PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATORS AND TRANSLATION TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Today, we are fully conscious of the significant role technology plays in both our personal and professional lives, as this has always been its primary purpose and continues to drive its evolution. This article opens with a brief examination of the relevance of translation technology across different domains of contemporary society, emphasizing the factors that contributed to its emergence and growth. It then provides a general overview of the tools made available by this technology, ranging from machine translation to computer-assisted translation, clarifying what is regarded as the core component of CAT, namely translation memory (TM). In the final section, the article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of these technological tools from the perspective of professional translators. It concludes that, on the one hand, translators must increasingly adopt these tools to remain competitive in the translation process, while on the other hand, companies developing such technologies should place greater emphasis on translation quality and on the active participation of professional translators in tool development. Strengthening communication between these two parties should represent the next major challenge for technology providers.