qui - Tekom

TRANSLATION TECHNOLOGY
By bert Esselink 61
This is my second contribution in a series of four articles about
software localisation. The previous article discussed the differences
between translation and localisation, and below I will cover the types of
translation tools that are used by translators working for localisation service
providers.
First of all, a distinction needs to be made between machine
translation (MT) tools and computer aided translation (CAT) tools. Where
machine translation tries to replace a translator to a certain extent, computer
aided translation tools support the translator by preventing repetitive work,
automating terminology lookup activities, and recycling previously
translated texts. Machine translation has not been applied much in the
software localisation industry mainly because, unlike in the automotive and
aerospace industries, software publishers never really created their
documentation in a structured way that would make machine translation
successful. Even though this seems to be gradually changing, I will focus
on computer aided translation tools in order to reflect current practices in
the localization industry.
Computer aided translation tools, also called computer assisted
translation tools, can be categorized as follows:
- Translation Memory tools
- Terminology tools
- Software Localization tools
61 Bert Esselink, “Translation Technology”, Tranfree, n.11, 2000.
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