Translation Memory Basics

Translation memory (TM) is a database where translations of separate text segments are accumulated. If translator encounters a similar segment to the one which had been translated earlier, translation memory will suggest using this completed translation. Such method is called “computer-assisted translation” (CAT).

Generally, TM software performs the following functions:

• breaks the text into segments or "translation units" (as a rule, it can be a sentence, more rarely it is a part of compound sentence);
• determines if some segments match each other, and what type of match it is;
• searches memory for translators of matching segments and suggests them to translator.

The advantage of using TM is evident when it is used to translate technical texts which often contain a lot of identical or almost identical sentences.