Computer Mediated Tools Utilised in Translation Business

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Translate-button-betterIndeed, translation exists since ancient times, but nowadays the image of a translator, working with a dictionary and a pen, has changed dramatically. Given the fact that computer-aided translation is spreading staggeringly; you may very well need a translation project management software and perhaps a translation memory and alignment software too. For example, if you do not use a translation memory to captivate a repeated phrase or expression so that you can re-utilize it in your future projects, you will have to translate and contextualize the same word or content repetitively. This kind of approach may deaccelerate your pace in completing your project, let alone the fact that it decreases the quality of your work and as a result your customer becomes unsatisfied. It is possible to define a translation memory as a linguistic database, which captivates and permanently stores your translations for future use. Your former translations are stored in the memory and reutilized so that you do not have to be condemned to translate a sentence, which you already translated countless times. The more you store up your translation memory with your translations, the faster you are able to translate your following translations, which allows to you to pick up even more projects.

If we take the use of SDL Trados in projects, for instance, you open the source file and implement the translation memory and thus any identical or similar equivalence are immediately detected and embedded in the target text. While you keep working in the source file, the equivalences proposed by the memory could be admitted or replaced with new alternatives. If you update a translation unit by hand, then it is registered in the translation memory in case you need to use it in future projects. Apart from that, if there is no match in the target file, than you have to translate the whole text by hand and it will be stored in the translation memory automatically. Anyone who deals with translation and localization of content from one language into another could use translation memories. This is especially very useful when you translate documents, which include repetitive terms and expressions. In addition to that, translation memories could be very useful and profitable when you deal with translations of content that seems to be out of context. Some companies take advantage of Content Management Systems in order to conduct their information. With the use of CMS you are able to edit the part that you want to work on in a text instead of working through the whole documents and you are also able to publish it in diverse formats. By means of a translation memory, you are enabled to conduct this process faster and in a more coherent manner.

If you are not currently using CAT, you may work better with it for a larger project. What dominates in the translation industry is the engineering translation, such as various engineering documents and technical manuals. The workload of those translation projects is usually measured by millions, billions and even hundreds of millions of words but the working time is calculated by months, weeksdays and even hours. Thus, it is imperative to use computer technology to improve the quality and efficiency of translation.

Some people believe that computer aided translation equals to machine translation. In fact, machine translation has its limitations in actual conditions. It is not a common tool used by translators in daily work. It is true that machine translation translates a text or document without any kind of human intervention. The way it processes and completes a work is remarkably fast, however as a machine cannot really comprehend or contextualize the subtle technicality and structure of a language, it is not able to come up with a high quality translation.

 

 

By Nehir Guler
Student at MA Learning & Communication in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts,
University of Luxembourg,
Study visitor at TermCoord