TRADOS, the Global Benchmark in Translation Memory

Translation memory (TM) software enables past translations to be put to work to boost translation efficiency. WIP was one of the first translation companies in Japan to use TRADOS(C), perhaps the world's most widely acclaimed TM tool. TM not only helps maintain consistency between translations, but also boosts translation speed, and can lead to considerable savings in translation charges.

■ What is TM?

Unlike translation software products on the market that generate translations through grammatical analysis, TM software is an "industry software" that puts documents previously translated by human translators to work, by searching and displaying passages in old source documents and their translations that resemble passages in a new source document. Such software has the merit of supporting natural translation while ensuring consistency in the translation of identical and similar phrases.

■ Source documents that most benefit from the use of TM:

• Documents containing a large amount of repeated phrases
  
• Computer manuals, work process manuals etc.
  
• Documents that require periodic revision, but contain a large amount of unchanged material
  
• Reports and other documents that are issued periodically
  
• Large volume translations that need to be delivered in a short period of time
  
• TM software enables several translators to efficiently share sample translations and glossaries.
  

■ TM technology other than TRADOS(C):

WIP is also able to handle SDLX and other TM software.

Interesting recent article: Clients' confusions about the difference between translation memory and machine translation.

Also, some information about Japanese TRADOS adoption.