No one can deny the great transformations the globalization of Internet and information technology has caused in our lives and working methods of some professions.

Translation and interpretation have not escaped such influences. In the translation industry and working environment, paper dictionaries and encyclopedias are increasingly displaced by their digital equivalents. And the convenience of having all tools in one place results unquestionable.

If you have made a long translation, you may have noticed that it is a difficult task. One of the tools that make this work more bearable is the use of translation memories. These are at the heart of translation technology, as they increase the quality of translation. A translation memory (TM) is an engine that enables the reuse of translations made by humans and facilitates work with projects where repetitions are very frequent.

Meaning that, as you translate segments, the TM stores your translations, so if in the future you find the same segment, the application will translate it automatically. You can also activate translation by approximation so that any segment that exceeds a certain percentage of coincidence is suggested by the application.

How do they work?

Translation memories are activated whenever you translate into your Computer-assisted translation or CAT tool. Once the segment is translated, it will be stored in the memory and it will provide translation suggestions in segments that are identical or similar. 

The similarity between the source text and the target text is indicated with percentages, 100% being the perfect match, while the differences between both texts are highlighted with color.  It is very important that, when you save the files when using the tool, so that in future translations, you do not have to translate everything again. For example, if within six months you have made certain modifications to the original file, thanks to the translation memory, you will only have to translate the new or modified segments.

Translation memory (TM) is a system used by translation technologies capable of permanently updating a glossary of translated terms, expressions and phrases.

They are indeed a very valuable resource that requires proper organization and maintenance. As it improves the quality and consistency of your translations and provides continuity throughout your work and files by creating a database composed by preferred terminology or multilingual phrases. However, they are not universal tools or substitutes for the task of the human translator. They only facilitate the work of the translator and increase its productivity.