TRADOS and Translation Memory Devices
Technical translations by translation agencies often utilize computer assisted translations to improve the quality of work and to speed up the process of translation. Computer assisted translation or CAT are done using translation memory devices such as SDL Trados 2007. Translation memory, simply put, is a computerized database that expands its root data collection from the use of the translator. Its so-to-say knowledge is expanded by collecting translations from a translator, and later on integrating the stored data when it is used again for other tasks.
It is said that around forty percent of all formulaic language used in formal types of documents tend to recur, and thus, translation memory would be able to help because it will be able to suggest direct translations to the human translator, which may or may not be accepted by the translator himself. Also, the database of translation memory may be upgraded by the translator himself, and thus, the additional information to the database would also be saved and would then also be used for other tasks. The organic quality of translation memory has made it one of the most popular means of translating quickly and effectively, all over the world. Translation memory should be used by translators who handle large volumes of texts for translation, which have recurring formulaic language uses: e.g. office communication and commercial websites.
Other types of CAT tools are the Okapi Framework, Transolution and Globalsight. It should be noted that translation memory devices or simply, translation memory is different from machine translations. Translation memory is simply a tool or software that the human translator uses to speed up the translation process by being able to compare stored data with the new data. The human translator still has the final word, and thus, the complexity of the task of translation still falls in his hands. Machine translation is the direct translation of a text from one natural language to another without the help of a human translator. Often, machine translations produce poor output because these programs were not created to take care of the subtleties and complexities of human language in use. The use of translation memory by translation agencies allow speedier and more effective results, and allow translators to handle more work in a shorter time period. Translation memory devices are also quite useful because they are able to handle and utilize several document formats.
