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Kudoz and terminology: do ProZ members know what a term is?
Thread poster: Fatima Noronha
MollyRose
MollyRose  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:21
English to Spanish
+ ...
glossary vs. discussion Apr 7, 2017

Usually when I look up something in ProZ, when a list appears, I choose the ones that have discussion, not just looking at glossary listings (unless I see something in a glossary post that is an obvious answer and I don't need any in-depth distinction due to context). I agree with those who say that being able to ask phrases and sometimes sentences (or several words with similar meaning but you need to distinguish the finer meanings between them) is more helpful than just single words or strict... See more
Usually when I look up something in ProZ, when a list appears, I choose the ones that have discussion, not just looking at glossary listings (unless I see something in a glossary post that is an obvious answer and I don't need any in-depth distinction due to context). I agree with those who say that being able to ask phrases and sometimes sentences (or several words with similar meaning but you need to distinguish the finer meanings between them) is more helpful than just single words or strict "terms." Some things shouldn't be added to the Glossary because it doesn't make sense to do so. Just because it doesn't make sense to add to the glossary doesn't mean it isn't ok to ask and discuss. It is more fun that way as well as more useful. I enjoy reading discussions even if I don't actively participate, and my searches often help me choose how to say something in a translation I'm working on. If I don't find the answer I need in ProZ and/or other research, then I ask. I believe it's all about helping each other, and the points are a bonus.

I also use my termbase as a glossary for myself, but more than helping me remember how to say things, I use it to save keystrokes!
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jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 17:21
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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We don't ask/answer questions Apr 8, 2017

only for the sake of glossary building. It is just not our job to build a glossary. The glossary is just a by-product. Period. It's that simple.

[Edited at 2017-04-08 00:12 GMT]


 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 22:21
Italian to English
This Apr 8, 2017

jyuan_us wrote:

It is just not our job to build a glossary. The glossary is just a by-product. Period. It's that simple.


I couldn't have put it better.


 
Huw Watkins
Huw Watkins  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:21
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
Yes! Apr 10, 2017

Sheila Wilson wrote:

KudoZ answerers are there to give practical help, IMHO

Fatima Noronha wrote:
Those who studied terminology know that it's possible for a terminological unit to equal a whole sentence. But this is extremely unusual, as a terminological unit, by definition, contains one and only one concept [Cabré, M. T. (2003). Theories of terminology: their description, prescription and explanation. Terminology, 2(9), 163–199; Temmerman, R. (2000). Towards New Ways of Terminology Description: The Sociocognitive-approach. John Benjamins Publishin, and so on...)].

This isn't academia. KudoZ is there to help practising translators with problems they encounter in their translations. The objective - in their eyes - isn't to build some sort of bilingual terminological unit that a university might consider correct. Their objective is to deliver a correct translation!

There's a word limit to try to avoid abuse, and KudoZ editors (volunteers) will sometimes squash questions or suggest changes to the term if the Asker seems to have parsed the text incorrectly.


Absolutely! I find the legal phrases particularly useful in KudoZ precisely because partial/full sentences have been helpfully decoded by skilled legal translators who have had similar documents.

I/we have lots of other resources on the web for single terms. It is terms and phrases in context (with discussions) that I've always liked about proz and now like about sites like linguee (and other concordance-based sites).

In the beginning KudoZ used to be quite a lot stricter about the length of the queries (which, unless my memory is playing tricks on me, were shorter - often one word), I think it is better now. If anything what KudoZ could benefit from is a more powerful search algorithm 'a la google' to improve the search results. In fact it's often more beneficial to search the term/phrase via the google search engine first I find.

Definitely yes to this too:

jyuan_us wrote:

only for the sake of glossary building. It is just not our job to build a glossary. The glossary is just a by-product. Period. It's that simple.

[Edited at 2017-04-08 00:12 GMT]






[Edited at 2017-04-10 14:52 GMT]


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 22:21
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Daryo Apr 10, 2017

Daryo wrote:
Too many askers don't seem to know what a "term" is ... nor understand the importance of the context in which the term is used.


For the terminologist, a "term" is independent of context. Sure, a term can be clarified by context, but only translators/editors (not terminologists) deal with terms in context. For a terminologist, a term must be defined, but the KudoZ glossary system was not designed for askers/answerers to deal with terms in terms of definitions.

I'm not saying that translators should not care about the academic definition of a "term". I'm just saying that KudoZ is not a terminology database (it is a glossary system).


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:21
Spanish to English
+ ...
Ditto Apr 11, 2017

MollyRose wrote:

Usually when I look up something in ProZ, when a list appears, I choose the ones that have discussion, not just looking at glossary listings (unless I see something in a glossary post that is an obvious answer and I don't need any in-depth distinction due to context).


Same here. In fact, often it is the discussion that is most important to me, to be able to see different takes on a word or expression (or is it a "term"? Whatever, I'm too busy to find out). I sometimes post queries simply to brainstorm our colleagues, to help me decide between options I may be considering, or to seek reassurance for my own tentative conclusions. For that reason, a lot of my kudoz queries get marked down as non-pro, due to their apparent (or actual) simplicity. And because I select one of the solutions proferred as "most helpful", that doesn't mean I go away and actually use it in my translation. But the input is always helpful.


 
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Kudoz and terminology: do ProZ members know what a term is?






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