On this page of my website, I've listed a few
computer-based tools of interest to translators. Click on the links to
the manufacturers' websites to find out more. You can also take a look
at my blog
to see what current developments there are in translation technology. N.B. This page doesn't always cover the latest versions of the software, so please refer to the firms' own websites for the latest news about them.
This application is a popular computer-aided translation tool that I also use and can recommend (at least
for German-to-English texts, although it supports many more languages (up to a hundered, they say!), including right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew).
MemoQ, or rather, memoQ translator pro, as the main program is called, is made by a Hungarian software firm of the same name in Budapest and has been on the market for well over a decade now. The software developers have focused on enhancing it for software localisation, especially for localising games. The CAT tool is available as an online version with a yearly subscription.
This CAT tool is relatively easy to work with - it
won't take you long to get started. It's an integrated package
including a text-alignment module, term extraction and management, a TM
module, a (quick-alignment) feature called LiveDocs for
storing your own reference sources (even PDFs and graphics), and optional
plug-ins allowing you to use specific online dictionaries, online
translation memories and machine-translation offerings if you wish to.
What's more, it lets you process a wide range of file formats,
including Trados Workbench files, TTXs (from TagEditor) and the XLIFF
files created by Trados Studio ("SDLXLIFF"). Since version 6.2.6, it
has also allowed you import packages from Studio. (This is
also possible for Transit packages.) MemoQ's own internal file
format is a variety of XLIFF. You can even work on InDesign files (INDD).
If you set it accordingly, memoQ will display your translation in a
preview window as it's being created (providing the format of the
source file permits this). Microsoft Office documents
can be displayed this way, as can TagEditor's TTX files. This feature
is an option that can be switched on or off (e.g. to create more space
for your translation on the screen). The ability to customise memoQ is
one of its strengths.
Another useful new feature is the integration of an
external PDF conversion service called TransPDF (more on this in my blog).
Take a look at the material at Kilgray's online resource centre to find
out more about how memoQ works. The LiveDocs feature is explained in a free webinar, for example. If you register as a user (it's free),
you can then access this page and and watch recorded webinars on
various aspects of using memoQ. You can also attend live webinars for
free.
Special offers
MemoQ runs these on its own website and at proz.com
every few months, especially around the end of the year. They only last
a few days and give you the chance to buy a licence at a very good
rate. To check out the offers, go to TGB
(group buys) on proz.com. There are also special rates for members of translators' associations.
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Trados Studio
This is one of the best-known CAT tools around, mainly because it was put on the market early and was adopted by a lot of agencies and other companies.Trados Studio has a long history and has been taken over by various companies in the course of its life. It's currently in the hands of RWS and is being "enhanced" with AI functionality.
For some tips on using Studio and other related products,
take a look at Paul Filkin's blog, multifarious.
The articles on this site are on a host of subjects, including the RWS AppStore, a platform with a wide range of free and pay-only add-ins to add new features to Studio or improve existing ones. Studio's latest AI functionality is also covered there.
Like other CAT tools with a modern design such as
memoQ translator pro, it has an interface partly based on Microsoft's ribbon menus and Windows
10 interface. It also lets you call up training resources like video tutorials straight
from Studio. (Very convenient. See my blog post
for more details.)
For details about upgrades and other special offers, go
to the trados website and pick the kind of pricing you need.
Related blogs and wikis
-
Translation Tribulations by translation veteran Kevin Lossner frequently covers
issues concerning popular CAT tools.
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- Jérémy Callier's blog about translation tools. He teaches at Liège University in Belgium and also works as a translator.
Other pages of interest:
Any more tips?
I hope you've found something of benefit on this page.
You're welcome to send me any tips of your own if you feel they would
help other translators.
ATS, Amper Translation Service, translation, editing,
translation agency, language services, Carl
Carter, resources, blogs, CAT, CAT tools, TEnTs, translation tools,
translation technology, memoQ, MemoQ, Déjà Vu X2, Déjà Vu X3, DVX3,
memoQ 2015, memoQ 2014 R2, SDL Trados Studio 2014, tips, tricks,
videos, webinars, training, translationzone, user
groups
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