Why Translation Software?

Hiring a human translator is expensive, time consuming and impractical for simple tasks like reading and writing emails, documents, web pages and other day–to–day tasks. But in an international marketplace, translation is necessary.

Whether you need to communicate internationally because of your work or because of personal reasons, translation software is a practical way to break language barriers. You can increase your client base, communicate directly with relatives or friends from another country and even browse non–English websites.

Website translation is becoming increasingly important as people from every nation are putting content on the Internet. It's important to be able to translate content, for both business and casual Internet surfing. Fortunately, translation software can do this as well as translate common file formats, like Word and HTML, so you can translate anything on your computer with the click of a button.

What to Look for in Translation Software

Translation does not replace a human translator or learning a second language. However, it should facilitate communication between two people who speak different languages. Furthermore, it should enable them to communicate through a variety of media, like documents, emails, webpages, etc.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate translation software.

• Effectiveness – The whole point behind translation software is getting accurate translations. The most important consideration in ranking the software has been the results of translation tests we performed on each program. For the specifics of how the tests work, see the article The Translation Test Results .
• Features – Translation software should offer many practical features that make translations simple and effective. The most common features include program integration, back translate and auto–identify source language.
• Ease of Use – Translation programs should integrate seamlessly with other applications like email, instant message applications, word processors, spreadsheets and more. Anyone should be able to utilize the software to meet their translation needs regardless of their knowledge of computers.
• Languages/Formats – The most versatile translation software will be able to translate a wide variety of languages, and they will also be able to translate a wide variety of formats.
• Help/Support – We graded each manufacturer on the help and support they provide to their customers. Manufacturers should provide written documentation like a user manual, FAQs or a user forum as well as contact information like a telephone number or email address.