Translation Memory tools are incredibly valuable for translators and translation companies alike. This value can also be utilized by companies that regularly need translation. You should consider maintaining your translation memories if your company consistently requires translation services.
What is a Translation Memory?
Translation Memories (TM) are computer files that are recognized by a variety of translation software programs. Simply put, it contains translations from previously translated documents for a given language. If a translator has worked with “Company A” for some time and has translated 30 English to Spanish documents for this company, this translator will have a single TM containing the data from all these English and Spanish files. If this translator translates a new file for Company A, containing any text that appeared in the previous translations, the TM will automatically complete this portion of the translation.
Why do we use Translation Memories?
There are several benefits to utilizing TM’s. Utilizing TM’s will reduce the time it takes for a translation to be completed. Linguists armed with a TM will not only have portions of text automatically translated, but those near matches, or “fuzzy” matches, will also be partially translated. This allows the linguist to focus only on those portions of text with no previous equivalent. This cuts down on the cost as well, as many linguists charge less or not at all for 100% matches.
Utilizing a TM will also increase consistency across your translated documents. Since repeated terms and phrases are automatically implemented, your translated document will be uniform in its use of terminology. This is especially important in industries with unique vocabulary.
Why should my company maintain Translation Memories?
Since the linguist is actually performing the work with the TM, you may wonder why your company must maintain them. I assert that it is vital to maintain and update your own TM’s because you will rarely use the same linguists for a given language 100% of the time. Whether you hire your own linguists directly or you outsource to a translation company, you can’t guarantee that the same individual will always be working on your document. If you have a large assignment, multiple linguists might work on a document simultaneously. If you keep and regularly update your own TM’s, this will less impact the final product. Terminology will remain consistent even if multiple linguists are utilized. Furthermore, a consistently updated TM becomes more valuable over time. The more text contained within a TM, the more time and money that can potentially be saved.
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