Uwe Muegge (pronounced ˈuːvə mygə), (b. 1960) is an innovator and educator in the field of translation.
Muegge has developed several controlled languages, a number of tools and processes for automatic terminology extraction and dictionary creation, and is a pioneer in the areas of implementing automated tools for writing source documents in a controlled environment, using machine translation tools, and automatically checking target documents. Muegge is serving in various professional special industry groups, has presented at international conferences, and is a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).[1][2][3] His book Translation Contract is the standard reference for specifying translation work orders. Muegge's website is based on a controlled language that enables automatic machine translation into eleven languages. The Alexa traffic ranking service lists this website among the 100 most popular translation sites, having attracted visitors from more than 110 countries.[4][5]
He is married to Christine Muegge, a midwifery educator and published author, with whom he has three daughters.[9]
Contributions
Muegge has developed a number of processes and tools for improving the productivity and quality of various steps in the writing-to-translation workflow:
Terminology work
Uwe Muegge has developed a number of automatic terminology extraction solutions. One of these solutions was evaluated by the SwissFederal Chancellery, which determined the results of Muegge's extraction process to be superior to those produced by the market leader Trados.[10] He also developed a process for automatically creating machine-readable dictionaries from printed dictionaries.[11]
Controlled language
Muegge has developed the CLOUT rule set (Controlled Language Optimized for Uniform Translation), a controlled language that he designed for writing documents that are suitable for translation with machine translation systems.[12] A subset of the CLOUT rules is published on this website.
Muegge designed a process for integrating any machine translation tool into TMX-compliant translation memory tools.[13] He also developed a solution for automatically translating descriptions in product databases.[14]
Web design and Internationalization
Muegge's website is a model solution for an internationalization approach that uses machine translation to automatically create virtual versions of a website in another language. The text in this website was created using his CLOUT rule set, which, combined with Google’slanguage tools, produce machine-generated translations that are largely comprehensible, if not completely well-formed.[15]
Translation
Muegge is the author of a model solution for specifying translation work orders and is a member of the German Association of Technical Communicators (tekom) Translation SIG that developed the translation quality assurance tool QualiAssistent.[16][17]
Selected publications
Books and articles
Cover of Translation Contract
Muegge, Uwe (2007), “Automatische Terminologieextraktion [Automatic terminology extraction]”, in Schmitt, Peter A. & Jüngst, Heike E., Translationsqualität [Translation quality], Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Publishing, pp. on CD, ISBN 978-3-631-57187-3
Muegge, Uwe (2006), “Fully automatic high quality machine translation of restricted text: A case study”, Proceedings of the twenty-eighth international conference on translating and the computer, 16-17 November 2006, London, London: Aslib, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-85142-483-5
Muegge, Uwe (2006), “An excellent application for crummy machine translation: Automatic translation of a large database”, in Gräfe, Elisabeth, Proceedings of the annual conference of the German society of technical communicators, Stuttgart: tekom, pp. 18–21
Muegge, Uwe; et al. (2006). How to optimize translations & accelerate time to market: Aligning people, processes and technology to improve quality and speed to market. Minneapolis: Merrill Brink International.
Muegge, Uwe (2005). Translation Contract. A standards-based model solution. Bloomington: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4184-1636-2.
Muegge, Uwe (2002), “Lokalisierung und Maschinelle Übersetzungssysteme [Localization and machine translation systems]”, in Tjarks-Sobhani, Marita & Hennig, Jörg, Lokalisierung von Technischer Dokumentation [Localization of technical documentation], Stuttgart: tekom, pp. 110–121, ISBN 978-3-7950-0789-8
Muegge, Uwe (2002). "Möglichkeiten für das Realisieren einer einfachen Kontrollierten Sprache" [Implementing a simple controlled language]". Lebende Sprachen (3): 110–114.
Muegge, Uwe (2001), “Mit automatischer Terminologieextraktion schneller zu besseren Übersetzungsergebnissen [Using automatic terminology extraction for obtaining better translations sooner”, in Gräfe, Elisabeth, Proceedings of the annual conference of the German society of technical communicators, Stuttgart: tekom, pp. 50–51
Muegge, Uwe (2001). "The best of two worlds. Integrating machine translation into standard translation memories. A universal approach based on the TMX standard". Language International (6): 26–29.
Muegge, Uwe (2000). "Terminology work: Tools and processes that make a difference". ATA Chronicle (4): 15–20.
Muegge, Uwe; et al. (1998). Verfahren zur Erstellung projektbezogener Terminologielisten [Process for creating project-specific terminology lists] Patent ID: DE19923570.8. Munich: German Patent Office.
Interviews and reviews
Schmidt, Axel (2007). "Maschinelles Übersetzen: Junkfood oder Sternemenü? [Machine translation: junk food or gourmet's delight?]". Produkt Global (3): 24–25.
Buller, Paul (2007). "Uwe Muegge zur Terminologiearbeit bei Medtronic: Qualität ist unser oberstes Ziel [Uwe Muegge on terminology work at Medtronic: Quality is our number one priority]". Produkt Global (1): 18–20.
Shunra-Bugel, Dena (2006). "Translation contract: Reviewed by Dena Shunra-Bugel". Multilingual Computing (76): 18–19. Multilingual Computing.
Hemmer, Stafford (2006). "Translation contract: A standards-based model solution by Uwe Muegge. Review by Stafford Hemmer". Translorial (1): 16.
^ Muegge currently serves in the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) Terminology SIG and the German Association of Technical Communicators (tekom) Translation SIG.
^ Muegge, Christine (2003): "Frauen und Führung: Von der Konstruktion weiblicher Führungsqualitäten." [Women and leadership: The construction of female leadership qualities.], Hamburg: Diplomica
^ Schweizer Bundeskanzlei, Sektion Terminologie / Arbeitsgruppe Extraktoren (2001): "Evaluation der Extraktionsprogramme von Xerox, Trados und U. Mügge."
^ Muegge, Uwe (2000): "Terminology work: Tools and processes that make a difference", ATA Chronicle 4, 15-20.
^ Kearns, John (2006): "New CLOUT Website", IATIS Bulletin 5, 3-4.
^ Muegge, Uwe (2001): "The best of two worlds. Integrating machine translation into standard translation memories. A universal approach based on the TMX standard", Language International 6, 26-29.
^ Muegge, Uwe (2006): "Fully automatic high quality machine translation of restricted text: A case study", in "Translating and the computer 28. Proceedings of the twenty-eighth international conference on translating and the computer, 16-17 November 2006, London", London: Aslib. ISBN 978-0-85142-483-5.
^This page lists 10 of the easier to implement rules out of the 30+ CLOUT rule set.
^ Muegge, Uwe (2005): "Translation contract. A standards-based model solution", Bloomington: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4184-1636-2.
^ Oehmig, Peter (2006): "Translating with ease and without mistakes: Quality management in the translation process" tekom Webportal.