Translator’s productivity (part 3) — "TEnTs" (click on the image to enlarge)

Also see:

• Translator’s productivity (part 1) — voice recognition tools
• Translator’s productivity (part 2) — shortcuts

“You may have never heard before of the term “Translation Environment tool”. It is a fairly new term, coined as the result of frustration over other names. In the past, the tools we are talking about have been called “Translation Memory” software and “Computer Aided Translation” tools (CAT). But while the first name only paid tribute to one of the many functions in the package, the second one seems a bit bulky and makes it sound like the tool is doing all the work. As we will see, the term “Translation Environment tool” is spot on.

What it does

A good Translation Environment tool supports every role and stage in the translation process. Typically there are seven stages:

• file preparation
• content segmentation and indexing
• database retrieval and translation
• editing
• quality assurance
• database update
• generation of the translated file.”

Source: Lingo 24 > Translation Resources 

According to a ProZ.com quick poll featured on 22 March 2010, over 50 % of  the translators who responded the poll had not heard the term “TEnT” before.

What about you? Are you familiar with this term? Do you use it?

Here are some links related to Translation Environment Tools (TEnTs):

• Translation Environment Tools (TEnTs)
• “Navigating the Translation Environment Tool Market” by Jost Zetzsche. The ATA Chronicle (March 2006) 
• Translation Environment Tools. ATA Language Technology Division  
• Creating the Ideal Word Processing Environment.  In Translation Environment Tools by Jost Zetzsche. Translation Journal.