Finesse Your Translation with Finest Tools 

As fun as it may be, translation is also a very high-maintenance job. It requires constant attention, an up-to-date vocabulary, ability to think and reflect in many perspectives and absolute grammar knowledge. Although it seems easy, a good quality translation actually takes quite a while. After some point, as a translator, you may get blocked and you can forget the easiest word in your memory; so you may need to divide the content into pieces and give it a few hours or maybe days.

To ease the process, there are many translation tools for translators. These translation tools are called CAT tools, which is an acronym for computer-aided translation. Such CAT tools help improving translation quality by splitting the source into segments and saving them along with their translation within the translation memory. Throughout this article, we will explore such tools and their benefits to improve quality and increase productivity.

CAT Tools: Let’s Begin!

From time to time, translations can be a bit repetitive especially if the translator has the expertise and receives similar subjects at all times. The same basic sentence can repeat itself a couple of times in several different in content but stay the same in source documents. In this sense, if you use a cat tool while translating, that tools would detect the similarity or identically in both sentences in different sources and would present the sentence as a suggestion. Cat tools save your translations with the source and use them to help you save time in your next time.

Another point in translation is context dependency. To provide perfect translations, you may need an extensive research project on multiple topics. Especially in translations where technical terms make up the basis for the source, you need to make sure that you are translating the term appropriately by searching for collocations. And also by looking up for the use of the word in several different texts and trying to decide whether what you’ve written makes sense.

When this is the aim, the best translation tool you can use would be the one that combines a dictionary with a search engine and provides you cross-language search results showing bilingual texts and use of a word in different contexts.

For Professionals

If you are a full-time translator, a professional, your needs may be a bit more complex. You would need a larger database and multiple suggestions with multiple context options along with software localization. In this case, one of the best translation tools for professionals is suggested to be SDL Trados Studio. It is said to be the most recommended CAT tool among translators; especially for those who are working with or for a professional translation agency.

After all, even though you are a certified translator, there are times when you just cannot pinpoint the word in your mind. Although it is a paid software, you can always try a 30-days demo before purchasing and see if you like it.

Looking For a Free CAT Tool?

Of course, not every assistance is a paid service. There are many free services as well. In fact, we can suggest some of the best free cat tools for translators right now. For example, you can try Smartcat, Matecat or Wordfast Anywhere. All these tools are completely free, and there is no limitation for the number of works in which you can use their help. If you are looking for offline best free CAT tools for translators, you can get help from OmegaT or CaféTran Espresso for a smooth experience. With those tools, you can experience quality without having to pay anything.

While there is no certain answer to “What is the best CAT tool for translation?” many options are available. Along with improving translation quality, CAT tools really help translators to deal with translations at ease. If you are a freelancer you may see them as unnecessary, but if you are a professional who spends most of his or her time on translations, you would see that translation tools for professionals are essential, just like a toolbox being an absolute need for a mechanic.