The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/220935
© ISTOCKPHOTO FOCUS: CAT TOOLS Open invitation Don DePalma looks at a range of open-source tools and how they compare with the market leaders pen-source software has a relatively long history in the language technology sector, stretching back at least to 2000 with the inception of the OmegaT translation memory (TM) project. The rationale for developing that TM tool was to give professional translators an alternative to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions such as Trados. There are several open-source software (OSS) options for translators, and because they cover a broad range of needs, there are various ways to participate: as a downloader, as a contributor to the code base, or as an end-user. We will look at six from the perspective of the end-user. O OmegaT OmegaT is a TM tool for professional translators. As one of the longest-running open-source TM projects, it has a feature set that should be complete enough to meet the needs of most users. The project originally appealed to individual translators, but the availability of a team version led some translation agencies to adopt it. OmegaT is available as a simple download, with thirdparty options for paid support, hosting and custom development. Development Manager, Didier Briel, told us that customised features are integrated back into the mainstream project, so everyone benefits. OmegaT continues to evolve, with added features, a growing portfolio of third-party scripts and plugins, and integration with third-party tools, such as the Okapi 12 The Linguist Framework and GlobalSight. Because it is written in Java, it can run on any computer where the Java Runtime Environment has been installed. That's a major distinction from many commercial CAT tools, which tend to support Windows and sometimes Mac. As with many OSS solutions, OmegaT doesn't match commercial counterparts such as Trados on a feature-by-feature basis. The biggest concern is the absence of Trados's proprietary formats – a requirement for many translation agencies – but the same issue arises with competing commercial products such as Déjà Vu and memoQ. Conversion utilities are available, but not fool-proof. In the final analysis, if you want every feature from Trados Studio, you should buy that product. Download at omegat.org ]project-open[ ]project-open[ is part of a large project management suite that includes extensions for supporting translation projects, including interfaces to major TM tools and workflow. Development on the overall suite, now used by more than 6,000 customers, started about 10 years ago. Today, it competes with several commercial translation management systems (TMS): Plunet, Projetex and XTRF. ]project-open[ is available in three versions: a free community edition, a professional version for small and medium organisations, and an enterprise version targeted at large customers with specific integration and support needs. DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014 According to ]project-open['s creator, Frank Bergmann, the current html graphical user interface will soon be replaced with a JavaScript-based GUI. This will improve usability, and make it easier to develop new functions and customise existing ones. So who should use ]project-open[? Bergmann explains that it is meant for teams with 10 or more members. It requires in-house expertise and some support from a ]project-open[ consultant to get started. Download: project-open.com GlobalSight At the enterprise end of the OSS spectrum sits GlobalSight, one of the first translation management systems (TMS). Developed as a commercial product, it became an opensource project when Welocalize acquired it as part of a wider acquisition. Welocalize saw value in having an interoperable TMS that wasn't tied to any of the leading software providers, all of which offered both technology and translation services as well. GlobalSight is most interesting to language service companies and corporate translation departments managing big translation volumes. Its heritage as a pioneer in its category means that the software contains everything you would expect to see in a commercial product, says Welocalize Executive Derek Coffey. It competes directly with TMS solutions such as Across Language Server, SDL TMS and TransPerfect GlobalLink. Welocalize, Globalme and Spartan Consulting provide hosting and consultation services. www.iol.org.uk