With the world’s increasing interconnectedness, translation services are in high demand. For a long time, professional translators have been using Computer-Assisted Translation – well-known CAT tools to enhance productivity and ensure exceptional translations. These software applications are invaluable in simplifying the translation process and guaranteeing precision. Today we provide a short summary of the advantages of utilizing CAT tools.
1) The Translation Memory, so-called TM, is a crucial component of each CAT tool. It is a repository for previously translated phrases, complete with their source text and target version. How does it work? TM automatically scans its base and gives an overview of multiple previously translated similar phrases, allowing translators to save time by partly modifying content. This feature primarily benefits repetitive content, ensuring translation consistency.
2) Another feature, the glossary, is helpful though – CAT tools are indispensable for managing terminology with precision and efficiency. They empower translators to create and maintain comprehensive dictionaries containing domain-specific terms with their translations and contextual information. This feature enables translators to verify terms quickly and update them as necessary. It guarantees consistent and accurate terminology throughout the document, leading to superior quality and strict adherence to client-specific terminology preferences.
3) It is also worth noting the possibility of real-time collaboration. CAT tools allow multiple translators and end editors to collaborate on a project simultaneously, giving us many advantages. Firstly, this fosters efficiency, as translators can share their progress, exchange feedback and terminology and discuss translation issues. And secondly, this is an excellent time-saver because this real-time collaboration enables us to complete big projects in a short time while maintaining quality.
4) CAT tools also provide quality assurance checks to ensure top-notch translation quality. These checks identify common errors such as missing translations, inconsistent terms, and formatting issues. The system flags these errors, and the translator can promptly correct them and enhance the final output, reducing the likelihood of mistakes slipping through undetected; after all, no one has cancelled the human factor.
5) CAT tools can work with many file formats frequently used in the translation industry: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, HTML, XML, etc. We just need to import the necessary files, translate them and export them when our translation is done. CAT tools preserve the original formatting and eliminate the need for manual copying and pasting.
So, CAT tools are indispensable tools for professional translators. They offer a range of helpful features that streamline the translation process, ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity. With access to TMs, glossaries, real-time collaboration and quality assurance checks, translators can deliver top-notch translations with accuracy and ease. These tools equip translators to meet the ever-increasing translation industry demands and do their job well.
