Three Tools a Translator Needs to Succeed

General Translation, Translation Resources   •  
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One of the most important things a translator can do is to be equipped with good tools. This does not mean using Google Translate! Automatic translation tools are imperfect and require intervention by professional translators who have been trained in post-editing.

But there are many tools you can use effectively, and some of them are free. Let’s look at three of the most important, because each relates to one quality aspect:

  1. Bilingual Dictionary – this is the basic tool needed for the quality aspect of Fidelity in your translation (faithfulness to the original document). Just be aware that the first or most common meaning listed for a word may not be the best one for the context, so you should consider other options and choose the one that fits best. A thesaurus is a great companion to your bilingual dictionary.
  2. Bilingual Concordancer – you use this tool to ensure that your translation has Readability. The best tool I am aware of is Linguee.com which is available in over 20 languages. When you search a word or expression in this bilingual concordancer, you can see several different translations in various contexts and choose the best one for the document you are translating. Please avoid the “Deep L” automatic translation function offered by Linguee, unless you have the post-editing training needed to successfully work with it.
  3. Grammar/Spelling Corrector – this tool helps you ensure that your translation has Conformity to language standards. The Microsoft Word Editor works with over 100 languages and can be used to check grammar, spelling, etc. Of course, this machine editor will not notice every mistake, so it is important that you check your own documents carefully. There may be better correction software available in the target language you are using, for example Antidote in French or English, or Stilus in Spanish.

If you do specialized translation (for example medical or legal), you will also need terminology databases. However, the the three tools described above should be sufficient to help you do general translation.

Have a great day!

Liane 🙂

www.LearnTranslation.com

www.NonprofitTranslation.org

About

Liane R. Grant is an OTTIAQ-certified translator (French/English) based in Quebec, Canada. She has a B.A. and M.A. in Translation from Concordia University, and a Ph.D. in Translation Studies from Université de Montréal. Liane is the Founder and Project Manager of The King's Translators, a nonprofit and mainly volunteer translation team. As a Translation Strategist, she offers training for translators and revisers, as well as consulting to help organizations establish an in-house translation team in order to produce quality translations even on a limited budget.