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Migration between CAT tools

What is a CAT tool

CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools are programs that help in text translation. They have radically changed the way professional translators work and made project management and editing easier.

What does a CAT tool do

When the human translator inputs text in the source language into a CAT tool, a CAT tool divides it into segments. Then, the segments are translated, and the CAT tool saves the parts of the source and target texts.

The process step-by-step:

  1. The human translator inputs the source text into a CAT tool.
  2. The CAT tool extracts translatable parts of the text.
  3. The CAT tool divides the text into segments.
  4. The CAT tool displays the source and target texts side by side.
  5. The human translator inputs their translations into the target segments.
  6. The CAT tool saves the part of the source text and its translation in a translation memory.

What are the features of CAT tools

  • Translation memories
  • Term bases

  • Collaborative teamwork capability

    Cloud-based CAT tools allow you to invite the members of your team (translators, managers, reviewers, customers, etc.) and ask them for their opinion on your translation. Thanks to the software, it is possible to pre-translate the text and share it with your collaborators.

  • Quality assurance functionality

    CAT tools usually have QA (quality assurance) functionalities, such as internal spellchecking. They are able to detect errors like typos or missing tags and ensure high-quality translations.

  • Machine translation

    CAT tools also have the capability to use AI-powered machine translation. The user can input the source text, and the software will generate the translation. Using machine translation is especially useful with big volumes of text. It can be used alongside human translators, who would perform machine translation post-editing.

What are the benefits of CAT tools

  • The automation of CAT tools makes the translation process faster and more consistent.
  • The matching technology of CAT tools makes the translation process quicker and less costly.
  • CAT tools and their features get smarter the more you use them, so using them becomes easier with time.
  • CAT tools are avaiable on many different platforms, including the web, desktop, and mobile.
  • CAT tools format your text, so you do not need to do handle that yourself.
  • Thanks to integrated term bases, CAT tools are especially useful for translating texts with specific terminology.

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