For someone who offers professional language translation services, Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools are a huge asset. There are many reasons why I say this and I will explain them to you later in this post, but first let us define what CAT is.
When you were younger and learning how to write a paper, your teachers undoubtedly taught you about plagiarism and other bad writing practices. Your teachers instilled in you the idea that all of your work should be original, new. While these practices may have kept you out of trouble in school, they will only hurt you if you are a freelance translator. As a freelance translator you should not need to reinvent the wheel each time you accept a project. Especially if the bulk of your work involves the same language pair and it’s within the same field, you will see a repetition of phrases, terms, and even entire sentences. Here is where CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools can help. Instead of translating these segments over and over, a CAT tool reuses your old work to speed up the process. Interested? Let’s look at the benefits of using CAT tools and then discuss two of the most popular brands.
As someone working in the translation industry, you have probably heard the term Translation Memory (TM) thrown around many times. But what does translation memory mean and why should you use it to do your translations?
Are you thinking of becoming a translator? Well, don’t think too long about it. Choosing to have a career as a professional translator is a good decision and I will give you two reasons why:
Have you just begun or are thinking about beginning work as a freelance translator? You are probably overwhelmed as there are no hard and fast rules to follow during this process that will ensure you are successful. Not to mention, the translation business has become increasingly competitive and now more than ever you need something extra to add to your CV to stand out in the crowd. Recently, many translators are talking about “specialization” and for good reason. Depending on your language pair, choosing one or two areas to become an expert in might be necessary for your success. In this article we will discuss the topic of specialization within translation. We will talk about the benefits of specializing, how to choose a specialization, and finally, how to become knowledgeable in your area of specialization.
