This year nine tool vendors are presenting at the forum.  Each vendor will have six minutes to highlight new features, sketch a vision of the future of translation, and explain how to find out more about their product line. The following chart is based on input from the vendors. It is intended to help translators better understand which tool functions each vendor offers and what they are called in each product line.  If there are any errors in the chart, blame them on the TAC Committee chair, Alan Melby.

The eight functions are: (1) infrastructure (such as termbase maintenance), (2-4) term processing (before, during, and after translation), (5-7) segment processing (before, during, and after translation), and (8) workflow management (including billing tools).  In recent years, the distinction between term processing and segment processing has become a bit blurred. It can no longer be assumed that segments are sentence-length. In the eight functions, the basic distinction between terms and segments is not length but whether the unit has been standardized and annotated or simply occurs in running text. Several recently developed tools emphasize full-text search of user-specified segments rather than automatic lookup of all translation memory segments identified during the alignment process (and automatic replacement of matched segments).

Eight Types of Translation Technology