Learn More About CAT Tools with Kent State University

When you choose to pursue your M.A. in Translation from Kent State University, you begin to acquire new skills that will be worthwhile in your chosen career in the language industry. Because of this, it is important to find vital tools that can be applied to your studies, as well as beyond graduation. Luckily for you, there are plenty of translation technologies, along with the faculty and staff at our distinguished university, that can help you achieve your goals.

At Kent State, we want to provide guidance on comparing computer assisted translation tools so you can find the right options that will let you succeed in your studies and career. Learn more about computer assisted translation tools, including which ones might be the best fit for you, by reading our post.

What Are Computer Assisted Translation Tools?

CAT tools are crucial in the ever-growing world of technology. Translation memories, for example, provide users with suggestions from previous translations, helping students learn and re-use the material at a faster pace.

We want our students to actively utilize the vast resources accessible to them so they can excel both during classwork and within the field. With that in mind, some of the benefits of receiving training on CAT tools while pursuing your degree include the following:

• Quality – These platforms are continually optimized to enhance and support the work of linguists. CAT tools are designed to consistently watch and store common patterns in translation, making for a higher-quality resource, and freeing up your cognitive resources to focus on more creative aspects of projects.
• Time efficiency – Overall, CAT tools enable a quick turnaround time. By reusing previously translated content, they help save time and increase efficiency.
• Project management perks – Working in or with teams of translators? When using CAT tools, you are able to reduce time and costs by compiling all of your tasks onto one single shared system, which makes them easier to track and locate while working, and also enables smooth collaborations.
• Consistency – Since a CAT tool has the memory to store sentences and paragraphs that have previously been translated, it will be easy to retrieve these in a consistent and timely manner when they are encountered again in the future.
• Manageable workloads – When you compare computer assisted translation tools, remember that all of the programs were built with efficiency in mind. CAT tools are intended to boost your productivity without sacrificing quality. With that being said, the programs ideally make your workload more manageable.

CAT Tools You Should Utilize for Translation Services

To help you learn more about what’s available, we’ve provided a breakdown of computer assisted translation tools. Details on five key CAT tools can be found below.

BasicCat

Created and designed as an open-source and free CAT tool, BasicCat prides itself on the simplicity of its design to ensure that translation is easier for everyone. Some of the core features of this translation program include interactive machine translation, translation memory and analytics, and terminology management.

SDL Trados Studio

Like BasicCat, SDL Trados Studios was designed to help translators complete projects in a swift and easy manner. This program does so by providing a diverse range of sophisticated features, such as pretranslation, project tracking, translation memory, and terminology management.

Unlike the BasicCat tool, SDL Trados Studio is not a free platform, but it does include a 30-day trial for those interested in sampling the program. We currently make use of SDL Trados in our translation technology courses.

Smartcat

Smartcat is a platform that connects linguists, companies, and agencies to produce viable content into any language on demand. Like the other translation tools, Smartcat has pretranslation and translation memory features, but also incorporates AI translation functionalities.

On top of that, this free program includes collaboration tools to allow you to work in teams.

MemoQ

MemoQ is provided as an environment for freelance translators, translation teams, and translation companies to train individuals on translation-related resources in the workforce and beyond. Alongside SDL Trados, students in our M.A. program will become familiar with MemoQ over the course of their studies.

Smartling

With the overarching goal of doing more with less, Smartling enables you to manage, automate, and professionally translate content with the use of translation analytics and memory. You can use this program as a resource and workflow management tool to get projects and assignments done seamlessly, and their new AI platform delivers quality translations faster than ever before.

Compare Computer Assisted Translation Tools to Find the Right One for You

When comparing computer assisted translation tools, it’s worth noting that there is a consistent overlap of the key features of each tool. With that in mind, there may be several CAT tools that you could utilize within your studies to achieve the most successful results. We firmly believe it’s more important to learn about the features and usability of CAT tools in a general sense rather than the ins and outs of any one tool alone.

Our faculty at Kent State University recommends that our students experiment with and compare these computer assisted translation tools for themselves to find those best suited to satisfy their scholarly and professional needs.

How Kent State University Can Help

Though comparing computer assisted translation tools and finding the right tool for you can be a way to sufficiently prepare yourself for a role in the translation industry, a rigorous program and degree is still crucial to achieving the career that you want. Because of this, our team at Kent State University wants to help you develop the skills you need to excel in the field upon graduating.

With six different language concentrations to choose from, our program has a multitude of courses that will help you explore your passions, thus taking your education and career to the next level.

On top of that, with our online program, you will have access to a superb virtual lab that hosts a large assortment of CAT tools. Along with relieving the stress of translation-related projects and assignments, some of the benefits of choosing Kent State’s translation online program include the following:

• Flexibility to pursue your degree from anywhere on your own schedule
• Networking and employment opportunities from notable companies
• Translation courses designed by experts in online pedagogy
• Knowledgeable staff that supplies individualized guidance
• Graduation rates from the program exceed 90%

Ready to take the next steps toward pursuing your M.A. in Translation? If so, apply to our distinguished program today!

Contact Kent State University

No matter which CAT tool that you decide to choose, our supportive faculty wants you to feel confident that you are fully equipped to discover your special niche within translation.

If you are interested in the field of translation, please contact us today to learn more about how our team at Kent State can help you with the next steps toward achieving your translation career.