tools of translation

04/12/2023 Practicum In Translatin

Tools for Translators in the 21st Century

Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) software is helpful to translators, since it speeds up the translation process.

The translator has to consider the software licenses restricting the use of the program and its cost.


Accordingly, the programs are one of the following types: 1-Commercial software is computer software sold

for commercial purposes.

2-Free software can be used, copied, studied, modified, and redistributed without restriction. ‘free’ of ‘freedom’ and not ‘free of charge’.

3-Freeware ‘free of charge’ copyrighted computer software which made available for use free of charge for an unlimited time.

4-Shareware (opposes freeware) the user has to pay after some trial period (usually no longer than 30 days.


CAT technology is either:

A) electronic tools.

B) Or other useful software packages.

Electronic tools used for translation are nine:

1. word possessors.2. electronic dictionaries.3. tools for the internet.

4. image editors.5. CAT tool.6. PDF tools.

7. desktop publishing tools.8. proofreading tools.

9. tools for freelance translators.


1-Word Processors

Word processors allow translators to type.

They contain spelling and grammar checkers as subprograms.

They can count the total number of words.

The most popular word processors are Microsoft Word and Open Office Writer.


2- Electronic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Electronic dictionaries have the

advantage of speed and convenience of lookup, and popularity over their printed counterparts.

They show three fields: pronunciation, function, and etymology

Examples of Oxford or Collins CD-

ROM, Merriam-Webster’s ,Online Dictionary.

. The best electronic encyclopedia is

Wikipedia containing up-to-date articles written be people from all around the world.


3-Tools for the Internet

a- Web Browser The Internet is a World Wide Web, a network of sites that

can be searched and retrieved by a special protocol know as Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

In order to surf through these sites, it is necessary to use a web explorer known as “browser”

The most popular browsers are Internet Explorer ,Mozilla Firefox ,Opera .

Web browsers allow the user :1- to do searches in Google or Wikipedia. 2- to load Web pages in separate tabs of a single browser

window to jump between them quickly and easily.


b) Search Engines Translators frequently need to research topics to

overcome their lack of knowledge in a specific field through search engines like Google or AltaVista .

Search engines use Boolean operators to search the selected terms through the web

c) Specialized Databases

A lot of information, that cannot be retrieved by search engines, can be retrieved by “Invisible Web” or specialized database.

Some medical and scientific online database are the Web of Knowledge.


d) E-mail Software Most Internet users use free webmail e-mail

services such as Hotmail, Yahoo.

To keep track of inbox messages, it is better to use an email application like Microsoft Outlook, commercial).

E-mail software allow the user 1- to retrieve emails from a remote server2- to download messages from webmail accounts


e) Chats and Other Online Communication Systems Translators can be exchange ideas and opinions

in the real time with other translators or specialists, and they can be in touch with clients.

e.g MSN Messenger or Gaim

f) Blogs:

A blog can be created by following easy steps in a free weblog publishing system as Blogger after which a person can talk about any topic and can publish.

Among the blogs from which translators can get some recommendations as translation notes.


4- Image Editors:

Translators are expected to have some basic skills in order to undertake a translation job which deal with graphics.

They should be aware of the existence of image editors such as Photoshop, Pain Shop Pro, Photo Filtre , and The GIMP.


5- CAT Tool: A) Translation Memory Systems: Using translation memories allows translators to

leverage previous translations.

The most popular translation memory system is SDL Trados.

Other cheaper ones are Wordfast, and DéjàVu.

B) Terminology Tools:

For terminological consistency, terminologists may

use term-extraction and concordance tools such as WordSmith Tools , TextStat and AntConc .


C) Web Localization Tools To have a multilingual website, translators are

advised to become familiar with tools for web localization such as the HTML editors like Dreamweaver and NVU .

Such tools preserve the original layout by avoiding any modification.

Other CAT tools may also allow the user to see both the source and the target texts at the same time and preview the translation in the browser is a reference for CAT tools for web localization


D) Software Localization Tools In order to translate software, it is necessary to

deal with localization tools to extract or edit the menu, window and message strings in a single resource file.

The leading CAT tools for software localization are Alchemy Catalyst and Passolo commercial)


E) Subtitling Tools

Many young translators prefer

translating a film through subtitling than a legal contract.

Many subtitlers subtitle TV shows and spread them over the internet, while others code software programs to subtitle TV series to get some feedbacks from other subtitlers via forums.

Such software programs are VisualSubSync, Sabbu ,Aegisub ,and SSA Tool.


F) Machine Translation Systems Nowadays, machine translation

produces good-quality results with simple texts or texts with controlled language such weather forecasts.

However, some editing is still required before and after processing a text in a machine translation system.

There are many free online machine translation systems such as Altavista’s Babelfish Systran and Power Translator.


6- PDF Tools (Portable Document Format): PDF files can never be modified, so there is no risk of losing the

format when different version of the same software is used. A) PDF Readers: The PDF reader is Acrobat Reader.Another PDF reader is Foxit

Reader. B) PDF Creators: To produce PDF files, PDF creators can be installed as “virtual

printers” Such PDF creators are Acrobat Professional and PDFCreator. C) PDF Converters: To edit a PDF file, it needs to be converted by a converter to a

Word document. Good converters are Solid Converter and ABBYY PDF

Transformer.


D) PDF Editors: Converting a PDF file to a Word document may not maintain the

same quality.

Thus, PDF editors can be used to edit PDF files directly, preserving the original layout.

PDF editor is Foxit PDF Editors.

7- Desktop Publishing Tools: As opposed to Word Processors, which are used to write

documents, Desktop Publishing tools (DTP) are used to design a stylish layout for a journal or magazine.

The translator does not necessarily need to know how to create a document from scratch, but s/he will be benefited from having the DTP skills.

The best-known DTP tools are FrameMaker ( InDesign QuarkXPress and Scribus.


8- Proofreading Tools: Proofreading is a process which focus on the

correction of errors such as misspellings or typos and mistakes in grammar and punctuation.

PDF proofreading tools are Highlight Tool and the Strikethrough Tool.

Other cheaper alternatives are Foxit Reader Pro Jaws PDF Editors and Bluebeam Revu.


9- Tools for Freelance Translators: A) Billing Software:

Before attempting a freelance job, it is advisable to know the price the translator will charge.

Among the billing software that can help to manage translation invoices are BillQuick ,Freeside, and FactuSol

B) Internet Fax Services:

Windows comes with a fax service that uses a modem to send fax.

Another source fax service is though the Internet like InterFAX, FaxZero or TrusFax.


Other Useful Software Packages

There are three other useful software packages which come handy when using the computer: anti-malware software, file compressors/decompressors, and miscellaneous tools

1-Anti-malware Software Malicious software is designed to infiltrate

computers.It includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware and adware.

A) Antivirus Software It is important to install an antivirus

program to detect and eliminate computer viruses.

The best antivirus software packages include AVP ,Norton Antivirus ,McAfee Antivirus, AntiVir ,and AVG.


B) Anti-spyware Software The most popular software used to

fight spyware is Ad-aware

There are two other alternatives such as SpyBot Seach & Destroy and Spyware Terminator

C) Firewalls A firewall is a piece of software that

tracks every attempt to access a computer and asks its user to grant permission to execute something when software receives data from the Internet.

It perfectly works together with antivirus software to block online viruses.

Examples of firewalls are ZoneAlarm , Kerio and NetDefender.


2-File Compressors/Decompressors

File compressors reduce the file size depending on

the file type to be able to send and receive the file on the Internet.

Compression file formats are zip, rar, ace,7z.

The most popular file compressor is WinZip.

Other alternatives are WinRAR , 7Zip,ALZip and IZArc.


3-Miscellaneous Tools Miscellaneous tools are other useful tools for

translators: Search and Replace Tools: InfoRapid Search &

Replace and Actual Search & Replace.

Screen Capture Tools: WinSnap ,MWSnap and Snaglt. Text Editors: PSPad ,UltraEdit and NotePad++

File Compression Tools: WinMerge and ExamDiff .

Mass Renaming Tools: ReNamer ,Lupas Rename, Flexible Renamer.


Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) includes:

Electronic tools. Other useful software packages.

1. Word possessors. 1. Anti-malware software.

2. Electronic dictionaries 2. Miscellaneous tools.

and Encyclopedias.

3. Tools for the Internet. 3. File compressors/decompressors.

4. Image editors.

5. CAT tools.

6. PDF tools.

7. Desktop publishing tools.

8. Proofreading tools.

9. Tools for freelance translators.


Thank you-Dalal AL-Tayari.

-Alaa AL-Biladi .

-Shorouq Hashem.

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