How to Use a Translation Memory Prof. Reima Al-Jarf King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Homepage: A COLT Workshop. May 25, 2011

What is a TM?  A TM is a linguistic database.  All previous translations are accumulated within the TM (in source & target language pairs called translation units) & reused so that you never have to translate the same sentence twice.  The more you build up your TM, the faster you can translate subsequent translations, enabling you to take on more projects & increase your revenue. 2

How does a TM work?  Using SDL Trados 2007 Suite as an example, you would open the source file & apply the TM so that any “100% matches” (identical matches) or “fuzzy matches” (similar, but not identical matches) within the text are instantly extracted & placed within the target file. 3

 As you work through the source file, the "matches” suggested by TM can be either accepted or overridden with new alternatives. If a translation unit is manually updated, then it is stored within TM for future use as well as for repetition in the current text. In a similar way, all segments in the target file without a “match” would be translated manually & then automatically added to the TM.

When would I use a translation memory?  TM’s should be used by anyone who localizes content from one language into another. They are most effective when translating documents with a high level of repetition.

 TM’s are very helpful when translating content out of context. An increasing number of organizations rely on Content Management Systems (CMS) to manage their information. A CMS allows individual blocks of text, rather than entire documents, to be created/edited & then published in a variety of different formats. TM helps to make this process quicker & more consistent.

How does a translation memory tool differ from a terminology tool? A TM tool stores segments of text as translation units (in source & target pairs). A segment can consist of a sentence or paragraph. A terminology tool, on the other hand, is a searchable database that contains a list of multilingual terms & rules regarding their usage. Terminology is typically used in conjunction with a translation memory.

How does translation memory software differ from machine translation?  MT automatically translates a document without any human input.  MT is fast, but result in a poor quality translation as a machine cannot understand the subtleties or contexts of language.  MT can only be used for a limited number of supported languages.

 With TM software the number of supported languages is unlimited, & the actual translation is performed by a professional translator.  The TM assists by presenting “100%” & “fuzzy” matches from the legacy translation database, so that you can work with increased efficiency, consistency & quality. 9

Why Use a TM It is suitable for translating technical documents with specialized vocabulary. Accelerating the translation process; since translation memories "remember" previously translated material, translators have to translate it only once. 10

 Reducing costs of long-term translation projects; such as the text of manuals, warning messages or series of documents needs to be translated only once & can be used several times.  Save time & money when translating subsequent versions of a project that was translated before using TM.

Examples of TM Google Has the largest TM. SDL Trados 2007 Suite Freelance The world's most popular TM software Wordfast It is the second most widely used TM software in the world. 12

Deja Vu X Software Déjà Vu X is a powerful & customizable computer-assisted translation (CAT) system. Combining state-of-the-art TM technology with EBMT (example-based machine translation) techniques.

OmegaT A multi-platform Computer Aided Translation (CAT) tool that allows you to store your previously translated content & apply it to future translations, thereby saving you time & money & enabling you to produce higher quality, more consistent deliverables. 14

Steps for Using OmegaT  Register with company  Download OmegaT  Install it  Go through all commands  Type text  Copy/paste text  Open a file  Give it a name. 15

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