Computer Aided Translation Tools
Most of the translation agencies and translators today have started using Computer Aided Translation Tools extensively and most of the firms prefer, in terms of employment opportunities, translators who have access to a CAT tool.
The CAT tool is nothing but software to help you in your translation. It is quite different from the computer translation, which actually does the translation for you. Computer Assisted Translation Tools will remember translated terms and repetitions for you, thus saving a lot of time. Repetitions are called ‘fuzzy texts’ and CAT will remember these and alter the new words automatically.
The CAT tool can display both sources as well as target language and thus it is bilingual. A translator may however choose to deliver only the ‘clean text’- source language rather than both languages. If you are a translator, you will be able to import, export, and create a translation memory in a CAT tool, which can be of great help in maintaining consistency if you are working for the same client and helps save a lot of time. This is much better and more efficient than maintaining all the details in an excel spreadsheet.
Computer Aided Translation Tools have built-in quality assurance controls which check for any grammatical or spelling errors. As translators normally charge per word, CAT tools ensures that a translator is paid less for any repetition due to the built-in translation memory.
Despite several advantages of using a CAT tool, not all translators prefer it and still choose to work with Word. This can be attributed to the fact that such a tool can break the text into little segments, which may sometimes be very abrupt and not fit the language. This feature makes a CAT tool very restricting. However, this is just one disadvantage compared to all the benefits, and once a translator has moved beyond his or her comfort zone, they would realize how helpful the tool really is. Just as design software, this tool is important. A CAT tool will become synonymous to a translator.
When you use Computer Aided Translation Tools for translation, you no longer need to carry out alignment since the tool makes the TMs on its own. CAT tools can also be used for automatic translation, while working with sensitive data that cannot be fed into Google Translate.
Some of the CAT tools also provide statistical data on the number of internal repetitions, which enables the client to calculate the fees.
