LOCALISATION & GENERAL CAT RESOURCES

1. Overview

2. Organizations


3. Public WWW Resources


4. Magazines


5. Translation / Localisation Tools


6. Aligment Tools


7. Terminology Tools


8. Add-ins for CAT tools


9. Source Text Control


10. Integrated Solutions


 

1. Overview

Localisation & general CAT resources, sorted by specific fields. This document will be updated periodically, as new resources are found and tested.
 
 

2. Organizations

LISA

Localisation International Standard Association (http://www.lisa.org)

Right now the most relevant international organisation in the field of language technologies (business addressed). The most important localisation companies in the world are members. Emerging standards as TMX (Translation Memory Exchange) or TBX are being developed following the guidelines established in this group.
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Expensive
Resources available List of members (language companies)

TMX information

 

LRC

Localisation Research Centre (http://lrc.csis.ul.ie)

University forum based in Ireland, due the amount of localisation companies sited there. Right now it is a good resource to find interesting information about tools, companies and events.
 
 
Marketing information Non relevant
Technical information Very interesting
  Non expensive
Resources available List of tools

 

SLIG

Software Localisation Interest Group (http://www.slig.ie)

Group of discussion created in 1994 (Ireland) by relevant members of the industry. Related with LISA and LRC.
 
 
Marketing information Tendencies in the field of localisation
Technical information Non relevant
  Free
Resources available Presentations

 

The Localization Institute

Organisation providing quality resources, training, seminars, and conferences on localisation, internationalisation, and international business development.
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Courses, materials addresed to the localisation industry

 

Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC)

International non-profit supporting language-related education, research and technology development by creating and sharing linguistic resources including data, tools and standards. University of Pennsylvania (http://www.ldc.upenn.edu)
 
 
Marketing information Non relevant
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Lexicon, Speech and Text corpora

 

Silicon Valley Localization Forum

Site maintained by TGP Consulting. General information about localisation (products, companies, resources) (http://www.tgpconsulting.com).
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Online shop, lists of different resources 

 

Translation, Theory and Technology (TTT)

Site maintained by BYU University. Information about language theory and technology. Interesting links to some format exchange resources (MARTIF, SALT) (http://www.ttt.org)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available BYU Department of Linguistics activities, links to interesting linguistic resources

 

European Association for Terminology (EAFT)

Public organisation sited in the Netherlands. Basic information about the activities of this group (http://www.unilat.org/dtil/aet/indexaet.htm)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting, public site
Technical information Not Interesting
  Free
Resources available Basic information about the activities of AET, access to their electronic publication.

 

European Terminology Information Server (ETIS)

Web server maintained by the AET/EAFT (European Association for Terminology), with terminology resources over Europe. The participants are mainly public institutions (http://www.unilat.org/dtil/etis/index1.htm)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting, public site
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Collection of glossaries, links to different terminology sites in Europe, links to data banks, links to terminology management software

 

European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA)

One of the activities of this association and its customers is the development of Simplified English, to help the preparation of maintenance manuals that are both clear and unambiguous for English speakers and non-native English speakers alike. The specification provides a set of writing rules and a dictionary of agreed words with their meanings. (http://www.aecma.org/senglish.htm)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Very interesting
  Basic information and software starting at 50 English pounds.
Resources available Interesting links, specially one to Simplified English resources (http://www.aecma.org/sengprd.htm). List of organisations related with this field. 

 

European Language Resources Association (ELRA)

The European Language Resources Association (ELRA) was established as a non-profit organization in Luxembourg in February, 1995. The overall goal of ELRA is to provide a centralized organization for the validation, management, and distribution of speech, text, and terminology resources and tools, and to promote their use within the European telematics R&TD community. (http://www.icp.grenet.fr/ELRA)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free access
Resources available Related with EU projects community

 

European Language Resources Distribution Agency (ELDA)

The European Language Resources - Distribution Agency (ELDA) was created to identify, classify, collect, validate, and distribute Language Resources (LRs). ELDA handles the practical and legal issues connected with the distribution of resources and provides legal advice in the language engineering field. In addition, it drafts and concludes distribution agreements on behalf of ELRA (European Language Resources Association). (http://www.elda.com)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free access
Resources available Related with EU projects community

 
 

3. Public WWW Resources

CAT-ex

CAT-ex is a site for public interchange of resources related to CAT tools. Can be interesting trying to find some tools or TM materials. (http://come.to/CAT-ex).
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Non relevant
  Free
Resources available Information about tendencies and most searched CAT items in the industry

 

Lantra Archives

Discussion forum on the net. The topics include all kind of CAT software used by translators, and gives a good general overview about the main used tools (http://www.mabercom.com/lantra/lantra.html). It is mandatory to use the search engine to find exactly what we are looking for, as only a small part of the forum is related to CAT tools.
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Information about tendencies and most used CAT tools in the industry

 

Yahoo eGroups

Discussion forums. Very interesting the forum about Translator's Workbench, and there is another one for TM/2.

http://www.egroups.com (Global site)

http://www.egroups.com/group/TW_users (Translator's Workbench forum)

http://www.egroups.com/group/catmt (General CAT tools forum)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Very interesting
  Free
Resources available Very valuable information about most used features for translator's and localisation project managers

 

TranslationZone

Web forum established by TRADOS for TRADOS users. It's supposed to be the "official" TRADOS discussion forum. It is a resource for TRADOS developers to avoid a big amount of questions, that are resolved in this forum. (http://www.translationzone.com)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Very valuable information about most used features for translator's and localisation project managers, specially for TRADOS programs.

 

World Language Resources

Virtual store of language products. All kind of software (electronic dictionaries, machine translation software, spell checkers, ...). (http://www.worldlanguage.com)
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Interesting collection of products sorted by categories. Can be helpul trying to find an specific resource.

 

TransRef

Web site maintained by Atril, with resources for translators and reference material about CAT tools (articles, databases). (http://www.transref.org)
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Good set of articles about CAT tools, standards...

 

Aquarius

Site with global resources for translators (forums, news, offers, contacts). (http://www.aquarius.net).
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Global resources for professional translators. Interesting job postings for free-lance translators.

 
 

4. Magazines

Language International

http://www.language-international.com
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Interesting
  Non expensive
Resources available Articles, General information about industry
More information  

 

Translation Journal

http://www.accurapid.com/journal
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Interesting
  Non expensive
Resources available Articles, General information about industry

 

Multilingual Computing & Technology

http://www.multilingual.com
 
 
Marketing information --
Technical level --
  Non expensive
Resources available Articles, General information about industry
More information  

 

Localisation Ireland

Published by LRC (see 2.2),

http://lrc.csis.ul.ie/LRC/publications/index.htm
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical information Interesting
  Free
Resources available Articles, General information about Irish localisation industry

 

The Global Communicator

Published by International Communications, acquired by LionBridge. Paper copy.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical information Not interesting
  Free
Resources available Interesting case studies in the localisation industry

 

Language Today

Online magazine published by Logos and Praetorius. Link not working at the moment (http://www.logos.it/owa-s/dictionary_dba.sp_lt)
 
 
Marketing information --
Technical information --
  --
Resources available --

 

International Journal for Language and Documentation

http://www.crux.be
 
 
Marketing information --
Technical information --
  --
Resources available Interesting articles about L&H

 
 
 

5. Translation / Localisation Tools

TRADOS Translator's Workbench

Most implanted TM software, based on Microsoft available resources (Windows, Word) (http://www.TRADOS.com/products/team_edition.htm)

No interesting technical specifications available for developers, only public user's guides.

Demo version downloadable from TRADOS Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Very expensive
Formats TM: TWM, TMX, EXP, interaction with MT products (Systran, Logos)

Files: RTF, SGML, other formats accessible via macros
More information http://www.TRADOS.com

WWW forums (TranslationZone, eGroups)

 

 

IBM TranslationManager/2

IBM TM software, based in plain editor and markup tables; powerful

(http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/translat/tm/index.html)

Very interesting public technical specifications in WWW:

http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/translat/tm/tmlib.html

http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/translat/tm/tmedu.html
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Expensive
Formats TM: EXP

Files: specific markup tables (filters) for several formats, including RTF, SGML, HTML, BookMaster, FrameMaker, Ventura, RC, DLG
More information Web specific site

 

Translation Craft Html-CAT

Interesting CAT tool desgned to translate Internet pages (HTML, ASP) creating also translation memories. Specially interesting the general interface (http://www.tcraft.com/htmlcat.html)

Demo version downloadable from Translation Craft Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Interesting (GUI interface, general design)
  Expensive (890 euros)
Formats TM: ASCII format (delimited by tabs or CSV)

Files: HTML
More information  

Additional Information

- The most important characteristic in this tool is the GUI, that could be a very good reference for future designs, upgrading to other formats than HTML.

- On the other hand, the tool seems to present big limitations. Ii seems that only handles TM formats in plain ASCII (delimited by tabs, CSV files), and does not interact directly with other TM programs or formats (TM/2, TW, TMX...).

- No spellcheck

- It seems that only recovers 100% translated segments, not fuzzy segments (must be further investigated, as this is a very big limitation for a CAT program).

- No on-line help.
 
 

Atril Déjà Vu

Modular CAT tool (TM module, terminology management module, SGML manager module), seems to one of the most extended alternatives to Translator's Workbench. (http://www.atril.com).

Demo version downloadable from Atril Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Expensive
Formats TM: TMX, IBM TM/2, Translator's Workbench, ASCII, Access, Excel, Catalyst

Files: DOC, RTF, QuarkXpress, FrameMaker, Interleaf, HTML, SGML, RC, exported form TW, TM/2, Java, C++, Excel, PowerPoint, 
More information  

Good project management features, good terminology manager. It does not provide post-editing features. Includes an spellcheck.
 
 

Accent Loc@le

This tool allows project management, translation and TM storage of binary and resource files (DLL, EXE, RC). The TM feature is not very advanced. The tool is more intended for global project management (Management, TM, terminology and translation integrated), (http://www.accentsoft.com).

Demo version downloadable from Accent Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Interesting
  800 euros (± ) 
Formats Binary files, resource files, glossaries
More information Accent Web pages

 

Heisoft Passolo

Translation of binary files, similar than Accent Locale but with better linguistic features (automatic substitutions, translation of graphic files), http://www.passolo.de

Demo version downloadable from Passolo Web site.
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Average - 570 euros
Formats Not import/export features, binary files for input/output. 

Glossaries: plain text separated with tabs. 
More information  

 

Alchemy Catalyst

Translation of binary files, resources. Similar to Passolo and Locale, but with better performance and features, http://www.alchemysoftware.ie

Demo version downloadable from Corel Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  From 500 to 5000 euros, depending on the version.
Formats Binary resources, compiled programs. Graphics.
More information Corel Web pages 

 

Basis Technology Charlotte

Translation memory tool for SGML ,HTML and XML files.

http://www.basistech.com/products/charlotte.html.
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Interesting
   
Formats SGML, HTML, XML
More information  

 

WordFast

WordFast is a translation memory module based on TRADOS Translator's Workbench general structure. The program is a Word template (.dot), it comes with a small user's guide. Works with HTML and RTF files.

This program can handle and interchange Translator's Workbench translation memories, and also TMX modules.

http://www.champollion.net
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Interesting
   
Formats RTF, HTML
More information  

 

Zeres TRANS

Specific translation memory module developed in Germany. http://www.zeres.de
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level - -
  Very expensive. Full version costs 1.943 €
Formats As it works in combination with Microsoft Word, formats compatible with this software.
More information Not tested. There is a very basic user's guide available in the Web site.

 

Memcat

Small translation memory tool developed in Germany. http://www.memcat.de
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level - -
  Cheap, less than 100 Î
Formats As it works in combination with Microsoft Word, formats compatible with this software.
More information Not tested. Basic information in the corporative Web page.

 

Xerox Multilingual Memory Suite

Xerox Multilingual solution is divided in two different processes: Xerox Multilingual Memory (a translation project leader tool to pre-process and post-process documents, a translation memory engine) and Xerox Multilingual Memory Workbench (translator environment to translate documents, a translation memory workbench). Seems that is just an internal tool.

http://www.xerox-emea.com/xms/index.htm
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level - -
   
Formats  
More information Not tested. Basic information in the corporative Web page.

 

Cypresoft Trans Suite

Translation memory software with a good GUI. Interesting filters (Access, Excel, PowerPoint) and ability to export for machine translation. The program uses its own browser, does not interact with external editors.

http://www.cypresoft.com
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  350 €
Formats Files: Word, RTF, Excel, Access, HTML, PowerPoint, ASI, Tagged TRADOS files, SGML, OpenTag, WordPerfect 

TM: TRADOS Translator's Workbench, Déjà Vu, TMX, plain text
More information  

 

TMX Development Kit

Set of tools developed under the LISA standards development group. Contains TMXCheck, a Windows utility to validate and compare TMX files. The TDK (TMX Development Kit) is TMXCheck and a large set of sample files for testing TMX-enabled applications.

http://www.opentag.com (go to downloads)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Free
Formats TMX (translation memory exchange)
More information More information about TMX available at the LISA Web site (http://www.lisa.org) 

 

BridgeTerm Promemoria

Translation memory solution from BridgeTerm (Canada). The company owns a module named Translation Memory Manager (TMM) specific for managing TM.
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Free demos, but not available
Formats MS Word, RTF and text files
More information http://www.bridgeterm.com

 
 

6. Aligment Tools

TRADOS WinAlign

Alignment editor by TRADOS. It works mainly with RTF & SGML/HTML files, and translation from these formats. Good interface, much better performance than the predecessor, TAlign.

(http://www.TRADOS.com/products/fast_track_alignment.htm)

Demo version downloadable from TRADOS Web site.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Interesting
  Very expensive
Formats TMX, TMW, ASCII
More information http://www.TRADOS.com

 

IBM TM/2 (ITM Component)

Internal component of TM/2, specific for file alignment. Good user interface.

(http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ad/translat/tm/index.html)
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
Formats TM/2 (EXP)
  Not distributed as a single program, included in TM/2
More information

 

Atril Déjà Vu (Database Maintenance Component)

Internal tool, into Database Maintenance, for file alignment. (http://www.atril.com)

Downloadable demo version from Atril Web site
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Not distributed as a single program, included in Atril Déjà Vu
Formats It feeds a Déjà Vu opened database
More information

 

Cypresoft Trans Suite Align

Alignment tool similar to WinAlign, also with similar features and performance. In addition ,allows to export translation memory databases in a wide range of external formats, ncluding the most implanted TM software in the market.

http://www.cypresoft.com
 
 
Marketing information Very interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Cypresoft has decided to distribute woth no charge this tool
Formats Files: plain text, RTF, DOC, PPT, HTML, RC, Access, OpenTag, WordPerfect 

Memories: TRADOS, Déjà Vu, Access, ANSI, TMX
More information Free

 

King Memo Align

Basic alignment tool, for HTML and DOC files. King Memo Align requires the Internet Explorer 5 and Word 97/2000 to work.

http://www.kingmemo.de
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Interesting
   
Formats DOC, RTF, HTML files
More information Free program

 

7. Terminology Tools

TRADOS MultiTerm

Terminology database manager, very flexible. Maybe the most implanted terminology tool in the market. Interacts directly with TRADOS Translator's Workbench.

(http://www.TRADOS.com/products/terminology_corner.htm).

Presentation available in SourceSafe:

$/Documentation/T_Projects/ProductManagement_projects/MT-TM/Presentations/TRADOS

Downloadable demo version from TRADOS Web site
 
 
Marketing information Very Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  Distributed mainly with Translator's Workbench, but can be also purchased separately.
Formats MultiTerm (plain text with tags), interaction with MS Word.
More information

There are different versions of this program, MultiTerm Web Interface, MultiTerm Dictionary.
 
 

King Memo Database

Text database designed for working with terminology lists. It handles CSV and MultiTerm files.

http://www.kingmemo.de
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Interesting
   
Formats CSV, MultiTerm exported databases
More information Freeware

 

Chamblon Systems Terminology Extractor

Terminology extraction tool, from input documentation. Additional information in http://www.chamblon.com/terminologyextractor.htm.
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Interesting
  337 €
Formats Word, plain text 
More information  

 

Synthema Terminology Wizard

Terminology Wizard is a tool that allows to automate terminology management activities, such as glossary creation and reference documentation analysis. For EnIt. http://www.synthema.it.
 
 
Marketing information Interesting
Technical level Very interesting
  - -
Formats Word, plain text 
More information Not tested. Demo version available in Synthema's Web site.

 

8. Add-ins for CAT tools

DocConsult Tools

DocConsult is a small German enterprise that provides add-ins for translating files from different DTP programs (PageMaker, QuarkXpress) using CAT tools (Translator's Workbench) (http://www.docconsult.de)
 
 
Marketing information --
Technical level --
  --
More information -- 

Not Checked
 
 

Croatian Translation Services

Croatian translation page, with some interesting tools interacting with TRADOS programs. (http://www.open.hr/~dpleic/tools.html)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Interesting
  Free
More information -- 

Only CSV2TXT.EXE checked.
 
 

9. Source Text Control

SMART MAXit Checker

SMART is a company that develop tools addressed to Simplified English and Controlled English, allowing technical writers to achieve a better performance. Tools are available for different file formats (Word, SGML, FrameMaker, Interleaf) (http://www.smartny.com/controlenglish.htm)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Not tested
Formats Word, Adept, SGML, FrameMaker, Interleaf
   
More information  

 

Boeing Simplified English Checker

AECMA Simplified English is a writing standard for aerospace maintenance documentation. This type of writing standard is also known as a controlled language because it restricts grammar, style and vocabulary to a subset of the English language. (http://www.boeing.com/assocproducts/sechecker ).
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Not tested
Formats --
  --
More information --

 

IBM EasyEnglish

EasyEnglish is a tool that helps writers produce clearer and simpler English. It goes beyond traditional grammar checkers by detecting ambiguity and complexity. It provides easy-to-understand analyses and a convenient interface that allows the user to incorporate its suggestions in the document. (http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/aw.nsf/techs/mt)
 
 
Marketing information Not interesting
Technical level Not tested
Formats --
  --
More information --

 

General Motors CASL

Controlled Language internal tool used in the General Motors' technical writing departments.

http://www.generalmotors.com
 
 
Marketing information Not available, internal tool
Technical level Not tested
Formats --
  --
More information --

 

Caterpillar Technical English (CTE)

Controlled Language internal tool used in Caterpillar's technical writing departments.

http://www.caterpillar.com
 
 
Marketing information Not available, internal tool
Technical level Not tested
Formats --
  --
More information --