Being a localizer requires not only knowledge from a language aspect, but also a certain understanding of technology. The time when translators only used a pen and a notebook was long gone. The rapidly developed technology forced everyone in this area to keep up. This portfolio is served to demonstrate my skills and knowledge concerning translation technology, more specifically, Computer Assistant Tools(CAT tools). The portfolio will include the project I did using Trados, a powerful CAT Tool, and some of my opinions regarding the translation technology field.
In the Fall of 2022, I and my teammates started a group of four to work on a simulated translation project. Our group, TransPacific, consists of two French translators and two simplified Chinese translators, each one of us was also the editor of our language. Pretendedly, we were offered a translation project from Monterey Bay Aquarium. The project was to fully translate the text from a page on their official website. To make this simulation more beneficial and realistic, we decided to use Trados as our translation tool. The final deliverables for this simulation include two target files, two translation memories, one glossary, and one pseudo-translation file. Below are the proposal and deliverables files:
If you would like to know more about this project, you can visit our team’s shared drive here.
Stands for regular expressions, Regex is a handy tool for coders and engineers when they want to find or replace certain strings from a mess of codes. For localizers, Regex is often used to create custom quality checks that do not already exist in CAT Tools like Trados. Then localizers can use those customized checks to identify potential errors. In the file below, my friend and I created 3 uses for regex in Trados, all of them can be used to identify potential errors when translating from English to simplified Chinese.
Putting all these projects aside, I would like to talk about one experience that I had with Trados. Once I applied for a translation part-time job, the job content is to translate Chinese online literature works into English. The interview task was easy but with a strict time limit, since the company focused more on quantity instead of quality. At that time, I just learned about Trados, and I couldn’t wait to apply what I have learned to real-life practices. Nevertheless, I overestimate my skills in using Trados. By the time I finished setting up the source text and TM, it has already taken me 1/3 of the time (which has definitely decreased by now). Unsurprisingly, I did not pass the interview. If there’s one thing I learned from this experience, it’s that CAT tools are not always the answer. I know CAT tools can seem fancy and professional to those new to translation technology, just like I couldn’t resist the temptation to use Trados everywhere. However, the truth is that not everyone is good at using technology. Some people may feel more comfortable and effective using the “old way”. For every translator and localizer, choosing what works best for you is of utmost importance, because what you think is an extra help can end up being an extra burden.
