Client/In-Country Review : The process in which ALTs translations are reviewed and approved by a clients in-house or in-country staff, who are native-speakers of the target language(s) used. The client reviewers should also have the requisite subject matter knowledge to judge the quality of the translation. This step is part of ALTs standard translation process and is included at no extra charge.

Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) : The use of computers to increase the efficiency of human translators. CAT tools include translation memory, glossary, indexing, word processing and development software.

FTP : The Internet File Transfer Protocol, which allows for the transfer of files (both uploads and downloads) from a central site on the Internet. FTP sites are useful for storing, disseminating and delivering files that may be too large to send as an e-mail attachment. ALT provides FTP access to clients upon request.

Human Translation : Process in which humans carry out a translation task. This may include the use of computer technology to complete the task, but the technology used does not actually provide any translation; all translated text is written by the human translator. (See: Computer-Aided Translation)

Layout Files : Computer files used to create a document in its publishable format. Examples of layout file formats are Pagemaker™, Quark Xpress™, Microsoft Word™, and Framemaker™.

Leveraging : Leveraging is the reuse of source and/or target text from one set of documents in a subsequent version of those documents (or web pages, software, etc.). It is often referred to as 'Translation Recycling and Reuse'.

Machine Translation (MT) : The use of computer software to translate text from one language to another. The current status of the technology allows for extremely fast conversion of text between languages. The quality of the resulting translation is limited to a 'gist' level--the reader can get the gist of the topic addressed in the document, but the translation is not of publishable quality.

Native Language : Typically known as a persons 'mother tongue'. It is often the first language an individual learns, but it may also be someones 'dominant language' if they are multilingual.

Per-Word Rate : A standard in the translation industry for calculating translation costs. ALT ascertains the source word count of the text to be translated and multiplies that by the per-word rate, which is usually in cents.

Repetition Rate : The amount the text in a document repeats. When measuring repetition, single words that are repeated are not assessed, but sentences are. ALT measures repetition in percentages.

Recycling and Reuse : An alternative name for leveraging.

Source Language : The language in which text was originally written.

Target Language : The language into which text is translated.

Translation Memory : A database created and maintained in order to collect source text and its corresponding translation. A translation memory allows translators to reuse previously translated text as they translate new material.

Word Count : The number of words in a document. ALT uses specialized tools to measure and analyze the word count in a document or series of documents.