How Computer-assisted Translation Boosts Your Translation Efficiency

The translation industry is evolving day after day. New bleeding-edge technologies and innovations have been introduced to make translations more efficient and accurate. Among these technologies comes the computer-assisted translation tools (CAT). CAT tools or translation software programs have been created to aid translators during the translation process making it faster, easier, and more accurate.

In this blog post, you will have an overview of what computer-assisted translation is, its features, and its advantages and disadvantages. You will also discover how Torjoman applies such technologies to deliver first-rate translation services. Let’s dive deeper!

What Is a Computer-assisted Translation Tool?

Computer-assisted translation tools or CAT tools are software programs or applications that facilitate the translation process by supporting translators’ work. They handle all the repetitive and less creative tasks to help translators focus more on their main jobs and strategic projects.

A CAT tool has a lot of subsystems that aid translators by separating texts into small units or segments to help them during translation. It has also many other features that we will discuss in detail below.

Translation Memory

Translation memory refers to a subsystem or a tool any efficient translation software program should have. It is a database that stores all the past translations to help translators if they are going to translate a text or part of a text that has already been translated saving this way their time and effort. Translation memories develop themselves over time, meaning that the more texts are translated, the more rich the translation memory will be.

Term Bases or Glossaries

Term bases or glossaries are databases that act as dictionaries that include words or double-term words and their translations in one or more languages. When a new translation project is assigned to a translator, it will be sent to him/her along with a possibly translated text and a glossary. The translator, in this case, has the freedom to accept the suggested glossary, use a new one, or upload a specific glossary sent by the client.

This tool is very beneficial, especially if more than one project is sent by the client or if more than one translator is working on the same translation project. This will help them stay consistent in selecting the right terminologies.

Real-time Collaboration Tools

With CAT tools, you will no longer send emails with attachments to different teams or wonder who is handling the project right now. Advanced CAT tools such as cloud-based versions have the ability to assign tasks and even allow more than one person to work on the same text or page at the same time without any errors or any kind of confusion.

You will also be able to track the progress of your translation project and know who is working on the project or who you need to talk to at the moment.

They also allow different teams to upload, translate, and download files while keeping the original formats and designs intact.

Quality Assurance

We all know that mistakes do happen even if translators have the highest levels of accuracy and attention to detail. Therefore, translation software programs have built-in tools that check grammar and punctuation mistakes. They can also detect typos, extra spaces between words, or double words that may happen during the translation process.

Desktop Publishing

CAT tools also involve the desktop publishing process which is the final process after translating the text and reviewing it. The DTP specialist takes over the project to make sure that the design mirrors the design and format of the source file. He/she also adapts images, currencies, time formats, and dates to be suitable for the target language.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of CAT Tools?

There is no doubt that CAT tools have a lot of advantages such as speeding up the translation process and increasing the accuracy and efficiency of translation projects. However, they also have a few disadvantages. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of computer-assisted translation:

Pros

Speed: The main concern for all businesses is the turnaround time when they select their translation services. Thus, CAT tools have come to facilitate and speed up the translation process. Translation memories reduce the need to translate the same texts or words multiple times saving clients’ time and money.

Consistency: CAT tools increase consistency in selecting the proper terminology by suggesting glossaries stored from previously translated texts. This is very handy when more than one project is sent by the client as the translators will select the same terminologies that they used before.

Flexibility: Cloud-based translation tools are the most advanced and common types of translation software nowadays. They are known for their flexibility since translators can access such tools using any web browser provided that they have a good internet connection, unlike other tools that may require the setting up of devices.

Cons

Not Understanding the Nuances of the Language

Although CAT tools help translators by suggesting possible translations, translators should review, edit, and replace as parts of texts as they can to address all the linguistic and cultural nuances of the target languages. Machine-translated texts do not address imagery, idioms, or metaphors. Thus, the editing of a human translator is needed, especially when it comes to localization where translators not only translate but also adapt.

The Possibility of Having Contextual Errors

CAT tools are still not advanced enough to completely understand the proper context in which a certain word or phrase should be used, particularly in literary translation. In this case, the intervention of a human translator is needed to creatively and appropriately translate literary texts.

At Torjoman, we leverage the most advanced AI-machine translation tools to speed up translation projects, reduce their costs, and increase their accuracy. Our latest technological translation tools include translation memories, terminology banks, quality assurance, and desktop publishing tools to deliver the most accurate and consistent translation services.

With Torjoman, you can weigh up your options and take the right decisions. Talk to us today!