Computer-Aided Translation

As relevant science and technology started expanding a few decades ago at a universal scale, translation was the indispensable ingredient for the success. The translation industry benefited enormously from technological progress and followed right along. When Microsoft, Google, eBay and Twitter – to mention just the biggest ones — are interested in developing and improving language technology, the industry listens and has followed. Technology, far from replacing humans, has become a tool helping them to keep up with growing demand for high quality translation.

Software used in the translation business is of inestimable value, providing: content management systems; project management programs; resource and staff management tools; computer-assisted-translation tools; terminology databases; plus programs for formatting, layout, transmission, storage, instant worldwide communication, etc.

Additional tools for localizing websites, software and mobile apps have opened new branches of business. Machine-assisted translation as well as a machine translation (MT, also known as translation software) are of huge importance paving the future development and new directions of language industry.

Besides basic daily tasks, machine-assisted translation and other technologies have also opened our door to the huge range of competent translators across the globe who have diverse specializations and do less common languages. And all are vetted before we use them.

To guarantee accuracy, the translation process has three critical steps:

1. Draft or initial translation using a subject-specialized, professionally trained translator of each target language;
2. Editing (Revising) using a second subject-specialized, professionally trained translator of each target language to review the draft; and
3. Proofreading the file for spelling, punctuation, grammar and formatting.

When a text has many repetitions or tight deadlines, Auerbach International often uses computer-aided translation for Step 1 with human translators for the critical Steps 2 and 3. This combination of machines and people maximizes accuracy and delivers quality quickly.

But MT can still make comical and critical mistakes, and does not work well with complex sentence structures and many Asian languages. In these cases, we use a professional, human translator for the draft (Step 1) and another professional translator (or two) to edit and proofread the text (Steps 2 and 3).

Getting language nuances, expressions and colloquialisms right is also challenging for MT.

Computer-aided translation and other technologies also cannot acculturate. For example, for an interior design firm that “creates soothing office spaces”, we rewrote the text for the Arabic translation to say that it “makes soothing office spaces.” That’s because for devout Muslims, only God can create and not acculturating would doom the client’s promotion.

When technology reaches its limits, we always use human professionals.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, communicating across multiple languages and cultures is essential for:

• launching your product worldwide;
• developing new technologies;
• collaborating with world-renowned scientists for research;
• getting essential information to (minority) populations speaking different languages; and
• making sales in foreign countries.

New technology integrated into language industry ensures:

• faster turnaround times;
• on-time product releases;
• higher levels of accuracy;
• consistency throughout all media and brands;
• improved quality;
• lower prices; and
• services adapted to real needs, whether a machine translation for internal use, over-the-phone interpreting, or easy management of your content for translation.

Our machine-assisted translation and technology processes ensure that you get greater competitiveness and better success on the global market, regardless of your particular industry.

Your translation projects undergo a thorough and comprehensive process, coordinated by a professional project manager and involving some or all of the following phases:

• Creation of a glossary for your in-house linguists’ or distributors’ review;
• Draft translation by a native-speaking, translator of each target language who usually has a Master’s-level or equivalent training, ten years’ ongoing experience, and specializes in your industry terminology. Multi-lingual projects all work simultaneously;
• Quality Assurance review (“editing”) by a second native-speaking, subject-expert translator of each language to ensure accuracy;
• Acculturation for the dialect or terminology of your target country or region (such as Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French or European Spanish);
• Proofreading for spelling, punctuation and grammar;
• Formatting to correspond to the design of the source files as closely as possible;
• Multilingual desktop publishing (DTP) (if required);
• Final, post-layout proofing; and
• Creation or update of a Translation Memory which captures terminology in each language to ensure consistency across all languages and allows for substantial discounting of future projects.