(Continued from Part 1)
Translators can benefit from many of the tools we have access to through the Internet. However, we often don’t know to what extent they can prove useful, as in the case of text-to-speech/speech-to-text tools.
Now we will see how we can take advantage of these to optimize our translation strategies and get the best results.
TEXT-TO-SPEECH TOOLS:
• To proofread while the computer is reading the original or the translation, which is very useful to verify numbers.
• To check terminology lists when interpreters are preparing for a specific conference.
• To listen to the computer reading aloud a text while we practice simultaneous or consecutive interpretation. Read more »
Most translators receive an original document in paper or digital format, we analyze it and then begin to translate. But, has it ever crossed our mind using a text to speech or speech to text tool as aid in our translations? Below we will see some of the most interesting tools available in the market.
First of all, these are four text to speech tools that are widely used:
1. Natural Reader (download trial)
A priori, it works like any other software of its kind and it supports Windows Vista and Office 2007. One of the ways we can make it run is to copy the text we need and to paste it in the software’s main window. Read more »
(Continues from Part 2)
Translating PDF Documents
Automatic conversion
To carry out the automatic conversion, we need a conversion software. In the market, there are a lot of affordable tools that will allow us to get a document that retains a great deal of its original formatting.
Each conversion tool is different, and to explain how to use them is part of another article, but here we will specify some of the most widely used in the translation industry and a brief description of the formats they can convert the documents into.
1. ABBY FineReader 10 (http://www.abbyy.com/).
- It has a 15-day trial version (download). Read more »
(Continues from Part 1)
In the first part of this article, we have specified the first strategy to translate documents in PDF format. In this second part, we will explain the second strategy we can use to translate such documents.
Converting a PDF file into another format
- Advantages:
o Most of the original formatting is kept after the conversion and, in many cases, the original formatting is perfectly rendered.
o We can use translation memories or similar tools for the translation.
o The probabilities of omitting text are almost non existent. Read more »
Files in PDF Format
While files in PDF (Portable Document Format) format become more and more widespread these days, translators and translation agencies are faced, more often, with the need to work with this type of documents. In spite of the many advantages offered by the pdf format, such as easy creation, the possibility of using a free software (Adobe Reader) open them, content protection, etc., the files cannot be modified, we can only view them. Therefore, they cannot be used as base documents to translate. And now is when we have to apply some strategies that, if carried out correctly, can help us succeed in our job. Read more »
Postgraduate Course at Vigo University
Next year, the University of Vigo will have two more postgraduate degrees. They are both related to translation and interpreting, so they will be very useful if we are considering continuing our academic training.
On the one hand, we have the Postgraduate in Audiovisual Translation. In order to complete it, students must pass all the subjects of the theoretical and methodological module and 5 out of the 6 subjects of the other modules that we will explain next. Besides this, students must complete as well a practical module, which includes a dissertation and an internship at any of the companies that have signed an agreement with the University of Vigo. Read more »
