36
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
274
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC
• Translation memories can be built up relatively quickly by aligning existing
translated file pairs and/or aligning automatically as you translate new
texts.
• The construction of terminology databases is a comparatively tedious
process: terms have to be individually highlighted in the translation or
even entered into the terminology management application, and additional
information has to be entered.
If it is indeed so tedious to build up and use terminology databases, what
makes them so important?
As every experienced translator knows, translation is much more than the
mere exchange of translated segments across situations and contexts.
Though most translators have one or several fields of specialization within
their language combination(s), very few, if any, work exclusively in a field in
which language is so controlled that there is no need for additional
information on individual terms and phrases except their one-to-one
translations. We all know that semantic fields of words and phrases across
languages do not match each other 100% (where one word or phrase in
Language A would always match one word or phrase in Language B;
simultaneously, that word or phrase in Language B will always match only that
word and no other in Language A).
Obviously, if things were that simple, there would be no need for translators in
the first place—machine translation would have long taken over our
profession!
The terminology database is the place where you can invest effort into
defining your words and phrases grammatically, contextually, or even by
contrast. If this is very helpful for you as a single translator, how much more
would it be in a virtual translators’ workgroup! Of course, none of this is news
to anyone: any good dictionary offers the same concept. What makes these
"dictionaries" (if you will) much more exciting is that you can build them up
the way you want them. Furthermore, they are "living dictionaries" that
present their findings for each of the segments you are currently translating
without you having to do anything (if you have previously given them the data
that they now share with you).
27
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC 275
Why then is it helpful to have numerous different translations for—let’s say—
"cat" ("feline animal," "computer assisted translation," "Caterpillar," etc.)
come up when I translate a text?
Because of the close association of the terminology databases with your
translation project, and because of all the information that you or someone
else has fed into the terminology database as you entered the terms, the
application will actually recognize which of these terms is more relevant than
another. Depending, for instance, on whether you are translating a text of the
subject area "Flora and Fauna," "Translation Technology," or "Heavy
Machinery" (to stay with our silly examples above), the application will make
the more likely choice for you (while still allowing you to access the other
ones).
In addition, some applications not only display this data to you from the
terminology database but even try to assemble it for you—i.e., piece it
together—which should convince you that it makes sense to spend some time
building up these databases. If you are not a translator of extremely repetitive
materials, this might also convince you that these tools may have a definite
benefit even for you (see page 206).
Because of the initial hesitation among translators to show interest in
translation technology in the 1980s and 1990s, let alone to cooperate with the
technology vendors, some components of the tools, in particular the
terminology components, became less translator- and more corporation-
friendly.
Trados and Transit in particular offer powerful and complex termbase
solutions that so far have failed to win over many translators as users.
9
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
276
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC
Transit is probably the tool that spent the most early effort developing a
sophisticated terminology tool, TermStar. In the screenshot below you can see
some good examples of what kind of information can be entered into a
terminology database: client, date, definition(s), homonyms, and of course
translation.
Figure 185: View of open dictionary (terminology database) in TermStar
14
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC 277
While this tool can be opened and used as an individual application, it
becomes part of the workflow and interface when used in actual translation
work. The terms that are displayed in the Terminology window can be
entered with the associated keyboard shortcut, and new terms can be entered
by highlighting source and target and entering them in the attached dictionary
by choosing the Rapid Entry button on the Quick Access toolbar.
Figure 186: Transit translation project with dictionary access (lower right pane)
Trados’s original terminology program MultiTerm (5.5 and earlier) was
particularly unpopular with translators—you had to type new terms into the
program and it was very difficult to import and export in and out of other
formats and programs. In 2002 it released a completely revamped MultiTerm
which now has become its standard terminology component.
9
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
278
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC
The advantages of the new version are that it is based on standard XML rather
than a proprietary database format; it exports into XML, HTML and RTF; term
entry is made less cumbersome (you can now highlight the source term and
only have to type the target term); and remote applications of the program
have become easier.
Figure 187: Sample view of MultiTerm termbase
13
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC 279
MultiTerm provides the found term as a reference to aid in fixing a found fuzzy
match or translating from scratch within Trados 2007.
Figure 188: View of the Trados Workbench translation memory with a fuzzy match and
reference from MultiTerm (right pane)
For Trados Studio, this procedure has been changed. Here the terminology
matches are displayed in a separate Term Recognition pane (upper right) as
well as in an automatically displayed match proposition which can be entered
by pressing the E
NTER
key.
Figure 189: View of Trados Studio with an automatically offered terminology match
21
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
280
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC
Of course, there are also standalone terminology tools. You can find more
information on those on page 314.
Work Environment
Since the work environment was already used as the main criterion to
categorize the tools (see page 207), there may not be too much to add here,
but the following might be helpful anyway.
Generally speaking, there are three different kinds of environment:
• the co-dependent environment in a word processing tool (usually MS
Word)
• the co-dependent environment through a browser interface
• the independent environment through a standalone desktop-based
application
Within those general frameworks that were dealt with in the Categories
section, there are some important differences as to how the translated text is
displayed.
This auto-suggest feature (AutoSuggest in Trados lingo) goes hand in hand with
the TM-based auto-complete option (see page 270) and suggestion from
machine translation segments.
16
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC 281
One of the arguments by proponents of the MS Word interface was always
that it’s so much easier to translate in an interface where everything is
displayed exactly like it’s supposed to be, also known as WYSIWYG or "What-
You-See-Is-What-You-Get." So all the formatting that will be visible to the
reader of the original document and eventually the translated document will
be visible to the translator as well.
Figure 190: MetaTexis’ WYSIWYG interface with a Word document in MS Word
Of course, this only works for documents that were directly compatible with
MS Word. And while the majority of translators today work in a much larger
variety of formats than "just" Word documents, some do primarily work in
that format, and this might be a good solution for them.
For the makers of tools that display their translation in an independent
interface, the question remained: How much visible formatting is necessary or
at least helpful when it comes to translation?
20
Computer-Assisted Translation Tools
282
The Translator’s Tool Box - © International Writers’ Group, LLC
Different tool vendors have answered this differently, but what seems to be an
emerging trend in the last few years is a semi-WYSIWYG approach. While
some of the more common formatting elements are displayed (such as bold,
italics or underlining), others are not.
Figure 191: memoQ’s semi-WYSIWYG interface (note that the bold and italic formatting is
preserved but formatting tags are used for the small caps)
The preview option (either in a simulated or the actual originating application
of the file) that many TEnTs now offer is another, more comprehensive way of
addressing that concern.
Of course, there are other features that support word processing in programs
like MS Word. These include form instance:
• Inline spell-checking (the real-time spell check with a red squiggly
underline)
• AutoCorrect (the automated correction of often misspelled words)
• Track Changes (the visible correction marks)
These features have also already been implemented by many translation
environment tools.
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
