7 CAT programs that make the translator’s life easier

According to ProZ.com report, 35% of experts treat the pressure from the customer related to the translation speed as the biggest challenge in their work (see infographic below).

It is easy to understand – business continuously requires translations and localization, as scaling in the foreign markets is impossible without them.

Professional services, CAT-programs, can help to make the translator’s life easier and speed up the order fulfillment process.

CAT programs for translators are special applications that can help automate the translation process. The services work on the principle of text editors, but with some differences. CAT programs offer access to dictionaries, glossaries, remember the translator’s choice and automatically inserts the previous translation into the following similar files.

Moreover, CAT programs help to minimize the number of grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes.

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What are CAT-tools for translators and how they work

Computer-Aided (Assisted) Translation is an automated computer translation, but at the same time, it is completely different from the “machine translation” notion. CAT for translators remember previous texts or separate fragments and automatically insert matching segments into new documents, saving the translator from an unnecessary routine.

Automated translation tools will be effective in the following cases:

• document translation;
• software localization;
• work with dictionaries of terms;
• creation of projects and organization of work with them;
• translation quality control.

CAT programs for translation are also suitable for working with fiction – jokes, idioms, author techniques.

Automated translation improves the work with large amounts of information, helps to compile a separate database with specialized vocabulary for a certain field of activity.

What are the major benefits of CAT tools in a translator’s work

Modern automated translation allows compiling your own translation library. This is especially true in cases when words, phrases or even sentences repeat many times. In these cases, a CAT program automatically replaces already familiar words and allows the translator not do the work twice.

What CAT programs can:

• compile vocabulary and glossaries consisting of words and phrases in special subjects (economy, jurisprudence, marketing, medicine);
• maintain the formatting of the source text that is very convenient when working with nested lists;
• create author glossaries with terms, abbreviations, special notions used in some specialized areas.

Top 7 CAT-programs for business

Since the birth of the automated translation idea in 1933 and to this day, many services for the translation process automation have appeared. We have collected the most convenient paid tools that can be applied today.

• Trados Studio. A professional program with a large number of specific settings can help to work with texts in documents, presentations, HTML formats. The service is suitable for large projects. That is why companies specialized in translation use it most often.
• This is a modern program with a clear interface that is more suitable for implementation of small projects. It is most often used by freelancers and company specialists who deal with text translation rarely.
• The instrument is suitable for localization and works with any files regardless of their size and content. The service is popular with developers and specialists adapting software for foreign users.
• This CAT program provides additional TM opportunities for Office Word or an autonomous tool for translator work on any platform. Its advantages are in the intuitive interface, the opportunity to customize functionality and work with external dictionaries in any format. The utility is suitable for freelancers, translation agencies or corporations.
• The free automated translation program with intuitive interface is suitable for freelancers and specialized localization studios. The service works with 30 file formats, has a built-in spelling check tool and an interface for Google Translate.
• Déjà Vu. The program with a clear interface is suitable for freelance translators and agencies. The service works with the 32 most popular formats, and has additional functions for convenient work with glossaries and dictionaries.
• Transit NXT Professional. This is a special program for product, website and application   Its peculiarity is that it saves the translation of not a separate expression but the entire context. It greatly facilitates work with marketing texts where the style comes to the fore. It is a convenient and easy-to-use service with many service packages, so that both a single freelancer and a large company will be able to find something useful.

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Both beginners and experienced translators should pay attention to CAT programs. The services may seem complicated and inconvenient at first, but after a couple of weeks, you will not be able to imagine the working process without them.

Is it difficult to understand the functionality? Complete special courses on CAT tools for translators or learn independently via YouTube videos, in specialized forums.

Automated translation is the future that makes life and work easier. Professional programs reduce investment of time and resources, but do not cancel human involvement in the translation process.

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