The benefits of using translation memory tools
Translation memory tools are computer software apps which are designed to help human translators in their work. Universal Translation Services is using such tools as modern software applications designed to help translators whenever a client wants such tools to be used.
The advantages of using translation memory tools
Modern computer assisted translation tools can save source segments and their corresponding translations in a database, called translation memory. A segment is usually a sentence that contains various punctuation marks. Once the segment has been placed in the database, it can be pulled whenever a new project comes in and contains a resembling segment of text. In short, the translation tools are using past translations into current projects, allowing translators to work faster and cutting down translation costs.
What files can be used with such tools?
The idea of using past-translated phrases into current projects can be taken a step further by the software and the software will then pull any matches that it finds fit to even segments that resemble the segments in the database. Different types of matches are being indicated in 3 level: no match, fuzzy match, and 100 percent match or repetitions. This makes the translation process easier for the translators, while saving money for the client. Translation memory used the right way is a great modern advancement in the industry.
The translation tool does not only work with Word documents, it can also work with many other formats such as HTML, spreadsheets as well as PowerPoint presentations. The software is designed to distinguish the code that needs to be translated and only resents translated code while leaving all other irrelevant data aside. This is beneficial because it makes the use of software on any and all computerized translatable content easy and doable.
Types of translation memory tools
Text-based tools
Text-based translation tools are used by Word and other content writing apps. They are designed to filter the file and take out the translatable text. They are designed for usual content translation that is required in conventional projects and are there to make the conventional projects easier and much faster to conduct.
Binary-based tools
These tools are used when applications are translated from one language to another. We are using binary-based tools with applications, websites and all other content that has a much more complicated coding system and where the content is embedded in the system in a much deeper way; the content will need to be dragged out of the system and placed for translation through the use of binary combing of the code, so that the translatable content that is mixed with technical coding can be dragged out and translated. The binary translation tool is much futuristic and is used by Google and all other websites that give automated online translation services.
Differences between memory tools
The binary tool is used when the localization of a product is the aim. This process makes localization of content much easier and conducts it effectively. The text-based tool is used when the content is being translated for reasons other than marketing or online presentation. Text-based translations are conducted for private translation projects where a literal translation of the content is the aim and the literal meaning and preservation of the literal translation is of the utmost significance to the translator.
The Benefits of Memory:
Can you imagine living your life without memories? Even if you could record the important moments of life in some other way, you will have no way of remembering them. But above all, you won’t be able to learn anything at all. Everything from our relationships to our learning depends on memory. Even our behavior depends on our memory. We model ourselves based on what we have learned in life. If someone had no recollection of their past, they wouldn’t know how to tackle a similar problem in the future. Life would be chaos without a functioning memory.
But our minds, as magnificent as they are, have limited capacity. They cannot learn everything and memorize all we want them to remember. However, after the invention of computers, that has stopped being a problem for us. All of us have smartphones in our pockets today, and we can ask them to remind us of important things. We can also save memories in our computers like pictures and videos and come back to them whenever we want to. But that isn’t the only way the memory of a computer can help us. It is also very effective in professional life.
Translation, Can Machines Help?
A very complicated but highly necessary industry in today’s world if that of translation. We cannot live a day without help from translation companies. Every time a business needs to connect with another company or an individual wishes to apply for immigration, they have to get in touch with a translation agency for linguistic assistance. We cannot communicate with others without help from language experts because speakers of seven thousand different vernaculars live in the world.
The question that many people ask is whether or not a machine can help them with a linguistic problem. Computers and technology have changed our lives. Thanks to them, we can easily get a lot of things done, sometimes even from the comfort of our home. But like every other thing, there are limits to what technology can achieve. Although we have been testing these limits until now, we must admit that machines cannot help with linguistic problems, at least not in the way we want them to. You can find out the meaning of words and simple phrases on the internet when you are talking to a friend, but you can’t get help when you need the translation of an official document.
However, this doesn’t mean that machines can’t help at all. Since computers have a lot of capacity and can store plenty of data, they can act as the memory while a translator works on a document. There are various tools like CAT that can greatly help out a linguistic expert while they are trying to finish an accurate translation. They can save their time on each project and use it to finish more tasks.
Benefits of Translation Memory Tools:
A linguistic expert cannot remember what words they used for a phrase a week ago. It is true that a linguist can create a glossary and refer to it whenever they need help. But this is a very time-consuming task. It can also affect the efficiency of the translator. However, with the help of translation memory tools, a person does not have to refer to any glossary or even create one. All they have to do is work with the tools and let them store important information. The next time you encounter a phrase that you have translated before, the memory tool will suggest the previous translation. You can choose that solution to save your time and continue working on the rest of the document.
But memory tools are expensive, and individual translators may not be able to afford them. However, all the professional translation services providers buy such tools and create accounts for all of their translators on it. This way, each member of their team can benefit from the tools. In the end, it helps the agency more than anyone else. It improves their efficiency and turnaround time. It also allows them to pick up more projects than before. When the finishing time of a translator drops down, they can work on more projects to make extra money. This way, the tools not only save their time but also help them in making more money.
Another benefit of memory tools is consistency. If you are working on projects for a company, you wouldn’t want the language to change from one document to the next. With the tools suggesting solutions for your linguistic problems, you will be able to keep the tone similar in every project. This consistency will give your work a neat finish, and it won’t look random. Some tools also come with proofreading features, so after finishing your work, you can make sure that there are no mistakes in it before handing it over to the client.
Machines are pretty amazing, but for now, there are plenty of things that they can’t help us out with. However, they have ways of becoming helpful to us. If they can’t assist us with something directly, you can count on them to be a part of the solution one way or the other. With the help of translation memory tools, the efficiency of a lot of experts has improved. It has also improved the overall quality of work. It has helped agencies in providing consistently high-quality work to their clients.
Universal Translation Services has seen that both of these translation memory tools are effective in their own way and both have their own significant uses. We are able to use such tools whenever clients are asking for such translations, and we see that more and more clients are using computer assisted translation due to its numerous advantages.
