Uwe Muegge
Encyclopedia
Uwe Muegge (ˈuːvə ˈmʏɡə, born 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)
. 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.
, Germany
and received his undergraduate education
in English
linguistics
, American studies
, and political science
at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
. He earned a Master of Arts
degree
in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Oregon
and a Master of Arts degree in German Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies
. Muegge has also pursued doctoral studies in applied linguistics
at the University of Leipzig
.
Muegge is an expert in automating processes relating to the management of terminology
, writing
, translation
and localization
projects and has provided consulting services to global corporations such es DaimlerChrysler
, SAP
, and Sun Microsystems
.
Uwe Muegge currently works for Medtronic
, the world's largest medical technology
company, as a corporate terminologist
and holds an adjunct professor
teaching position at the Monterey Institute of International Studies
where he teaches courses in computer-assisted translation
and terminology management
.
He is married to Christine Muegge, a midwifery
educator and published author, with whom he has three daughters.
Federal Chancellery, which determined the results of Muegge's extraction process to be superior to those produced by the market leader Trados. He also developed a process for automatically creating machine-readable dictionaries from printed dictionaries.
. 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. He also developed a solution for automatically translating descriptions in product database
s.
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’s
language tools, produce machine-generated translations that are largely comprehensible, if not completely well-formed.
, and the United States Information Agency
sponsored several individual exhibitions of his “Keepers of the Light” project in Germany. His infrared photography
project “Adrift in the Southwest” was sponsored and produced by Philip Morris International
.
on foot following the 425 mile (685 km) GR 5
route that originates near Lake Geneva
and ends at the city of Nice
on the Mediterranean Sea
. He also walked the 268 mile (429 km) Pennine Way
stretching from the Derbyshire Peak District
to the border of Scotland
in the UK
, participated in the Inferno Race (the world's oldest and one of the longest downhill
ski races) in Switzerland
, completed several Olympic-distance triathlon
s, and his marathon
best is 3:34 h.
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
.
Muegge has developed several controlled languages
Controlled natural language
Controlled natural languages are subsets of natural languages, obtained byrestricting the grammar and vocabulary in orderto reduce or eliminate ambiguity and complexity.Traditionally, controlled languages fall into two major types:...
, a number of tools and processes for automatic terminology extraction
Terminology extraction
Terminology mining, term extraction, term recognition, or glossary extraction, is a subtask of information extraction. The goal of terminology extraction is to automatically extract relevant terms from a given corpus....
and dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
creation, and is a pioneer in the areas of implementing automated tools for writing source documents in a controlled environment, using machine translation
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
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)
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
. 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
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
into eleven languages. The Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
traffic ranking service lists this website among the 100 most popular translation sites, having attracted visitors from more than 110 countries.
Biography
Muegge was born in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and received his undergraduate education
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
, and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In the area of German Studies it has been ranked first among...
. He earned a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
and a Master of Arts degree in German Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies
Monterey Institute of International Studies
The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of Middlebury College, located in Monterey, California, United States...
. Muegge has also pursued doctoral studies in applied linguistics
Applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems...
at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
.
Muegge is an expert in automating processes relating to the management of terminology
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
, writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
, translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and localization
Internationalization and localization
In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
projects and has provided consulting services to global corporations such es DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...
, SAP
SAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
, and Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
.
Uwe Muegge currently works for Medtronic
Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...
, the world's largest medical technology
Medical technology
Medical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...
company, as a corporate terminologist
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
and holds an adjunct professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
teaching position at the Monterey Institute of International Studies
Monterey Institute of International Studies
The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of Middlebury College, located in Monterey, California, United States...
where he teaches courses in computer-assisted translation
Computer-assisted translation
Computer-assisted translation, computer-aided translation, or CAT is a form of translation wherein a human translator translates texts using computer software designed to support and facilitate the translation process....
and terminology management
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
.
He is married to Christine Muegge, a midwifery
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
educator and published author, with whom he has three daughters.
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 SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Federal Chancellery, which determined the results of Muegge's extraction process to be superior to those produced by the market leader Trados. He also developed a process for automatically creating machine-readable dictionaries from printed dictionaries.
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 systemsMachine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
. A subset of the CLOUT rules is published on this website.
Machine translation
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
tool into TMX-compliant translation memory
Translation memory
A translation memory, or TM, is a database that stores so-called "segments", which can be sentences or sentence-like units that have previously been translated. A translation memory system stores the words, phrases and paragraphs that have already been translated, in order to aid human translators...
tools. He also developed a solution for automatically translating descriptions in product database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s.
Web design and Internationalization
Muegge's website is a model solution for an internationalizationInternationalization
In economics, internationalization has been viewed as a process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization or international entrepreneurship...
approach that uses machine translation
Machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
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’s
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
language tools, produce machine-generated translations that are largely comprehensible, if not completely well-formed.
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.Books and articles
Photography
Muegge has received a formal education in photographyPhotography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
sponsored several individual exhibitions of his “Keepers of the Light” project in Germany. His infrared photography
Infrared photography
In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about...
project “Adrift in the Southwest” was sponsored and produced by Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...
.
Endurance sports
Muegge crossed the AlpsAlps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
on foot following the 425 mile (685 km) GR 5
GR 5
GR5 is also a variant of the "Harrier Jump Jet"The GR 5 is a GR footpath that starts in the Netherlands, crosses Belgium and Luxembourg before crossing France from north to south. It is part of the European walking route E2...
route that originates near Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
and ends at the city of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
on the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. He also walked the 268 mile (429 km) Pennine Way
Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...
stretching from the Derbyshire Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
to the border of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, participated in the Inferno Race (the world's oldest and one of the longest downhill
Downhill
Downhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....
ski races) in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, completed several Olympic-distance triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
s, and his marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
best is 3:34 h.
Honors
- Member of U.S. delegation to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)International Organization for StandardizationThe International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
- Listed in Marquis Who's Who in AmericaMarquis Who's WhoMarquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc., is the American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies...
See also
- Controlled natural languageControlled natural languageControlled natural languages are subsets of natural languages, obtained byrestricting the grammar and vocabulary in orderto reduce or eliminate ambiguity and complexity.Traditionally, controlled languages fall into two major types:...
- Internationalization and localizationInternationalization and localizationIn computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
- Machine translationMachine translationMachine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...
- Monterey Institute of International StudiesMonterey Institute of International StudiesThe Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of Middlebury College, located in Monterey, California, United States...
- TerminologyTerminologyTerminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
- TranslationTranslationTranslation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...