Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) Tools are considered an essential element for translators, as they accelerate work and improve quality through a Translation Memory (TM) that stores previous translations and reuses them, along with specialized glossaries to ensure terminological consistency.
These tools allow for easy text segmentation and editing, support grammar checking, and handle multiple file types. Software like SDL Trados and MemoQ make translation more accurate and professional, reducing effort and ensuring precision.
These tools have thus become the optimal choice for meeting the needs of translators in the modern world of translation.
What are CAT Tools?
CAT Tools are among the most prominent instruments needed by translators in their work, standing for “Computer-Assisted Translation Tools.” This refers to the tools that assist in translation using technology, or more clearly, computer-aided translation.
These tools help translators perform their work with higher efficiency and accuracy by providing interactive user interfaces that aid in term management and the translation of similar sentences and phrases. CAT Tools may include many functions such as dictionary lookup, text analysis, and saving the translated text for future use, among others.
The mechanism of CAT Tools relies on keeping previous translations you’ve worked on and organizing them in the tool’s specialized Translation Memory (TM).
When you translate a new file containing the same words or phrases, CAT Tools will suggest ideal translations based on your previous work.
This is because words and phrases used within a single specialized field often share similarities, regardless of the specific documents needing translation.
The more documents you translate, the larger the linguistic database the computer-assisted translation tools can compile, saving you time and cost on future projects.
The Difference Between Machine Translation and CAT Tools
Many confuse the term Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT Tools) with Machine Translation (MT), considering them two faces of the same process. However, there is a significant difference in how each operates, summarized as follows:
Machine Translation (MT) refers to the process of using Artificial Intelligence and technology in the translation process to automatically convert text from the source language to the target language without direct human intervention.
The goal of MT is to achieve instantaneous and automated translation, and it is often used for achieving large volumes of translation efficiently and quickly.
In contrast, CAT Tools rely on human-technology interaction during the translation process to produce optimal results.
The translator maintains full control over the translation process, while the role of CAT Tools software is limited to providing interactive interfaces for managing and improving the translation process. Thus, translators can benefit from using these technological tools to facilitate translation without losing human oversight.
Many organizations are now moving toward utilizing the benefits of both technological approaches:
- They use Machine Translation to get a preliminary, not entirely accurate, translation, which saves time and reduces cost by quickly generating translated content that only requires minor edits.
- The translator then uses CAT Tools in the post-editing phase to improve the translation’s accuracy and consistency.
This integration helps companies at all levels improve their translation operations.
Translators can benefit from the speed of Machine Translation’s preliminary output combined with the human ability to control quality and linguistic expression through CAT Tools software and monitor the accuracy of its results.
Thus, the choice between using Machine Translation and CAT Tools becomes less critical, as an effective integration can be achieved that combines the speed characteristic of MT tools with the human accuracy and consistency of meaning provided by CAT Tools.
How CAT Tools Work
CAT Tools enhance the translation process by segmenting texts into small units and displaying the original texts alongside the translation, saving them as pairs in the Translation Memory for easy future reference. This software uses databases to identify identical translations and improves its efficiency with repeated use. Below is a step-by-step breakdown of how CAT Tools operate:
- Target Text Input.
- Content Extraction and Identification.
- Text Segmentation and Organization.
- Display of Source and Target Texts.
- Adding Translation for Missing Phrases.
- Saving the Translation.
- Retrieving Previous Translations.
- Identifying Matching Translations.
- Improving Efficiency with Repeated Use.
Where CAT Tool Programs Store Data
Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) programs store what you translate in what is known as the Translation Memory (TM). The TM can be defined as a specialized database that stores translated texts as language pairs (the original text and its translation) to be used later in similar projects. This feature allows for the retrieval of previous translations and their automatic suggestion when dealing with recurring phrases.
In addition, the program may store specialized terms in Terminology Management, which is another database that helps ensure consistent use of words and terms in specialized fields. This data is usually saved on your device if you are using installed software like SDL Trados or MemoQ, or on cloud servers if you are working with online translation tools such as Smartcat or Phrase.
The Difference Between CAT Tools and a Translation Management System (TMS)
CAT Tools focus primarily on facilitating the translator’s work and improving efficiency in text translation. They segment texts into translation units, then store previous translations in a Translation Memory for reuse, and provide the translator with a set of tools to help control translation quality and ensure consistency.
On the other hand, a Translation Management System (TMS) is defined as a comprehensive software platform that combines CAT Tools and Machine Translation capabilities with efficient project and business management features. A TMS is considered part of a wider process aimed at integrating the products or services offered by the translator with the target language and culture, and it relies on cloud computing technologies.
The key difference is that a TMS does not only provide tools to facilitate the work of translators and improve quality; it also provides an integrated environment for project management and achieving collaboration among teams working on translation projects, managing the various stages of translation comprehensively.
Benefits of Using CAT Tools
CAT Tools accelerate the translation process by reducing effort and providing suggestions based on the Translation Memory, while achieving consistency in texts using specialized terminology and glossaries. They also enhance the efficiency of translators by saving time and costs, supporting many languages, and accurately processing various file types with improved quality. The most prominent benefits include:
- Making the Translation Process Faster.
- Increasing Consistency in Text Translation.
- Saving Time and Costs.
- Flexibility in Handling Various File Types.
- Supporting a Large Number of Languages.
- Linguistic and Grammatical Correction.
CAT Tools are a key element relied upon in the world of translation to improve translator efficiency and work quality. They provide an integrated working environment that enables the user to manage texts and previous translations through an advanced Translation Memory and specialized terminology glossaries.
They are characterized by their ability to identify recurring phrases and retrieve saved translations, which saves time and ensures consistency in long or repeated projects.
Additionally, CAT Tools facilitate segmenting texts into manageable units and conducting editing and revision operations, while supporting various file types.
The benefits of these tools include improving translation speed by relying on previous translations, and saving the costs of large operations by reducing the need to translate from scratch.
They also offer grammar checking and interactive organization features, which enhances the accuracy and quality of translated texts.
Leading software in this field includes SDL Trados Studio, MemoQ, and Wordfast, which are designed to suit the needs of teams and individuals alike.
Thanks to their flexibility and support for a large number of languages, CAT Tools have become an essential choice for translators and institutions seeking to streamline and enhance translation processes. Contact Us.
