By Asmita Kundu

Almost every kind of work now runs on information technology, and translation is no exception. As companies sell to customers around the world, the demand for translation and localization keeps growing. Two kinds of technology help translators keep up: computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and machine translation (MT).

CAT tools: help for the human translator

CAT tools such as Trados Studio, Memsource, Deja Vu and Star Transit do not translate on their own. They support the translator by suggesting terminology, checking spelling, helping with proofreading and making long texts manageable. Most CAT tools combine several functions:

• Electronic dictionaries such as Linguee and DeepL, for finding the right word quickly.
• Translation memory, which stores translated segments so they can be reused. Repeated sentences do not need to be translated twice.
• Terminology management, as in memoQ, which keeps product-specific terms consistent across a project.
• Connected marketplaces, such as SmartCAT, which help freelancers find work.

CAT tools also let translators work directly in Excel, PowerPoint, HTML or XML files without breaking the layout, and Unicode support keeps scripts intact across software. They are strongest on technical documents. Literary texts still need a human translator's full attention.

How machine translation developed

Machine translation works without a human in the loop, and it has gone through three stages:

• Rule-based MT relied on grammar and vocabulary rules loaded in advance. It lacked context and often confused similar words.
• Statistical MT learned patterns from large collections of human translations. It handled scientific and technical writing reasonably well but struggled with figurative language.
• Neural MT, the current approach, uses neural networks to look at how a word is used in context rather than translating word by word. The results read far more naturally.

For a traveller trying to ask for directions, even imperfect MT is better than nothing. For professional work, its output still needs a human check.

The confidentiality problem

Both CAT tools and online MT services can store the text they process. That is a real risk for confidential material such as legal, government or personal documents. For sensitive files, a professional human translator working under a confidentiality agreement is the safer choice. This matters most for official papers, where certified translation is often required anyway.

Half human, half machine

Cicero advised translating "not word for word, but sense for sense." That is still what computers find hardest. Languages keep changing, and meaning depends on context and culture. Technology will keep making translators faster and more consistent, but the likely future is a partnership, with people and machines each doing what they do best.