Not all translators are accustomed to using CAT Tools even though some programs such as Trados SDL have been around for over a quarter of a century!
It has some serious benefits: not only do they help provide high quality translations, but they also allow translators and clients to save a considerable amount of time (and money!). Here are a few reasons why they can be highly beneficial when it comes to translation projects:
1 – Translation Memories (TMs)
If you’ve purchased the translation of a similar project in the past (be it 200 or 20,000 words), TMs are able to store all past translations. So, when projects are created, specific TMs can be imported which will show if there is any leverage (fuzzy matches or full matches) apart from any already existing repeated words within the new content. As a result, you won’t have to spend time, money and effort on translating phrases or terms that were already translated in the past.
2- Terminological preferences
Whether you created a term base in the past or if a glossary of specific approved terms has been provided, CAT Tools allow these to be imported. Translators can then search for particular terms within the termbase, or even add translations of “key” terms they think will be useful to have close at hand. Furthermore, these translations pop up when they appear in the source text which leads us to the next point…
3- Consistency
CAT Tools recognize and point out “repetitions” (within the same file) and “fuzzy matches”, allowing for consistency throughout the text. The translator can search for terms in the source text and consequently see how they’ve been translated from start to finish so that different translations of a same term are never an issue- highly time saving and helpful!
4- Quality Assurance
Most CAT Tools allow translators to run a simple spell check before completing their work. Furthermore, a built-in QA analysis will point out if there are any tag mismatches, missing or non-matching numbers, if any segments have been left untranslated among several other features you may be looking for in order to deliver a high quality end-product.
5- Layout
Another really useful characteristic of all CAT Tools is their ability to export finalized work in the source’s same exact format. The file may have to be edited slightly, considering some languages use more words than others and thus demand more space, but this is definitely much more convenient than having to recreate a document’s entire format. Hence, you can rest assured that the project will be delivered in the same format as the source document.
6- Cloud storage
Several CAT Tools have turned into cloud-based translation memory systems, such as Memsource, SDL, Wordbee, memQ. Their translation environment is located in the cloud. Not only does this let you share all content being processed in real-time, but also, if a translator is having issues with their internet connection, for example, each confirmed segment is automatically saved to the cloud and the project’s TM. This enables the translator to easily access their previously translated work from any computer by accessing the CAT Tools’ website. Read more about the cloud here.Translation Tools Connected to the Cloud
