There are numerous reasons for which we might need to translate something the other day. That could be the lyrics of our favorite song, blog post, or a document set needed for traveling. Still, regardless of the context, translation can be a challenging thing to perform. For one, it requires the knowledge of a foreign language, whether you use a machine translation or professional assistance. And that’s quite a huge amount of knowledge. Also, the context of translation plays a role after all, so not any translation can be performed just like that. Thankfully, computer-assisted translation tools work for lots of types of translations, it’s only important to know how to use them properly.
Software at Our Service
Machine translation often gets a bad rap. Yet, such situations occur most often when a person does not have a full understanding of computer-assisted translation. The main idea is that anything can be done with high quality if approached properly. And properly approached machine translation goes far beyond Google Translate and a couple of seconds or minutes. Many human translators frequently use translation software to optimize and accelerate many processes in their work.
When it comes to quality, it can be safely said that the game works on both sides. Nothing is perfect, and you can find only several reliable translation services that provide a great result. Even human experts can make mistakes where machine translation will nail the work. Of course, relying purely on computer-assisted tools for translation is not exactly reasonable. Yet, if you decide to get them involved, you need to know which are the best. Luckily, experienced translators managed to set their hands on a variety of software programs for translation. Here’s what they admired the best.
- SDL Trados. An absolute classic in the world of translation tools and a choice of lots of professionals around the world. SDL Trados is essentially a set of several translation software tools. It includes a translation memory tool, a dictionary, a machine translator and localizer, and an organizer for teamwork. While it’s not cheap, it’s still worth every penny you pay for it and will improve the quality and productivity of your work.
- MemoQ. Designed to work with translation memories, memoQ also includes several dictionaries that you can expand on your own to fit your needs the best. While it doesn’t contain a localization tool by default, the program is highly customizable, so you can add that yourself. Another great feature of memoQ is that with all its power and capabilities, it can be accessed in a trial mode for 45 days.
- SmartCat. This one is another solution rather than a piece of software, which can compete with both items overviewed above regarding its capabilities. SmartCat includes translation memories and customizable glossaries – everything to ensure the flexibility and consistency of the translator’s work. On top of that, a free trial is also available for all versions of SmartCat, just like with MemoQ.
- Microsoft Translate. Moving away from solutions and getting to software programs. One main advantage of separate machine translation assistants is that they are often available for free, and Microsoft Translate is no exception. For its capabilities and free access, this software is often placed on lists of top 10 translation apps for traveling as it works fine under any conditions and can be handy for professional translations as well. At the same time, it’s constantly updated and works in offline mode.
- Linguee. Another great piece of software that should be on the list of any language professional. Linguee is, perhaps, the best dictionary available online. Supporting over a dozen languages, the dictionary has a translation for around 1,000,000,000 words and phrases in all available language combinations. With such a tool behind their back, nothing can stop a translator in search of the right word.
Linguistically Unstoppable
Indeed, machine translation might not always be the best solution, especially when it comes to document or otherwise professional translation. This, however, doesn’t diminish the need for powerful translation tools. These digital pieces of equipment save many translators’ lives by saving their lifeforce, time, and stress. Depending on their specialization and mode of work, translators might need different tools, some will feel fine with just a dictionary, while others might need a few solutions at a time. Still, there’s no reason not to use translation tools at all for any translation.
BIO:
Michael loves traveling, learning, and collecting new experiences. If not for his passions, he probably would never have become an author that supplies his readers with such vivid and sincere articles. Whatever comes from under Michael’s hand is a genuine experience in written form.
