What are CAT Tools

Introduction to CAT tools

What is a CAT Tool?

CAT stands for "Computer Aided Translation Tool". The terms "Translation Memory" and "TM" are sometimes used to refer to the same type of tool. A CAT tool is a computer program that helps a translator to work efficiently.

This is achieved through three main functions:

• A CAT tool breaks texts into segments (sentences or sentence fragments) and presents the segments in a convenient way, to make translating easier and faster. In some tools, for example MetaTexis, each segment is presented in a special box, and the translation can be entered in another box right below the source text.
   
• The translation of each segment is saved together with the source text. Source text and translation will always be treated and presented as a translation units (TU). You can return to a segment at any time to check the translation. There are special functions which help to navigate through the text and to find segments which need to be translated or revised (quality control).
   
• The main function of a CAT tool is to save the translation units in a database, called translation memory (TM), so that they can be re-used for any other text, or even in the same text. Through special "fuzzy search" features the search functions of CAT tools can also find segments which do not match 100%. This saves time and effort and helps the translator to use consistent terminology.

Besides these main functions many other functions may be included in CAT tools, to make translating easier and increase productivity.

Introduction provided by Hermann Bruns.