Education Latest Technological Advances in Translation Services

"Technology has to be invented or adopted." Jared Diamond Technology is the ever-evolving and ever-changing face of human civilization. Every time it undergoes a transformation in its previous configuration, the outcome is a better and improved product.

Like any other piece of technology, professional translation services have gone through a series of technological revamps from being an up-close and personal service to a globalized concept. Globalization of businesses has compelled companies to adopt region-specific marketing strategies. Not surprisingly, translation service providers are developing new tools and techniques to meet the emerging demands of a globalized market and economic scenario. After the emergence and proliferation of instant translation on Internet, the industry is anticipating something new and outstanding from translation service providers. Some new concepts and technologies have been adopted by professional translators in the last couple of years to communicate more precisely with their targeted audience. Computer-Aided Translation Computer-aided translation refers to everything including spell checkers, language dictionaries, and complicated translation memory managers. With Google's translation service being widely known, these tools are accessible to general audiences albeit it has got its limitations in translating legal and business documentation, scientific documents, and advertising and marketing collateral. A number of language services providers have gone ahead and developed their own translation and localization software and tools. These tools are specifically designed for international clients, customers and partners in order to facilitate seamless technology-based communications. These custom-designed translation tools and communications technologies are in sync with the culture and specific terminology of a region or country. This specific terminology enables a professional translation service provider to offer a reliable and tailor-made solution to its clients. Use of Translation Memory in the industry Human translators take help of Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools in order to complete translation projects at a faster rate. The lack of accuracy of translation tools (especially when every country has its own terminology) prompted translation professionals to coin the idea of translation memory which helped translators develop their own database of region-specific terminology. Translation memory has gained huge ground in the past decade. Even clients sometimes request for the use of translation memory to maintain consistency of terminology across different projects. Translation agencies hold expertise in recording past translations for future use through translation memory. Translators make use of different programs such as Trados, Wordfast, MemoQ, and SDLX to ensure consistent terminology by means of long texts and multiple translations. The professionals specialize in using CAT tools maintain a database of translated words, phrases and segments. This database is accessed when the same terminology is displayed in the future. New Distribution Channels Bring New Opportunities With business communication riding technology advancements, professional translation services industry is poised to grow in coming years. The heaps of paper have been replaced by streaming media, multimedia, and Web pages. The leading language services providers across Canada including translation Vancouver and Montreal translation services have employed both specialized professionals and latest technologies to serve their clients better. Translation services based across Canada realize the fact that embracing the technology is equally important as employing experienced linguists.