Here is how xTiles Can Step up your Translation Game
It might not be your usual suspect, but hey: it works
Translation is a difficult yet underappreciated craft. Not only is Google Translate up for the job 24/7, but it is also free and quiet.
Why bother hiring a real person?
And yet the art of communicating words and meanings into different languages is alive and kicking. Millions of professionals around the globe put time and effort into paraphrasing complex sentences while leaving the meaning intact. And the last thing they need in this endeavor is a complicated and inconvenient tool.
At xTiles, we are always happy to make your life an iota easier, including when it comes to translation.
Let us show you what we can do for you.
How do you go about translations?
You landed a big order.
Congratulations!
Now let’s think about how to best commence translating it.
If the order is technical, you will most likely use a tool such as CAT. It is a solid option. Especially if you need to localize the text.
But when it comes to books, articles, and whitepapers, — all of which require a creative touch, — this approach is non-viable. 99% of the time you will have to press on the Google Docs or Word icons and create a two-cell table.
At a glance, there is nothing wrong with this method. Yet, any experienced translator knows how difficult it really is because of the A4 format limitations.
Firstly, because it is impossible to fit a readable font into it for it not to become too long page-wise. For example, a relatively short text of 3000–5000 words can easily take up 30–40 A4 pages of 11–12 Times New Roman/Arial font.
Secondly, the text often becomes disfigured or too small, especially if you are trying to translate it into several languages simultaneously. That is a true horror show.
A canvas tool like xTiles might not be a translator’s first choice. After all, how could it possibly help translate texts better and faster?
And yet it can.
All thanks to its built-in customizable cards that can do all sorts of magic. You can easily expand them back and forth, turning 30–40 pages of text into one.
These cards are easily moveable around the crispy-clean canvas, and it takes just a couple of seconds to create a table like in Word or Google Docs. Or open a ready-made template — a real timesaver.
The tool also provides you with an immaculately structured space for all your projects. Subpages allow you to conveniently store supplements, such as relevant links, notes, dictionary entries, videos, etc, while the deep-dive feature enables you to focus only on those cards you need.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged”
To give you a better idea of what the tool can do for you, let’s imagine that you have decided to translate Pride and Prejudice, the novel that has been captivating minds for centuries thanks to Jane Austen’s wit and idiosyncratic writing style.
Instead of clicking on the Word or Google Docs icon, go to xTiles page, register an account (it only takes a minute), and create a project. Depending on how many languages you are planning to work with, you can create between 2–4 cards — an alternative to the classic Word table.
Copy-paste the original text — for example, each chapter — into a card and open, or close, as many cards as you want.
The first thing you will notice is that the texts, both the original and the one you type in, will be simultaneously available on the screen in a much more convenient way than in Microsoft Word. There is no need to zoom in and out: The font always remains readable.
Once you are done with translating the first chapter, feel free to close the card and create the next one in the same canvas. This is an amazingly convenient feature as you do not only end up saving space this way, but you also remain in the big picture mode without having to scroll down a monster file. In other words, your translation is effectively available on the same screen.
To complete tasks faster, you can share your translation with editors and proofreaders while working on other chapters. There is no need to wire Word files or guess who is working on what. In xTiles, there are no anonymous rhino icons who are changing the text whimsically. xTiles “blocks” the sentences you are working on to preclude you form interfering with each other’s work.
Additionally, you are always free to create a subpage for storing related information, such as links, pictures, or else, that would help you translate faster and better.
You can also use it to take notes and create to-do lists so that you keep track of all the things that matter. And we are not talking about Mr. Darcy only, however, handsome and enticing that man is.
Wrapping it up, we cannot emphasize enough how much we care about our community. We are constantly improving our product — check out the version 1.0.1 — and are happy to share all sorts of tips. Here are some of them: Five Translation Hacks that You Will Love, Doing Better Research: Top Five Tips, The Art of Being Concise
To start using xTiles, follow the link.
