Translation in the 21st century is not just about linguistic expertise: the range of technological tools available to professional translators is expanding all the time.
While no tool is a substitute for professional experience, knowledge and skills, translation environment tools (TEnTs) combine translation memory, terminology management and quality assurance functions to help produce high-quality, consistent translations and improve productivity. They are particularly valuable for:
- producing updated versions of existing documents
- ensuring consistent use of terminology over time and across related documents
- reducing turnaround time for very repetitive texts
- providing an extra level of quality assurance.
My preferred tool is memoQ, which handles a wide variety of file formats, including industry-standard translation memory (TM) and terminology database (TB) formats, as well as files and packages generated in other translation tools on the market. I also use SDL Trados Studio, Wordfast Pro and Memsource Cloud, a cloud-based translation tool, as well as post-editing of machine translation services, for clients who request them. I use the most recent versions of my preferred tools and regularly invest time and money in training to keep up to date with their latest features.
I use PerfectIt proofreading software for a final check on consistency and to ensure compliance with house style rules.