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Translation software OmegaT |
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In this article I would like to introduce the translation software
OmegaT which makes my job much easier.
It is one of the CAT tools (Computer-Aided Translation tools)
that can identify the same or similar segments in the text and help to
maintain consistent terminology. The translation software definitely
doesn't do the job instead of me (it doesn’t provide machine
translation!), but still it can save a lot of time. User-friendly
interface
There are two main properties that I appreciate when using OmegaT. In
the first place, it is its pleasant user interface with the text
divided into sentences (or alternatively paragraphs). Thanks to it,
it is always possible to fully concentrate on translation of each
sentence/paragraph.
There are also formatting tags included in the translation.
Even though they may seem a little distracting, they guarantee that the
translation will have identical formatting as the initial text (such as
bold font, spacing, bullets, numbering, tables, etc.).
The greatest asset of CAT tools: translation memories
Even more useful are the translation memories that are
automatically generated while working on translations. When translating
a sentence that is similar to a sentence already contained in the text,
the program will provide us with proposals of approximate translations
("fuzzy matches") in the right panel. Should we find the
correspondence high enough, we can insert one of the "fuzzy matches"
into the translation and then adjust it as appropriate. It is also
possible to insert translation memories from previous projects to the
current project.
Other useful features
OmegaT supports all common formats MS Office, Open/Libre Office as well
as XHTML and HTML, so it can be conveniently used for website
localizations. Other functions of the translation software OmegaT
include possibility to create glossaries of your own or integrate your
specialized translation dictionaries.
Compatibility with other translation tools
OmegaT is a quality open-source tool that is to a great extent
compatible with the most wide-spread CAT tools, such as SDL Trados,
Wordfast or Déjà Vu. It generates translation memories
in the standard international format TMX. In each project there are
automatically generated TMX files of level 1 (containing unformatted
text only) and level 2 (including formatting
tags).
In most cases the translation memories generated by OmegaT can be easily
used also in the translation tools as mentioned above. The TMX files of
level 2 will maintain most of the formatting information.
TMX translation memories from other translation tools can be imported
into OmegaT. But again, it must be taken into account that some of the
formatting information may be lost. Using specialized tools, the TTX,
TXML, XLIFF and SDXLIFF formats can be converted into TMX.
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Libor Zukal
Mišákova
454/16 Czechia
Business ID: 76511766 VAT: CZ7809184482
mobile: (+420) 799 797 165 Skype: libor.zukal
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