MT post-editing: how to shed light on the “unknown task”. Experiences at SAP.

MT post-editing: How to shed light on the "unknown task" Experices made at SAP Dr. Falko Schäfer Neurottstr. 16, SAP AG 69190 Walldorf Germany falko.schaefer@sap.com Abstract This paper describes a project currently under way at SAP dealing with the task of post-editing MT output. As a concrete re- sult of the project, a standard post-editing guide to be used by translator end users is currently being created. The purpose of this post-editing guide is not only to train and support translators in the daily work with MT but also to make the post-editing task more accessible to them, thus en- couraging an open-minded attitude to- wards translation technology. Furthermore the systematic error typology underlying the guide serves not only as a methodological framework for the re- search on post-editing but also as a diag- nosis for necessary corrections and enhancements to be carried out in the cor- responding MT systems used. In the context of the project descrip- tion, the related research in the field of automated translation processes as well as the experiences made with MT at SAP are illustrated. 1 1.1 Introduction Machine Translation at SAP In order to cope with its large and constantly grow- ing translation volumes faster and at lower costs, SAP is one of the few big industrial groups to have invested in an increasing number of MT systems over the past years. Currently there are four MT systems that are deployed in the translation of SAP offline texts, i.e. texts extracted from SAP systems, converted into an "MT-suitable" format before ma- chine translation, and re-imported into the systems after the translation has been completed. These systems are: � LOGOS (used for English–French and English–Spanish) � PROMT (used for English–Russian and English–Portuguese) � METAL (used for German–English) � LOGOVISTA (used for English– Japanese) Translation is done by external vendors and translation projects are coordinated by the depart- ment SAP Language Services (SLS) in cooperation with Multilingual Technology (MLT, in the case of LOGOS and METAL). However, the translation workflow varies from system to system, the LOGOS and the PROMT processes being very similar to each other and differing greatly from the METAL process. LOGOS and PROMT are used to translate SAP documentation material and training courses, whereas METAL and LOGOVISTA are used exclusively for the translation of “SAP notes” (standardized documents for troubleshooting and customer support). For the purposes of this study, only the major differences between the workflows connected with the four MT systems are described, and two system-specific processes are illustrated (PROMT and METAL). PROMT has been productively deployed in the translation of SAP documentation and training courses since August 2000. The MT software is installed locally at SAP, and MT output is sent to external translation agencies for post-editing, one of them being the PROMT translation department itself. The following slide provides an overview of the PROMT translation workflow.  SAP AG 2001, Title of Presentation, Speaker Name 1 Translation Workflow: PROMT Terminology Extraction PROMT for TRADOS (P4T) PROMT System TRADOS …

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