Source: Zhihu LingoesFamily Wuge
Today, translation technology research is thriving. Many beginners are only familiar with the names of various translation tools but have not fully utilized them, and some even struggle to distinguish between machine translation and computer-assisted translation. This article will use Trados as an example to clarify common misconceptions about computer-assisted translation.
Trados is a translation software that can translate automatically
This is perhaps the biggest and most common misconception about Trados. Some people believe that Trados works like Baidu or Youdao translation software, which can automatically translate, confusing it with machine translation (Machine Translation, MT).
In fact, Trados is a computer-assisted translation (Computer-Aided Translation, CAT) tool based on translation memory technology.
The biggest difference between MT and CAT is that MT uses computers to automatically convert one language into another, while all specific translation activities in CAT are performed by humans, with the software serving only as an aid.
For example, Trados saves all the segments you have translated and terminology into a database. When the same segments or terms appear again, the software will call the memory and terminology databases to remind you or even translate for you directly, so you do not have to translate repeated content again, thus improving efficiency and quality.
If the repetition rate is low, using Trados will actually slow down translation speed
This is a common misconception.
This viewpoint comes from people who are not very familiar with Trados or have never used it, and it misleads more people.
In most cases, even without any repetition rate, using Trados will not slow down translation speed.
Translating with Trados is just like translating sentence by sentence in Word, so how could it be said to reduce efficiency? In some cases, if the formatting of certain documents is messy, leading to segmentation errors in Trados, it may take some time to handle the formatting, which could slightly impact translation speed.
(*The repetition rate refers to the matching situation of the translation memory, and it is not necessarily better the higher it is, but it can serve as a reference depending on the content.)
The purple marks in the image are file format tags, which we call tags
Trados is only useful for technical, legal, and other specialized translations, and not suitable for literary translation
As mentioned earlier, all translation activities are carried out by humans, regardless of the subject matter or industry of the material, Trados is equally applicable.
For literary translation, due to the diversity of expression techniques, the same meaning can have various expressions, resulting in a low repetition rate, but this does not affect the use of Trados.
In literary works, especially foreign literary works, there are often complex names and places, and at this time, using Trados’s terminology management tool MultiTerm can greatly improve the consistency and efficiency of translating these proper nouns.
Even without these advantages, Trados at least simplifies the post-editing process significantly.
If it is literary translation, my suggestion is to first collect and organize hundreds of TMX files. With a large quantity, the sense of language will improve. The truth is, professional medical and technical texts are more suitable for translation with Trados because there is a large amount of similar reference material.
The text translated by Trados is stiff and hard to read
This is again a confusion between the concepts of MT and CAT.
It is as absurd as saying that writing a beautiful essay on paper can be done well, while writing it on a computer seems stiff and rigid. All translated text is processed by the translator, who can freely showcase their skills; whether or not to use Trados has no relation to the content produced. Humans are the dominant factor in the translation process, and the quality of the translation result only depends on the translator’s skill, not the machine.
Trados lowers a person’s translation level
Those who hold this view believe that because of using Trados, many tasks do not require the translator to think, leading to a habit of dependency that eventually weakens their brain exercise, causing their translation level to decline, which is detrimental to the cultivation of translation thinking and ability.
In fact, the use of tools is not directly related to the translator’s ability. The level of translation depends not only on the fundamental language skills and the amount of translation practice but also on the translator’s professional abilities. If you are a literal translator, then excessive reliance on tools will certainly lower your level; however, if you are a translator with high added value and client orientation, it will not be affected.
Using Trados requires having a memory database and terminology database
Theoretically, this is correct.
However, many people believe that before using Trados for translation, one must have an existing memory and terminology database filled with content; this is a misunderstanding. If it is a continuous project, the client may provide an existing memory and/or terminology database; but for a brand new project, there are no memory and terminology databases before starting, so the translator can only create an empty database and gradually accumulate it during the translation process. Moreover, as long as there is a memory database (TM), even without a terminology database (TB), it does not affect the translation process; it just means you cannot enjoy its functions.
Trados terminology database can be created in MultiTerm or directly in Trados
The larger the memory and terminology database, the better
Some people believe that storing all translated materials in a large memory and terminology database will greatly improve translation accuracy and efficiency over time. Some even discuss sharing, exchanging, or selling memory and terminology databases, which is impractical.
From a physical perspective, if the database is too large, it will inevitably affect the query speed, thus slowing down operation speed and reducing translation efficiency. More importantly, from a legal perspective, memory and terminology databases belong to the client’s intellectual property and confidential information. Clients do not want translators to mix various clients’ databases together, as this poses significant legal risks. (This also explains why many translators do not purchase or easily provide professional type database files.) In localization practice, clients often require translators to create new (empty) memory or terminology databases, and return them after the project is completed; or clients provide existing databases and return updated databases after the project is completed.
Trados can only be used for translation
Although it is called “computer-assisted translation” software, Trados can also be applied in localization projects (such as file format conversion, pseudo-translation, internationalization testing, etc.), and analyzing word counts.
Trados can quickly analyze the word counts of a large number of similar or different types of files and calculate the repetition rate for reference by clients and translators. This is much more convenient and faster than calculating word counts directly in Word, and Word cannot directly calculate word counts for formats like HTML. The results of Trados’s word count analysis have become an internationally recognized standard.
Additionally, since Trados retains the formatting of the source files, it significantly simplifies the layout of translated multilingual documents, and many documents can even be exempt from formatting.
For the currently main localization projects in InDesign, FrameMaker, etc., it is almost impossible to complete without using Trados or other CAT tools.
Trados is difficult to install
Since Trados requires support from components such as .NET Framework, Visual C++ Redistributable, and JAVA runtime environment, for those who have never encountered Trados, the first use can indeed feel confusing and overwhelming. However, as long as you read some instructions and tutorials carefully and explore on your own, you can quickly get the hang of it.
Many people fail multiple times to learn it largely due to psychological factors; they reject it before they even start learning. Additionally, some online tutorials are overly complicated, making people feel bewildered and thus creating a sense of fear. To learn Trados, one must first overcome psychological barriers, progress step by step, starting from the simplest tasks and gradually improving.
You will find that, like any other software, Trados is not difficult to learn.
The latest version of Trados is 2021 SR2; the installation is quite smooth and easy compared to MQ8.7.11, making it a pleasant experience. I recommend beginners use this software. MultiTerm and other plugins should be installed in conjunction. It is particularly important to install Studio first before installing other plugins.
Source: Zhihu LingoesFamily Wuge
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