FAQs

FAQs

• How do I log in?

    

   

• Where do I find the translated files?

  

   

   

   

• Which template do I choose?

  • [Department] Legal text: texts wih legal content such as contracts, non-disclosure agreements, etc.
  • [Department] Marketing/Promotional material: all texts that go in the direction of advertising/promotions in a broader sense and that should have an advertising effect
  • [Department] Other material: technical texts, info and training material. Everything that is not covered by the first two templates.
  • Machine Translation: cost-free, NO OFFICIAL USE!!: for machine translations - no human quality assurance!
  • Proofreading [please choose identical languages]: for proofreading. Please choose identical languages when selecting the source and target language. 

• What information should I provide in the comment field?

  • "please use formal/informal tonality in the translations"
  • "I would like to do a review of the translation when it's done"
  • "maximum amount of characters: 40 per string"
  • "please only translate the text in red"
  • "partial delivery please, as soon as the first language is done"
  • "Please do NOT start yet, I need a quote first"
  • "Please proofread first, then translate into English"
  • etc.

• What reference material should I add?

  Language is dependent on context. To enable translators to produce high-quality translations, it is essential to provide them with reference material.

  Examples:

  • the formatted source text
  • images
  • existing translations on similar topics
  • other additional information or explanations

• How can I request a machine translation?

  Select the template "Machine Translation: cost-free, NO OFFICIAL USE!!" and proceed as usual. You can upload many different file formats, such as Word, PowerPoint, JSON, etc. You will also need to enter a due date as the field is mandatory, however, the date is irrelevant. The translation will be generated within just a few minutes, depending on the length of the text.

  Machine translations are free of charge, but please note that they are generated without any human involvement. We can therefore not assume any responsibility for potential mistakes. Machine translation can be a great option for texts which are used only internally, such as training material.

  If the machine translation alone is not sufficient, our translation agencies also offer post-editing. The duration and costs vary depending on the degree of post-editing that is required. If you have any questions about the topic, please feel free to contact us.

  Please note that the following languages are not supported by Deepl:

  • Croatian
  • Malay
  • Serbian
  • Thai

   

• How do I send a request for proofreading?

  Upload the file as usual and select the template "Proofreading [please choose identical languages]". Please add instructions in the comment field, e.g. "please create comments, I will change the text later", "please track changes in Word", "I need a translation into EN afterwards".

• The source text was changed after I started a translation project. Can I still make changes?

  Yes, please send an e-mail to TranslMgmt_SVC@ktm.com. We will exchange the file for you. If there were many changes, the delivery date may change, too.

• What can be translated?

  Most file formats that can be edited can be read by the translation tool. If you are unsure, please send us an e-mail to TranslMgmt_SVC@ktm.com.

  Text in PDFs, images or screenshots cannot be edited, read by the translation tool or translated. Please provide us with specific instructions as to what you would like us to do with graphics.

  If you do not leave us any other instructions, the entire document will be translated, aside from parts that cannot be edited. If you do not need a translation of the entire document, please leave us a comment when creating the project, e.g., “please only translate the parts in red". Please use standard colors and highlight full sentences rather than single words.

  Alternatively, you can hide columns and lines that do not require translation. Please always remove/hide columns with product numbers etc. that do not need to be translated.

    

• How long does a translation take?

  The time required for a translation depends on the volume of text, the quality and level of difficulty, the language combination(s) and current workload. On average, an experienced translator can translate up to 2,000 words a day. For proofreading, you can estimate approximately 4,000 words a day. A further 3 to 5 days may be required for project management, data preparation and quality assurance.

• How should I prepare my source text?

  • Please only provide one source language per document
  • Ensure that the text is grammatically and orthographically correct so that potential mistakes are not stored in the translation memory and reoccur elsewhere
  • Ensure that the terminology is correct: inconsistent terminology often leads to confusion, queries, and an increased potential for errors. To correct the terminology in your texts, you can use one of our Acrolinx plug-ins and consult our terminology database KTerM (http://kterm.ktm.local/dashboard).
  • Use standard fonts if you want a text to be translated into languages that do not use the Latin writing system.
  • Use line breaks correctly: Please only use hard line breaks (¶ = enter key) when a new paragraph actually begins, since they are interpreted by the translation tool as the end of a segment and lead to incorrect segmentation within a sentence. Soft or manual line breaks (=shift-+ enter key),in contrast, are not recognized as the end of a segment and also lead to errors in the reading of text units. They are often unintentionally inserted into the source document by copying them from other applications. Remember to remove soft line breaks.
  • Use automatic hyphenation: If syllables are to be separated in a text, it is recommended to use “automatic hyphenation” or to insert a conditional hyphen manually. A simple hyphen will give the same result optically but will cause problems in the translation tool. Hyphens are recognized as additional characters in the word, so no 100% matches can be found to existing sentences in the translation memory. The terminology recognition system also cannot find a matching database entry.
  • Do not use spaces for formatting: To indent texts, use tabs or indentations, but not multiple spaces. Spaces are displayed after the source file has been read into the translation tool and, apart from a confusing format, cause additional editing work. The translation with the spaces in the same place almost always looks different than the source text. Furthermore, in some cases, the translator may not be able to judge whether the space fulfills a certain function or can be deleted.
  • Use uniform date, time and number formats: When it comes to identifying the date, time and number formats, the translation tool follows predefined rules. For example, it is specified that the date in German has the format DD.MM.YYYY or DD.MM.YY. If there is a space between the numbers, the date is no longer recognized as a group of related numbers.