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CAT Tools

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools have been used for decades in the language services industry. But the fact that the computer is assisting the translator does not mean that it is the computer performing the translation. It just means that the human translator is taking advantage of technology to improve the productivity, thoroughness and consistency of their work.

These CAT tools, which include SDL Trados Studio, memoQ, Wordfast, Déjà Vu, Across, Memsource, Smartcat, and Matecat, extract the content to be translated into a platform that displays the source text side-by-side with the target translation.
These tools also include useful features such as translation memories, glossaries, and even quality assurance (QA) systems.

The advantages CAT tools give translators also directly benefit the client. For example, a translator does not have to retype an identical sentence ten times, because the translation is stored in the memory. This means they can work faster, and that reduces costs. This is particularly useful for repetitive texts, for which clients can obtain excellent discounts thanks to optimised CAT tool procedures.

Translation memories
When using CAT tools, translators don’t lose time searching for how they translated a word or phrase in a previous project. As they translate, their work is stored in a database called a translation memory, which can be applied to subsequent projects so similar or identical sentences from earlier projects can be reused. This is also an advantage for translators, who can do their job more quickly, since repeated sentences are automatically reused. They can also search through the memories for earlier translations.

Glossary creation
Every industry and company has its own terminology. Whether you want to project your corporate image or maintain consistency throughout a technical manual, it’s easy to create glossaries and include them in translation projects to ensure that the translator always uses the same terminology wherever it appears.

Quality Assurance (QA)
Even highly qualified translators make small technical mistakes, such as leaving a double space between words. The CAT tools used by Norak include a suite of checks that minimise human error. These tools can also be configured to suit the specific needs of each project

Machine translation and post-editing
In machine translation, it can be said that it is the computer or software that does the translation. However, translation engines are only used as tools that allow the translator to work more quickly, and the result is always revised by a human translator. This revision is called post-editing.
The best results with machine translation are achieved when the translation engine is prepared for a specific field.

Localisation
Products such as software, web content and video games need careful attention to filenames and linguistic content. Adapting a set of elements to a different location is called localisation. Regardless of the type of content or the locale, Norak can guide you to the best option when preparing content for other markets or audiences.

Localisation engineering
Whatever your project requirements, our localisation engineering department is equipped to prepare your files for translation using CAT tools, however complicated this might be.

Even if the text in your files is mixed with source code in some programming language, this is not an issue for our experts. We can create filters that distinguish between the code and the text to be translated, so that this pre-analysis is most efficient in terms of time and costs. Our team of experts can also develop and automate processes so that you receive your files in the original format in the shortest possible time.

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