Translation software: What is it and why do I need it?
Discover how translation software can increase your productivity and efficiency
Specialized software for translation is being increasingly used by translators to help speed up the translation process and increase quality levels. There are various different types of translation software available on the marketplace, and many corporations and translation agencies now require that their freelance translators also use these tools when working on their projects.
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What are the different types of translation software available?
There are many different types of software for translation on the marketplace. Here is a description of some of the most common translation technologies available. You will find that many translation tools, such as SDL Trados Studio, will contain all the types of technology listed below:
Translation memory:
A linguistic database that captures your translations (as source and target sentences called 'translation units') as you work for future use.
Benefits include: Faster translations - never translate the same sentence twice
Find out more about translation memoryTerminology management:
A searchable database that stores terms (e.g. product specific terminology) and rules regarding their usage (e.g. gender or description)
Benefits include: Higher translation quality - always use the right word
Find out more about terminology managementAutomated translation (also known as 'machine translation'):
Translation carried out by a machine, with no human involvement. These systems can be rules-based or statistical.
Benefits include: Can be integrated into your translation environment (e.g. in SDL Trados Studio) - deliver new content faster
Find out more about automated translationSoftware localization tools
Tools, such as SDL Passolo, help to localize all elements contained in the software, including strings, menus dialogs and icons.
Benefits include: Speeds up many of the technical aspects of software localization - translate new types of content
Find out more about software localization
Why do I need to invest in translation software?
There are many reasons why more and more translators are investing in the latest software for translation. Here are just a few of the key reasons why!
- Complete translation projects more quickly and easily
- Be able to accept more work and earn more money
- Increase translation consistency and quality
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