Benefits of Using a Translation Memory
Using translation memory became a standard practice when it comes to technical translation. Benefits are obvious:
Consistency and equivalence of translation
As a rule, there are increased requirements to translation of complex technical texts.
For example, judicial document (contract, regulatory legal act, etc.) will demand extreme accuracy and consistency for translation of certain phrasing in the whole text or even package of texts.
In case same segment is translated differently (even if this translation is correct in both cases), the overall quality of technical document translation will be decreased (for example, design documentation or research report).
Concordance
In addition to segment translation, translation memory can be used for searching and comparing the context, in which certain word is used in the text. Since all translated segments are already stored in memory, CAT tool can retrieve all segments containing the searched words. Thus, translator can quickly get information as to which translation was used and in which context, and then make a decision without browsing all the text manually.
Translation standardization
Translators can exchange stored translations and accumulate translations of other translators. This is another advantage of using translation memory, as several translators working on one project or with terminology of the same industry, can use common translation memory for consistency throughout the project. In this case consistency of work done by this group of translations will be better than that of equally skilled translators, who do not use TM.