The world of translation has evolved and advanced at the pace of technology, and that is why we have been listening about the advantages of CAT tools for some time. Do you know what they are? If you still do not know about these translation tools, I invite you to continue reading.

Before we begin, we will define what the acronym CAT means: Computer Assisted Translation; therefore, these electronic tools help translators to perform their work faster and more efficiently.

Advantages

• It guarantees the consistency of terms in all translations.
• Reduces translation costs.
• Most CAT tools are used to ensure the quality of the job.
• You can create translation memories (TM).
• It reduces delivery times.

What CAT tools should you use?

The best known is the translation memory, which divides texts into segments and stores those already translated into a database. The best thing about this CAT tool is that, when the software recognizes that a new segment is similar to another already translated, the translator is suggested to “reuse” the content.

Some examples of translation memory software are Trados, DéjàVuX, Star Transit, MultiTrans, among others.

Search engines such as Linguee or Reverso Context function as the traditional ones, the difference is that they look for results in a large database of translation memory.

On the other hand, there are also some programs for terminology management, so the translator can automatically search for terms in a database. Some of the best known are SDL MultiTerm, LogiTerm, and Termex, which are very helpful for the translator when trying to preserve consistency throughout the document.

Finally, some other programs considered as CAT tools include automatic translation programs, alignment programs, spelling and grammatical correction tools such as Proofread and Grammarly respectively, databases and online dictionaries.

Of course there are other useful tools for translators, however, these are the best known and the most used today because they offer specific utilities to accelerate the translation process.

Now that you know more about CAT tools, let us know a bit about the ones you use the most and which seem more efficient.