"Translator's Memory", or What is Translation Memory. Translation memory technology Sharing TM

Description

One record in such a database corresponds to a segment or "translation unit", which is usually taken as one sentence (less often - a part of a compound sentence or a paragraph). If the translation unit of the source text exactly matches the translation unit stored in the database (exact match), it can be automatically substituted into the translation. The new segment may also differ slightly from the one stored in the database (fuzzy match). Such a segment can also be inserted into the translation, but the translator will have to make the necessary changes.

In addition to speeding up the process of translating repetitive fragments and changes made to already translated texts (for example, new versions of software products or changes in legislation), software systems also ensure the uniformity of translation of terminology in the same fragments, which is especially important for technical translation. On the other hand, if a translator regularly substitutes exact matches extracted from translation memories into his translation without monitoring their use in a new context, the quality of the translated text may deteriorate.

In each specific PP system, data is stored in its own format (text format in Wordfast, Access database in Deja Vu), but there is an international standard TMX (eng. Translation Memory eXchange format), which is based on XML and can be generated by almost all PP systems. Thanks to this, the translations made can be used in different applications, that is, the translator working with OmegaT can use the PP created in Trados, and vice versa.

Most PP systems at least support the creation and use of user dictionaries, the creation of new databases based on parallel texts (English alignment), as well as semi-automatic extraction of terminology from original and parallel texts.

Popular software systems PP

Check information.

According to reviews of the use of PCB systems, the most popular systems include:

The English Wikipedia has a list comparing the capabilities of different systems.

Translation memory standards and formats

TMX (Translation Memory Exchange Format). This standard enables interchange between different translation memory providers. TMX is a commonly accepted format in the translation environment and is best suited for importing and exporting translation memories. The latest version of this format, 1.4b, allows you to recover original documents and their translations from a TMX file.
TBX (Termbase Exchange format). This format adopted by LISA (Localization Industry Association) is currently being revised and reissued in accordance with ISO 30042. This standard allows the exchange of terminology, including detailed lexical information. The basic TBX base is defined by standards: ISO 12620, ISO 12200 and ISO 16642. ISO 12620 provides a registry of well-defined "data categories" with standardized names that function as data item types or predefined values. ISO 12200 (also known as MARTIF) provides the framework for the TBX framework. ISO 16642 (also known as the Terminological Markup Framework) includes a structural metamodel for Terminology Markup Languages in general.
SRX is designed to improve the TMX format and make the exchange of translation memories between programs more efficient. The ability to specify the segmentation rules that were used in the previous translation increases the efficiency of identifying segments in the current text with the content of the software.
GMX GILT stands for Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and Translation. The GILT Metrics standard consists of three parts: GMX-V for volume, GMX-C for complexity, GMX-Q for quality. The proposed GILT Metrics standard aims to quantify the scope of work and quality requirements for the implementation of GILT tasks.
OLIF is an open XML-compliant standard used for the exchange of terminological and lexical data. Although it was originally used as a way of exchanging lexical data between particular lexicons of machine translation, it gradually evolved into a more general standard for terminological exchange.
XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format - XML format for interchange during localization), was created as a single file format for interchange, which is recognized by all localization software. XLIFF is the best way to exchange information in XML format in today's translation industry. Some tools use proprietary XLIFF formats, which prevent files created in them from being opened in other programs.
TransWS (Translation Web Services) defines the required parameters for invoking web services when sending and receiving files and messages related to localization projects. It was conceived as a deployed system for automating the localization process using services on the Internet.
xml: tm, this approach to translation memory is based on the concept of text memory, which allows you to combine author memory and translation memory. The xml: tm format was provided by Lisa OSCAR by XML-INTL.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Reducing the time and volume of the translator's work.
Improving translation consistency, especially when a group of translators are working on one project.
Increase in profits by increasing the productivity of a translator, a group of translators.
Improving the quality of services by increasing the accuracy and uniformity of translation of terms, especially in specialized texts.

disadvantages

Can make the translation more "dry"; the essence of the text is lost if translation using a translation memory is performed by a translator with low qualifications.
Often there is no connection between the sentence / text offered by the program with neighboring sentences and with the text as a whole.
The original must be in electronic form.
One unnoticed error can spread to the entire project.
It is necessary to learn how to work in the program itself, and when changing jobs, perhaps more than once (if employers use different TM programs).
Not suitable for all types of texts.
High cost of licensed software.

Literature

Grabovskiy V.N. Translation Memory Technology // Bridges. Journal of translators. 2004. No. 2. - S. 57-62.

Links

The use of professional software by Russian translation companies // Konstantin Dranch, April 8, 2015.

(less often - a part of a complex sentence, or a paragraph). If the translation unit of the source text exactly matches the translation unit stored in the database (exact match, eng. exact match), it can be automatically inserted into the translation. The new segment may also differ slightly from the one stored in the database (fuzzy match, eng. fuzzy match). Such a segment can also be inserted into the translation, but the translator will have to make the necessary changes.

In each specific PP system, data is stored in its own format (text format in Wordfast, Access database in Deja Vu), but there is an international standard TMX (eng. Translation Memory eXchange format ), which is based on XML and which can be generated by almost all PP systems. Thanks to this, the translations made can be used in different applications, that is, the translator working with OmegaT can use the software created in TRADOS and vice versa.

Most PP systems at least support the creation and use of user dictionaries, the creation of new databases based on parallel texts (eng. alignment), as well as semi-automatic terminology extraction from original and parallel texts.

Popular software systems PP

According to reviews of the use of PCB systems, the most popular systems include:

The English Wikipedia has a list comparing the capabilities of different systems.

Translation memory standards and formats

TMX (Translation Memory Exchange Format) format. This standard enables interchange between different translation memory providers. TMX is a commonly accepted format in the translation environment and is best suited for importing and exporting translation memories. The latest version of this format, 1.4b, allows you to recover original documents and their translations from a TMX file.
TBX (Termbase Exchange format). This format adopted by LISA (Localization Industry Association) is currently being revised and reissued in accordance with ISO 30042. This standard allows the exchange of terminology, including detailed lexical information. The main TBX base is defined by standards: ISO 12620, ISO 12200 and ISO 16642. ISO 12620 provides a registry of well-defined “data categories” with standardized names that function as data item types or predefined values. ISO 12200 (also known as MARTIF) provides the framework for the TBX framework. ISO 16642 (also known as the Terminological Markup Framework) includes a structural metamodel for Terminology Markup Languages in general.
SRX is designed to improve the TMX format and make the exchange of translation memories between programs more efficient. The ability to specify the segmentation rules that were used in the previous translation increases the efficiency of identifying segments in the current text with the content of the software.
GMX GILT stands for Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and Translation. The GILT Metrics standard consists of three parts: GMX-V for volume indicators, GMX-C for complexity indicators, GMX-Q for quality indicators. The proposed GILT Metrics standard aims to quantify the scope of work and quality requirements for the implementation of GILT tasks.
OLIF is an open XML-compliant standard used for the exchange of terminological and lexical data. Although it was originally used as a way of exchanging lexical data between particular lexicons of machine translation, it gradually evolved into a more general standard for terminological exchange.
XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is created as a single interchange file format that is recognized by all localization software. XLIFF is the best way to exchange information in XML format in today's translation industry.
TransWS (Translation Web Services) defines the required parameters for invoking web services when sending and receiving files and messages related to localization projects. It was conceived as a deployed system for automating the localization process using services on the Internet.
xml: tm, this approach to translation memory is based on the concept of text memory, which allows you to combine author memory and translation memory. The xml: tm format was provided by Lisa OSCAR by XML-INTL.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Reducing the time and volume of the translator's work
Improving translation consistency, especially when a group of translators are working on one project.
Increase in profits by increasing the productivity of a translator, a group of translators
Improving the quality of services by increasing the accuracy and uniformity of translation of terms, especially in specialized texts.

disadvantages

Can make the translation more "dry"; the essence of the text is lost if translation using a translation memory is performed by a translator with low qualifications
Often there is no connection between the sentence / text offered by the program with neighboring sentences and with the text as a whole
The original must be in electronic form
One unnoticed mistake can spread to the entire project.
It is necessary to train the program itself, and when changing jobs - perhaps more than once (if employers work with different TM programs)
Not suitable for all types of texts
High cost of licensed software

Literature

Grabovskiy V.N. Translation Memory Technology // Bridges. Journal of translators. 2004. No. 2. - S. 57-62.

Notes (edit)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Translation memory" is in other dictionaries:

Contents 1 In psychology 2 In computer technology ... Wikipedia

Mosaic with an image ... Wikipedia

A text in one language together with its translation into another language. "Parallel text alignment" is the identification of matching sentences in both halves of the parallel text. Large collections of parallel texts are called ... ... Wikipedia

Parallel text (bittext) text in one language together with its translation into another language. "Parallel text alignment" is the identification of matching sentences in both halves of the parallel text. Large gatherings ... ... Wikipedia

Translation memory (TM, sometimes called "Translation memory") is a database containing a set of previously translated texts. One record in such a database corresponds to a segment or "translation unit" (English ... ... Wikipedia

Translation Memory systems: concept and implementation 1. Ideology of TM-toolkits 2. General principle of TM 3. Composition of TM system 4. TM functions 5. Overview of the main programs of the Translation Memory class: TRADOS 3. 0 Deja. Vu SDLX 3.0 Transit and Term. Star Word. Fisher 4 IBM Translation. Manager 2. 0 6. Advantages and disadvantages of TM TM

Ideology of TM-toolkits Makoto Nagao, Japan, Kyoto University. In 1982, he proposed a new concept for machine translation, which was based on the assertion that texts should be translated by analogy with texts previously translated by hand. M. Nagao called his approach to technical translation from English into Russian “Example based translation”. M. Nagao's idea was used by some Makoto Nagao

What is Translation Memory? Translation Memory (TM) is a database that stores completed translations. TM technology works on the principle of accumulation: in the process of translation, the original segment (sentence) and its translation are saved in TM. When processing new text received for translation, the system compares each of its sentences with the segments saved in the database. If an identical or similar segment to the original segment is found, then that segment is displayed along with the translation and a percentage match. Words and phrases that differ from the saved text are highlighted. Thus, the translator only needs to translate the new segments and edit the overlapping ones. Each change or new translation is saved in the TM.

The ideology of TM tools TM tools are designed to store pairs of sentences in a translation database. Each such pair consists of a sentence from the original and its technical translation in another language. It is possible to place fragments of text and other formats exceeding the length of the sentence or being only a part of it. But in the automatic mode it is the sentences that are saved, therefore, quite often such programs are called "Sentence Memory".

How TM tools work TM programs integrate with office programs such as Word. Some means of text. of them have their own technical edits. Their interfaces differ little from the interfaces of text editors that are usual for a modern translator.

Translation Memory and Translation Aids Classes: MT (Machine Translation) - automatic or machine translation; CAT (Computer-assisted / aided translation) programs automate and facilitate the work of a translator in its various aspects, implement the concept of translation memory, such as Trados, Omega. T, Deja. Vu, Word. Fast, etc.

How modern CAT programs work. The program divides the source text into segments (as a rule, these are sentences or parts of sentences), and the translator enters the translation of each segment right below the source text or, if the text is presented in the form of a table, to the right of it. The translation of the segment is saved along with the original text. The name of the translator and the date of the translation are also recorded (which is important for teamwork). You can return to the segment at any time to check or change the translation. The program places a segment in the translation memory, so that if it appears again in the source text, its translation will be automatically inserted from the TM. In addition, the CAT program has a fuzzy match search function: it detects segments that are only partially similar to those already translated (for example, they coincide by 75%), and gives "hints" for their translation.

Trados automated translation system Trados is an automated translation system developed by the German company Trados Gmb. H in 1992. One of the world leaders in the class of Translation Memory systems (TM, translation storage). The Trados system includes several modules designed to translate texts of various formats: Microsoft Word documents, Power presentations. Point, HTML texts and other metadata, Frame documents. Maker, Inter. Leaf, etc., as well as for maintaining terminological databases (module Multi. Term).

How the Trados System Works The concept of Translation Memory involves identifying fragments in the translated text, the translations of which are already available in the translation database, and thereby reducing the amount of translator's work. This identification is called alignment or alignment. Fragments that remain untranslated after alignment (matching) are passed on for manual processing to a translator or a machine translation system (Machine Translation, MT). At this stage, the translator can select the newly translated fragments and enter new pairs of parallel texts in two languages into the database. This scheme works best on texts of the same type, where the repeatability of phrases is quite high.

Main modules of the Trados * system Trados Workbench - the main module for translating documents, integrates into the Microsoft Word shell; * Tag. Editor - a module for translating documents in HTML, XML, etc. format; * Win. Align - a module for creating a translation memory based on previously translated bilingual texts; * S-Tagger - module for translating documents in Frame format. Maker and Inter. Leaf; * T-Window is a module for translating documents in Power format. Point; * Multi. Term - module for maintaining glossaries; * Extra. Term

What Translation Memory Programs Have in Common - Alignment - Alignment - Maintenance - Terminology Program - Text Editor - Document Editor Concordance

Advantages and disadvantages of programs of the Translation Memory class Advantages - Reducing the time and workload of the translator - Improving the sequence of translation, especially when several translators are working on one project. - Increased profits by increasing labor productivity - Improving the quality of services by increasing the accuracy of translation of terms, especially in specialized texts. Disadvantages - Can make the translation more "dry", the very essence of the text is lost - Often there is no connection between the proposal / text proposed by the program with neighboring sentences and with the text as a whole - The original must be in electronic form - One mistake applies to the entire project - The program itself needs training , and when changing jobs, it is possible, and more than once (if employers work with different TM programs) - Not suitable for all types of texts - High cost

Literature: 1. 2. 3. 4. Grabovsky VN: Translation Memory Technology. "Bridges" 2/2004 Kutuzov, A. B.: Computer technologies in the formation of the professional competence of the translator // Languages of professional communication: collection of articles of the Third International Scientific Conference, vol. 2. - Chelyabinsk, 2007 URL: http: // tc ... utmn. ru / files / kutuzov_it. pdf Shakhova NG: The train is leaving again. Home computer number 5 1. 05. 2000 A. Silonov: Programs to help translators. Computer week № 16 (238) Moscow 16 -22. 05.2000

In our age of rapid development of information technologies and unprecedented so far close interaction of the most seemingly distant cultures, the need to provide fast and high-quality translation services becomes especially urgent. And it is not surprising that the sphere of written translation, which until recently was considered the area of application of exclusively human intelligence, began to slowly but noticeably change with the appearance of the first computers. And it could not be otherwise, because the ease of work and the constant search for new solutions are inherent in the very essence of a person.

As is often the case, technological progress in the field of communications not only set new challenges for humanity, but also brought with it the means to solve them. In the field of translation, one such solution was technology entitled Translation Memory (TM) and the means using it computer assisted translation (CAT).

It is important to note that automated translation tools should in no way be confused with machine translation. These are two completely different approaches to the automation of translation by computer means, two completely different "philosophies" of the translation process. In the case of machine translation, the entire translation - from beginning to end - is done by a machine, a computer, using the dictionaries and translation algorithms at its disposal. As a result, the result of such work is far from what can be called a "high-quality translation" precisely for the reason that artificial intelligence has not yet been invented by mankind. In the second case, we are talking only about tools that facilitate and speed up the traditional process human translation, which is carried out and supervised directly by the translator. LinguaContact Translation Bureau has never dealt with machine translation.

Translation Memory (TM) or "translation memory" (TP) is a database that stores all previously performed translations using it. For the convenience of the translator, programs using Translation Memory technology break the translated text into so-called segments - text fragments, the original and translation of which are stored in memory. Such programs usually take a sentence or a part of a complex sentence as a segmenting unit (the minimum translation unit), but depending on the settings, it can also be a word, a phrase or a whole paragraph.

Most automated translation tools work in a simple way. During translation, the program, firstly, "remembers" all segment translations confirmed by the translator, and secondly, it constantly checks each new untranslated segment with those already in the translation memory and, if an identical or similar segment is found, "resembles" its translation. Thus, the translator can only confirm the translation proposed by the program or correct / supplement it in accordance with the context.

In addition to actually creating and working with the translation memory, modern automated translation programs allow:

Create and use glossaries and user dictionaries;

Create translation memories from pairs of previously translated texts without using automated translation tools;

Analyze the text and make a selection from its keywords, which can then be added to glossaries;

Carry out the so-called "pretranslation" based on the existing PP databases.

The most effective application of this technology for translation:

Large projects containing many similar fragments and terms: various kinds of scientific and technical texts, documentation, financial and legal texts;

One project by a group of several translators - in this case, the software (cloud) technology allows to achieve uniformity of terminology and style;

New versions of previously translated texts - this significantly reduces the time for searching and translating new fragments;

At the same time, this technology turns out to be practically useless when translating fiction, journalistic and advertising texts. In other words, everything that requires creativity and extraordinary solutions.

This is how SDL Trados interface looks like, integrated into MS Word:

A quick tour of the main automated translation tools

Today, there are several dozen programs on the market that support the work with Translation Memory technology. The most famous of these are SDL Trados, Déjà vu, Wordfast, MultiTrans, STAR Transit and Omega-T. Apart from the most obvious - the price (for example, the Omega-T program is completely free) - these software environments differ:

Text editing interface: some programs are integrated into MS Word (for example, all versions of SDL Trados up to and including SDL Trados 2007), while others have their own interface;

Algorithms for dividing text into segments (segments consist of sentences, phrases or words);

The presence of additional functions (for example, in the MemoQ program, in contrast to others, it is possible to assess the homogeneity of the text in percentage terms, i.e. the presence of repeating elements in it at the level of words and phrases);

The ability to integrate machine translation tools;

The number of supported file formats;

Possibility to work with translation memory online.

The choice of a CAT program often depends more on the personal preferences of the translator or the requirements of the translation bureau with which he cooperates (for example, many Western translation bureaus work with the TTX format, and it is fully supported only by the SDL Trados environment).

Translators translation agency "LinguaContact" know and master the most common CAT tools at a high level. In addition, our arsenal of "translator assistants" includes not only translation memory tools, but also many other programs and utilities (Quality Assurance tools, creation of termbases, inter-format conversion, etc.), without which it is hardly possible to achieve high quality and speed of work. LinguaContact has tens of thousands of translated pages using TM-tools!

You can be sure that your text will be translated efficiently and on time, in whatever format and complexity it may be!

V.N. Grabowski; Practical translator's magazine "MOSTY" 2/2004

The article talks about a new translator's tool - the Translation Memory (TM) technology, thanks to which the mechanization of translation activities is carried out.

Neural networks in the work of a translator

Machine translation theories, developed in a sluggish fashion since time immemorial, have received a major boost since the 1970s. This was due to significant advances in the field of modeling intellectual activity. In addition to purely scientific interest, this was due to the increasing role of interlingual communications in the modern world.

In addition to electronic dictionaries and phrasebook dictionaries, by the mid-1990s, "electronic translators" (they came to be called MT technology) had become quite widespread. Basically, "electronic translators" are programs that could process an entire text. True, the output turned out not quite what was needed, and if frankly, it was not at all that. In order for the result of the MT technology to become a truly coherent text, a person had to work a lot on it.

The concept of "machine translation" has become common knowledge. Our domestic programs Stylus (now called Promt and Socrates). However, interest in such programs has gradually declined after a period of initial curiosity, and now it is small, even though they have been largely finalized. Nowadays, they are used mainly for getting acquainted with the content of foreign-language sites on the Internet, as well as for reading and writing emails in a foreign language.

By and large, the work of a translator has not fundamentally changed over the centuries. Yes, computers have appeared, a kind of high-speed and convenient typewriters. Yes, "electronic translators" have appeared. However, while MT technologies have evolved, they have not become a tool that has a wide range of applications and allows you to truly save time and effort.

What is Translation Memory Technology

Technology has become a new tool of the translator Translation_Memory(TM). In the West, TM technology and the translation memory tools (TMT) created on its basis are well known and widely used. A feature of this technology is the mechanization of translation activities, and not its automation as seen by the creators of MT technology. Moreover, this, at first glance, more modest solution has brought immeasurably more practical benefits than the global concept of "electronic translators".

The difference from electronic dictionaries and other translation tools is that a typical TM-class program is based on neural networks, which are capable of simulating the work of the human brain when processing data to a certain extent. These networks are capable of learning and analyzing complex datasets that are difficult to process with linear algorithms.

These programs use a fuzzy algorithm that allows you to find words not only in their dictionary forms, but also in other forms, for example, in a different case. In addition, they can find phrases in a different word order. A self-organizing artificial neural network is able to find patterns and determine the relationships between them. The program compares the fragment you are currently working on with the contents of the database and provides this information to the display. She can establish that a given fragment is similar to a similar fragment in the system memory, for example, 99%, 74%, or even 20%.

Every translator is familiar with the feeling that the phrase he is now struggling with has already met somewhere, once, at least in an approximate form. Moreover, I came across either in the same material, or in some other, translated earlier. Straight deja vu for some ... I would like to see her, this phrase, at least for reference, in order to sensibly formulate the one you are working on now ...

You start flipping the original back, rummaging through the bookshelf. And it often happened that the desired phrase did show up. Most often, when it's already late, after the translation has been completed. It seems that at such a moment I would give everything for a tool that would help to find the necessary text. Even now, when you type the text of the translation using a computer, and not on a typewriter, it is always a pity to redo something that was composed with such difficulty. The long-standing dream of a translator is to come up with some means that would free you from the need to translate the same phrase several times.

This kind of idea underlies the creation of the Translation Memory technology, or simply TM, on the basis of which more or less workable programs began to appear from the late 80s - early 90s. In fact, such a program is a control shell that works with one or another pluggable database (TM) and which I would call a piggy bank of translations. TM is a computerized version of a large filing cabinet that stores every phrase you've ever translated, paired in both the original and the target languages. Each such pair is called bilingual. The program will instantly remind you how this phrase was translated last time. Access to information is easy and fast.

Overview of the main programs of the Translation Memory class

Currently, there are several software products on the world market that use the TM technology. They differ from each other, and sometimes significantly. However, they all share some common functionality.

For example, they usually have a text editor with two parallel windows. One window is for the original text, the other for translation. When the original text fragment is displayed in the original window (it can be a sentence, a paragraph, a single word), the search for a similar fragment in the database begins. If exactly the same fragment is in memory, it is automatically displayed in the translation window. If exactly the same fragment was not found, but some similar one was found, then the found fragment is displayed in the program window, indicating the percentage of coincidence.

The translator edits the translation text proposed by the program, bringing it into line with the original, sends it to the database memory and proceeds to the next one. If nothing was found at all, then the translator translates it from scratch by typing the text into the translation window. Having finished working on this fragment, the translator sends it to the memory of the database and proceeds to the next one. Thus, TM replenishment occurs automatically as you work. Immediately after the bilingual gets into the TM, it becomes available to the user. If the TM program is located on a network drive and other users work with it, then the new bilingual will immediately become available to other translators. After the fragment of the original and the fragment of the translation have been sent to the database, the next fragment is displayed in the original window.

The first program of this type, called Translation Manager, was developed by IBM. Initially, IBM used Translation Manager for its own needs - for localization (adaptation into foreign languages) of its own software. Then Translation Manager was offered to the market as a commercial product, and for some time he was a monopoly in this area. This program is quite easy to use, fast and provides good opportunities for individual user settings. Separate windows are provided for each of the three main functions - Translation, Translation Memory and Dictionary. The Translation Memory window displays matches found in memory, if any, and the Dictionary window displays terminology from IBM-developed dictionaries. There are some inconveniences in this program, for example, the complicated procedure for searching individual words in the Translation Memory.

Another program - SDLX - was developed for its own needs by an English company SDL dealing with software localization. Each program included in the kit is installed separately. SDL Edit is, in fact, the program itself, with the help of which the translation is carried out. It has three windows showing source text, translation and Translation Memory. It should be noted that the document for translation cannot be imported directly into SDL Edit. First, it needs to be converted using SDL Convert, which is a definite inconvenience.

Program Déjà Vu is popular with translators in Europe due to its flexibility and adaptability. In addition to convenience, Déjà Vu stands out from other products by the highest price / quality ratio. Compared to the two previous programs, this product has a number of convenient features. Experts note that from the very beginning this program was developed in contact with its future users. It is known that the latest version of Déjà Vu was tested, in particular, by Russian translators. One of them, Andrey Gerasimov, wrote a positive review of this program in the magazine MultiLingual Computing & Technology

Known in our country and popular in Europe program STAR Transit... In terms of its ideology, it is completely different from other products of the class in question. You have already got a certain idea about them, and you know that they all have a central database of large capacity, a piggy bank, in which the necessary data is found instantly (if it is there, of course). As Bill Gates would say: "Information at your fingertips". So, all Translation Memory programs have an electronic catalog cabinet, but Transit does not. Everything is different with him. The original data and the translation are saved in text format as files, which the translator places in directories of his choice. Then the translator can simply tell the program which directories and even which files he needs. Then Transit forms an associative network of links, with which the work is carried out. Despite some advantages, Transit has not become widespread in Russia. Ultimately Promt, the official distributor of Transit, switched to distributing Trados's Translator's Workbench.

But Translator's Workbench, or simply Trados, quickly became widespread in Russia, first among translation firms, and then among individual translators. Probably, this can be explained by the fact that it makes it possible to work without leaving Word, which is psychologically more comfortable. Who likes to look at text speckled with all sorts of codes in square brackets? Translator's Workbench (Trados), in comparison with other programs, is more convenient for an ordinary translator who is not a specialist in programming, it is more understandable compared to other programs of this type. In particular, the control buttons are provided with tooltips. Being in a familiar and understandable Word, you can use all its tools (for example, auto-texts).

This product has a full set of useful tools that are present in other programs only to one degree or another. One of these tools is Analise, which allows you to analyze the original text in advance and find out if there are (and in what quantity) complete and incomplete matches. It is worth mentioning such a convenient tool as Placeables, which allows, for example, to automatically change the numbers in the text if everything else in the translated fragment matches the one found in the translation box (TM). The automatic function of replacing decimal points and / or commas, time format, abbreviations, etc. in digits is very convenient. to the corresponding parameters set by the translator.

The overwhelming majority of Russian translators using TM technology prefer Translator's Workbench (Trados).

What Translation Memory Programs Have in Common

Summarizing the description of the main software products of the Translation Memory class, it should be noted that they, as a rule, have a number of common functionalities.

Mixing - Alignment

This feature allows you to create moneyboxes of translations (TM) from existing files. A bilingual set is created from two files - one with the original text and the other with the translation text. Opposite the sentence of the original text, its translation is built. And so on for all the files that the translator brought together into a single piggy bank. The degree of convenience of the alignment function is different for different programs.

Maintenance - Maintenance

As bilinguals accumulate in the database, their number can increase so much that the content of the database can go beyond all limits. Some inaccuracies and even errors may appear, especially if the program is used on the network by many users. There will be a need to edit or clarify something, or even just delete. For the sake of fairness, it must be said that the aforementioned program maintenance tool does not completely solve this problem - in practice, it is still difficult to deal with the clogging of translation boxes.

Terminology Program

All programs under consideration have their own terminological dictionaries, which are, in fact, known to all electronic dictionaries. Terminology dictionaries can import files in the format of dictionaries or glossaries, they can also be updated manually.

Text Editor - Document Editor

Here, in fact, the translation process is carried out. For this, all programs have the two windows mentioned above - for the source text and for its translation. All text editors have the ability to set in percentage the degree of similarity between the currently translated source text and the text in the translation box. The higher you set the percentage of similarity, for example, 90% or 95%, the less likely you will find suitable text there. However, you can set the percentage to a lower one, then a lot of material can be collected that would be useful at least for reference.

Concordance (Linking word usage with context) - Concordance

This is a very useful feature of all the programs in question. It often happens that a term (or a combination of terms) can have several meanings or shades of meanings. By highlighting the term, you can view in the window all the bilinguals available in the piggy bank, and in a variety of contexts. This always makes it easier to choose the most accurate translation of a given term or combination.

Natalya Shakhova, director of the EnRus agency, believes that most TM-products save the user from having to get acquainted with various word processors. It is enough to study the features of the text editor of the product itself, and you will become subject to the whole variety of texts, whether they are presented in QuarkXPress, FrameMaker or Adobe Illustrator. There is, of course, some catch here: in order to master the next word processor or publishing system, you need an appropriate filter program, which - what? That's right - it is sold for separate money! In general, the money issue is the most serious when it comes to TMT. They are not cheap (as a rule, several hundred dollars), there is no compatibility, of course. Therefore, if you purchased (and mastered!) A product for one project, then for the next one you may need to purchase another product and spend time studying it again.

Further, Natalya Shakhova notes that in the West they are already discussing with might and main the consequences of the widespread dissemination of such programs. One of them is that the novice translator loses the opportunity to enter the market. Just as in Russia it is already very difficult to get an order for a translator if he does not have a computer and a printer, so abroad there are problems in finding employment for translators who do not have a TM program. This phenomenon also has a positive side - by hiring the owner of the TM program, the customer receives a certain guarantee of his professionalism. But beginners should also be able to start!

The attitude towards Translation Memory technology in our country is different.

When in 1999 the Fonetics translation bureau started working with Trados Translator’s Workbench, naturally, in the course of contacts with customers, we talked about the transition to a new technology. Contrary to expectations, the reaction was wary, and at times downright negative. It turned out that the idea of machine translation had already been compromised by the thoughtless use of programs like Stylus and Socrat in the 90s. Moreover, they were often used by translators of, say, not very high qualifications, who did not bother editing what the "electronic translators" issued. However, the users of these programs can also be understood - editing these texts required a lot of time and effort.

Even now, it is sometimes possible to meet on the part of customers from among Russian organizations a wary attitude towards any innovations in the field of translation software. At the same time, foreign firms, on the contrary, require the use of programs of the Translation Memory class. Often they have established preferences, mainly Trados Translator's Workbench, as well as Star Transit. They often have ready-made TMs (money boxes for translations) that they offer to use.

As for translators, they have an understandable interest in Translation Memory technology. Translation agencies have an even more understandable interest in them. They deal not so much with fiction, journalism, poetry, etc., as with operating instructions, troubleshooting guides, and software localization, i.e. with those materials where there are repeating or similar fragments of text.

In its current form, Translation Memory programs seem to have reached a ceiling. Further work on their completion is on the way to improving their existing functionality. This leads to the fact that programs are becoming more cumbersome and complex, and this despite the fact that there are no fundamentally new ideas there. The same Translator's Workbench (Trados) in its latest version has overgrown with such a set of tools that it is very difficult for an ordinary user to understand them.

The operation of this program presupposes the presence of a separate employee on the staff of the translation agency. In addition to the user guide, the documentation provides a TRADOS Specialist Guide. In addition, the documentation package includes the Project Management Guide, MultiTerm User Guide, and WinAlign User Guide. Even for a trained translator, it will take a lot of time and effort to read hundreds of pages of these documents.

A group of researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (USA), led by Professor S. Nirenburg, a renowned expert in the field of artificial intelligence and machine translation, is looking for new solutions. While the developments are at the stage of theoretical research, and most likely, bringing these studies to the stage of a commercial product will take a significant amount of time.

Attention is drawn to the fact that mainly foreign companies work in the market of translation tools. Hopefully, this doesn't last forever. The potential of theoretical developments by Russian specialists in the field of semantic analysis is very large. Our research in this area has reached a very high level. There is every reason to expect that these developments will materialize in the form of fundamentally new linguistic technologies that will fully reveal the creative potential of the translator.

Practicing Translator's Journal Bridges is one of the few professional periodicals for translators. The journal publishes articles by translators of various specialties, both oral and written. On the pages of the magazine, translators specializing in various fields of knowledge have the opportunity to discuss current problems, polemize with each other, and share the secrets of professional skill.