The Memory of Knowledge: An Analytical Study on Translators’ Perceptions and Assessment of CAT Tools with Regard to Text Genre

Abstract

The use of the computer-aided translation (CAT) tools has been skyrocketing
over the last two decades in the translation industry. Therefore, it has become
necessary to measure user satisfaction based on two dimensions: text genre and
years of experience using such tools. The study aims at investigating veteran
translators’ perceptions about their best practices to get the best out of CAT
tools, some solutions to mitigate some issues and suggestions to optimize the
functionality of this software. Furthermore, the study aims at highlighting the
most frequent advantages and disadvantages and displaying translators’
perception of the most highly-ranked linguistic issue in each text genre. It also
analyzes translators’ perceptions of the most influential factor that determines
the effectiveness of CAT tools. This study is significant because it is based on
hands-on experience and gives translators a broad overview on the feasibility of
this software and brings attention to the functionality needed to be optimized by
CAT developers. For the purposes of this descriptive study, a survey was
distributed among a sample of English <> Arabic professional translators from
different fields of specialization and with different years of experience using CAT
tools. The study found out that translators’ years of experience using CAT tools
does not affect their satisfaction with such tools while the field of specialization
has an effect on how translators are satisfied with CAT tools. Years of experience
matter when it comes to providing solutions and suggestions. Based on the
attained findings, a number of solutions and suggestions are presented