Grrr...

[alexpgp]

I've probably said this before, but it bears saying again...

I utterly detest client-supplied "glossaries" whose content approaches that of a small dictionary. While I am sure the compiler meant to be helpful in providing a pile of terms having no particularly unique-to-this-project meaning (i.e., amendment=поправка), what said compiler does not realize is that the presence of such terms makes it harder for translators to concentrate on the terms that are relevant to a particular project or document. Then again, I'm sure the compiler feels his or her worth to the employer is proved by the breathtaking size of the steaming pile of language embedded in such a glossary, so of course, "the bigger the better" is the rule.

I also am charmed by the fact that the glossary was provided in the form of a read-only Word file that is alphabetized in (for me) the wrong language. After all, as I translate from Russian to English, it would make sense to assume I tend to look up Russian terms, not English ones; thus the English alphabetization is entirely lost on me, unless one assumes I prefer to use Word's lamentable Search feature to root through such linguistic dumps for the rest of my natural life.

Therefore, in order to be able to use this masterpiece, I have to jump through some additional hoops, not the least of which is to resort the table by the entries in the Russian column, do a select-all, copy the data, paste it into a new file and save it (because the original is, after all, read-only...). Of course, the fact that the glosasry is embedded in an 8000-line table and any operation on a table of such size occurs either in geological time or doesn't occur at all because Word enters [Not responding] mode is merely icing on the cake.

(I shudder to think what idiocy will ensue if/when Microsoft enables DRM for document originators who decide to allow you to read their documents, but not to modify them in any way, including resorting them, but I digress...)

I am already behind schedule for today, all because of this farblegargling "glossary."

Cheers...

Comments

[tamaraland.livejournal.com]

I'm actually inches from completion of a VB macro that goes through a word doc and flags terms that are in a specified database file, simple two column word=defintion format. It then goes through the document and inserts the defintion as a comment at the first instance of each word found. It makes those enormous glossaries manageable.