Computer-assisted translation

Computer-assisted translation, Computer-aided translation, or CAT is a form of translation wherein a human translator translates texts using computer software designed to support and facilitate the translation process.

Computer-assisted translation is sometimes called machine-assisted, or machine-aided, translation.

Computer-assisted translation vs. Machine translation

Although the two concepts are similar, computer-assisted translation should not be confused with machine translation (MT).

In computer-assisted translation, the computer program supports the translator, who translates the text himself, making all the essential decisions involved, whereas in machine translation, the translator supports the machine, that is to say that the computer or program translates the text, which is then edited by the translator, or not edited at all. Difficulties with such unedited output are described at machine translation.

Overview

Computer-assisted translation is a broad and imprecise term covering a range of tools, from the fairly simple to the more complicated. These can include:

Spell checkers, either built into word processing software, or add-on programs;
Grammar checkers, again either built into word processing software, or add-on programs;
terminology managers, allowing the translator to manage his own terminology bank in an electronic form. This can range from a simple table created in the translator's word processing software or spreadsheet, a database created in a program such as FileMaker Pro (almost a standard in the translation industry) or Microsoft Access, or, for more robust (and more expensive) solutions, specialized software packages such as LogiTerm, MultiTerm, Termex, etc.
Dictionaries on CD-ROM, either unilingual or bilingual
Terminology databases, either on CD-ROM or accessible through the Internet, (such as The Open Terminology Forum, TERMIUM or Grand dictionnaire terminologique from the Office québécois de la langue française)
Full-text searches (or indexers), which allow the user to query already translated texts or reference documents of various kinds. In the translation industry one finds such indexers as Naturel, ISYS Search Software and dtSearch.
Concordancers, which are programs that retrieve instances of a word or an expression in a monolingual, bilingual or multiligual corpus.
Bitexts, a fairly recent development, the result of merging a source text and its translation, which can then be consulted using a full-text search tool.
Translation memory managers (TMM), tools consisting of a database of text segments in a source language and their translations in one or more target languages.
Systems that are nearly automatic as in machine translation, but allow user decisions for ambiguous cases. These are sometimes called human-aided machine translation.

Comparison of different CAT Tools

(Alphabetical order, free software first, proprietary solutions second.)

Tool	Supported File Formats	OS	Price	License
ForeignDesk	HTML, C Source Files, Java Source Code, Microsoft Help File Sources (HPJ, HHC, HHK, CNT), Trados,	Windows	Open Source
Okapi Framework	PO, Windows RC, TMX, Wordfast, Trados, Java Properties, Regular-expression-based text, Illustrator, INX, ResX, Table-type files, XML	Windows (.NET)	LGPL
OmegaT	HTML, DocBook, Plain Text, PO, JavaHelp, Java Resource Bundles, OpenOffice.org, StarOffice	Multiplatform (Java)	Open Source
Transolution	HTML, StarOffice/Openoffice.org, XLIFF, DOCBOOK	Multiplatform (Python)	GPL
AidTransStudio	OpenOffice.org, MS Word Xml	Windows (.NET)	Basic: Free	Proprietary
Cafetran	HTML, XML, OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, Kword, MS Word	Multiplatform (Java)	180 Euro
Déjà Vu (DVX)	XML, Plain Text, OpenOffice.org, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe PageMaker, ASP, Interleaf/Quicksilver, InDesign, Help Content, SGML, MS Access, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word, QuarkXPress, RTF, Resource files, C/C++/Java source files, Java Properties, JavaScript, VBScript, GNU gettext	Windows	490 Euro	Proprietary
Heartsome Translation Suite	HTML/XHTML, XML, Plain Text, OpenOffice.org, StarOffice, AbiWord, PO/POT (GNU Gettext), SVG, Adobe FrameMaker (MIF), Adobe InDesign, DocBook, DITA, Java Properties, JavaScript, RTF, Tagged RTF, Trados TTX, MS Office 2003 XML, ResX (Windows .NET Resources)	Multiplatform (Java)	See price list.
LogiTerm	?	?	?
MemoQ	HTML, plain text, MS Word (plus RTF and other Word documents), Excel, PowerPoint, Trados TTX, proprietary bilingual format	Windows	4Free: Freeware Translator Pro: 390 Euro LSP 5: 1490 Euro	Proprietary
MetaTexis	HTML, XML, Resource files MS Word (all kinds of text files that can be imported by MS Word), MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe PageMaker, QuarkXPress	Windows	Lite: 29 Euro Pro: 79 Euro .NET/Office: 109 Euro	Proprietary
MLTS	?	?	?
MultiCorpora MultiTrans	?	?	?
MultiLing Fortis Translation Suite	?	?	?
Rainbow	HTML, XHTML, Scripts, Photoshop, etc.	Windows (.NET)	Freeware	Proprietary
SDLX	?	?	?
STAR Transit	?	?	?
Trados Translators Workbench	When it is installed, it automatically adds a template to MS word. To use in Excel, PowerPoint, one should use T_windows application installed with workbench	?	?
Tr-aid	?	?	?
WordFast	MS Word	Microsoft Office Word macro	180 Euro	Proprietary
WordFisher	?	?	?
Similis	HTML, PDF, Word, Trados	Windows	295 Euros (monoposte)	Proprietary
Open Language Tools	HTML/XHTML, XML, DocBook SGML, ASCII, StarOffice/OpenOffice/ODF, .po (gettext), .properties, .java (ResourceBundle), .msg/.tmsg (catgets)	Multiplatform (Java)	Free	CDDL
	File Formats	OS	Price	License

External links

CAT Discussion groups

Software Localization Tools

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