Educational organizations use DITA’s versatile features to handle terminology translation and localization, ensuring that their educational content can be effectively disseminated to diverse linguistic and cultural audiences. DITA provides a structured approach to manage translations and maintain localized versions of educational materials.

Content Segmentation

One of the fundamental practices in handling terminology translation and localization in DITA is to segment content into smaller, translatable units. DITA topics and elements are structured in a way that makes it easy to separate text, making it manageable for translation tools and professionals. By breaking down content into segments, organizations can send only the necessary parts for translation, reducing costs and streamlining the process.

Key-Based Localization

DITA enables key-based localization, which involves assigning unique keys to content components, such as terms, phrases, or entire topics. These keys serve as placeholders for translated content. In a DITA map, the localization team can reference these keys, and translation management systems will replace them with the appropriate translations based on the target language. This approach ensures consistency across localized materials.

Example:

Here’s an example of how DITA facilitates terminology translation and localization through key-based localization:

<ph id="term:software">Software</ph>

In this example, the term “Software” is assigned a unique ID, “term:software.” The localization team can then provide translations for this term, and it can be referenced in DITA content using the same ID. When generating content for different languages, DITA’s localization capabilities automatically replace “term:software” with the corresponding translated term, ensuring that educational materials are presented in the correct language.