Computer Aided Translation

Although the two concepts are similar, computer-aided translation should not be confused with machine translation (MT).
Machine translation uses pre-programmed dictionaries and grammar rules to convert texts into a different language. These programs are freely available on the Internet - although they have their uses, the translations that they produce usually contain too many mistakes to be suitable for serious purposes.

Computer-aided translation, computer-assisted translation or CAT is a form of translation whereby a human translator translates texts using computer software designed to support and facilitate the translation process.
Computer aided translation is sometimes called machine-assisted, or machine aided translation.

We use CAT programs such as Translator's Workbench. These exploit the fact that many business documents contain an element of repetition. The skilled translator's output is stored in the form of segments - the translator either finds a matching source sentence in the database or enters a new translation and moves on to the next segment. 
If during subsequent translations the same or similar source sentence comes up then it appears on the translator's screen as an exact or fuzzy match. The translator does not have to rely on his or her own memory as to how a particular expression was translated previously or spend time searching for previous instances.
This method can therefore vastly speed up the translation process, and hence save you money. It also means that as well as being accurate, the translations are entirely consistent, and this added consistency makes the output more effective and easier to use.

There are any number of specialist aspects to using TM correctly - document analysis, document alignment, importing and exporting translation memories, specialist interfaces with DTP programs, importing glossaries into terminology management software, etc. Bedford Translations possesses the skills and experience to exploit TM to your maximum advantage.

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