know-how available in research institutes, universities and companies working in the field of language engineering and language technology.  As Dutch is too small a language to have all the necessary language tools such as spell checkers, language corpora, speech data, taggers, parsers, tokenizers, etc., developed by commercial companies, the government plays an active role in the support of the scientific research and development of these tools.  Therefore, universities must join their efforts, in stead of doing everything in isolation.  The Language and Speech technology platform also issues calls for proposals for research in the field. (www.tst.inl.nl)

NL-Translex : this machine translation project was supported by the Taalunie, so that Dutch would be present in the international scene of language technology tools.  Companies are not interested in developing these types of very expensive software for smaller languages, as they are afraid they will not sell enough copies to the different users.  The market for English, Chinese, Japanese, etc. is much larger, so more effort is put into machine translation tools for English/Chinese, English/Japanese, etc.  For the European market, however, each language is equally important, and Dutch has to be made available on a language technology platform, so that texts from the European institutions will also be continued to be translated into our mothertongue.  NL-Translex organised the support for the language pairs English/Dutch, Dutch/English, French/Dutch and Dutch/French.  The Dutch grammar was developed into a machine readable version, together with a general Dutch lexicon, and several specialised terminology lists.  The company who was responsible for the actual development of the machine translation system, Systran, created different versions of the software, both webbased, for mainframe applications, smaller networks and stand-alone systems.  Both individual translators, working on a free-lance basis, and smaller and larger translation offices can use the system easily. (www.systransoft.com)
As machine translation systems are ‘learning systems’, the main advantage of spreading the system over as many users as possible is that the mistakes will get corrected, and the vocabulary will gradually be expanded, so that the final result will be high in performance and quality.

Coterm : the Commission for terminology plans the policy concerning Dutch Terminology projects, and defines the priorities in the work to be conducted.  The commission realised several projects over the last five years, such as different important terminology conferences, awareness raising, and a terminology portal, NedTerm, in cooperation with DTP (the German equivalent, cfr. supra).
NedTerm (www.nedterm.org) presents all the useful terminological information for the Dutch language.  The site includes an important bibliography, a database of neologisms, and datacollections of terminology, presented in a Multiterm framework.

We can conclude that the efforts the Dutch Language Union and its project groups undertook, lead to a better visibility of the Dutch language in the translation, multilingual business and information market.  This policy may be recommended to other smaller European languages, in order to support and preserve multilinguality in Europe.

References : 

Steurs, F. (1999)  “Machine Aided Term Bank Construction. Development of an integrated and learning system for semi-automatic annotation. A technological tool for translation memories’. Innsbruck, Terminology and Knowledge Engineering 

De Vroomen, W. (red) 1990. Terminologie in het Nederlandse Taalgebied. Publicatie van de Nederlandse Taalunie, Voorzetten 32

www.nedterm.org