| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | How can I take a course with a teacher to learn CAT Tools? Thread poster: joannebenz
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I wasn't taught to use a CAT tool, I just bought it and started. The first steps are very simple and you can learn the more advanced features as you go along. I'm sure proper training is useful to speed the process up though.
If you want to succeed as a freelance translator you may have to conquer your aversion to self-study, as so much of what we do involves solving problems and searching for information independently. There are loads of workshops and courses you can do in all sort... See more I wasn't taught to use a CAT tool, I just bought it and started. The first steps are very simple and you can learn the more advanced features as you go along. I'm sure proper training is useful to speed the process up though.
If you want to succeed as a freelance translator you may have to conquer your aversion to self-study, as so much of what we do involves solving problems and searching for information independently. There are loads of workshops and courses you can do in all sorts of things, but once you have finished them, the learning continues. There will always be things you have to figure out for yourself with the help of Google, YouTube videos, etc. This is really one of the key skills of our job.
Why not try some of the tutorial videos on YouTube? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 16:57
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
joannebenz wrote:
The webinars are 1 day long. I didn't learn CAT tools in a whole year in university, and certainly no webinar would be enough.
Most CAT tools are pretty straight-forward to use once you understand the basic principles and once you have been shown how to create a project and how to create a translation memory. That is what the webinars are for: they show you, in an hour or two, how the basic user interface basically works. After that, you jump right in and start using the tool, and then learn as you go alone.
I thought that MemoQ was a terrible CAT tool until I watched a 1-hour webinar explaining how it works, and now I realize that it's actually a very good tool -- some things are just in odd locations and some features require an odd combination of buttons and menus that are different from the buttons and menus that e.g. Trados uses.
If you are adamant that you can't learn by yourself, then I suggest you contact your local translation association (which I assume you're a member of, since you're a translator) and ask if anyone there would be willing to sit down with you for 1-2 hours and explain their favourite CAT tool to you.
Rachel Waddington wrote:
If you want to succeed as a freelance translator you may have to conquer your aversion to self-study, as so much of what we do involves solving problems and searching for information independently.
Yes.
[Edited at 2024-10-09 14:05 GMT]
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: duplicate post | | I do not have colleagues and prefer NO Cat tools | Oct 10 |
Christine Andersen wrote:
joannebenz wrote:
...
I didn't learn CAT tools in a whole year in university, and certainly no webinar would be enough
can I translate without any CAT tools?
You can certainly translate without a CAT tool, as many brilliant translators have done for thousands of years, and many still do. Others find there are advantages in CAT tools that are worth the effort of learning to use them. It was quite an effort, I admit, and with the great range of features available, I am sure it is not easier than when I learned 20 years ago.
If you can learn in a class, you could probably learn from a colleague. You need someone willing to guide you through the first practical steps, preferably in several sessions, so you can go home and practise or just have a rest in between.
The breakthrough came for me when the instructor helped us to set up a project without discussing all the options - or you could get your colleague to do it for you.
That way you start translating and get the feel of what the CAT tool does and how it works.
You can see when the memory suggests a match or a partial match (called a fuzzy match) to the sentence you are translating, and decide what to do with it - does it fit this time around, or how do you change it?
THEN, when you have an idea what you are working with, you can make decisions about the setup for a specific job. (When you work with clients, some of the decisions may be made for you in a so-called package, but it is still good to be able to link up your own translation memories and glossaries as appropriate.)
You can gradually try out new features like learning to use a glossary, and when you have seen how t works, you can build up your own, so you can use it creatively! For me, the glossary is one of the most important features - it is far more than just a word list.
All this is much easier to understand hands-on, while you are sitting at the keyboard with your CAT, so I do understand why you want to find a class.
As I stated: I didn't learn CAT tools in ONE whole year in university, and certainly no 1 day webinar would be enough, for obvious reasons.
And no, I dont learn anything through „ self study“
hence my question
„ Are there NO proper courses & classes with live teachers that properly and thoroughly teach CAT tools?“
And I do not mean webinars or 1-2 hrs
and not referring to ANY tutorials eithers.
I am talking about the types of courses you see
in a T&I program in university
Can‘t you just translate like in the past? with no tools or internet, but just with WORD & a dictionary?
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Natalie
Poland
Local time: 16:57
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER
Please DO NOT post one and the same text eight (8) times, this is clearly against the site rule (Postings should not be made more than once - https://www.proz.com/siterules/forum/3#3 ) or your forum participation rights will be restricted. Seven of your identical posts have been just vetted NO.
This is your 2nd forum thread on the same topic, and all your questions have received exce... See more Please DO NOT post one and the same text eight (8) times, this is clearly against the site rule (Postings should not be made more than once - https://www.proz.com/siterules/forum/3#3 ) or your forum participation rights will be restricted. Seven of your identical posts have been just vetted NO.
This is your 2nd forum thread on the same topic, and all your questions have received excellent answers from the colleagues. If it is still not enough, please try using Google to search additional resources. Even at a first glance there are many sites that may be useful for you, e.g. this one:
https://ecolotrain.uni-mainz.de/en/guidelines/guidelines-introduction
You can find full contact information there; please drop them a message, and maybe you'll find what you need in University Mainz, Germany. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:57
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
joannebenz wrote:
Can‘t you just translate like in the past? with no tools or internet, but just with WORD & a dictionary?
Oh come on, people are trying to help you and you're just being petulant.
For my part I'm not going to sugarcoat the reality: you have no option but to deal with the world as it is today, not how you thought it was in some imaginary golden age of the past.
A few days ago I had to deal with a very poor source that effectively prevented me from using most of the functionality of my CAT tool, and it was bloody hard. Searching, replacing, filtering, checking for consistency, concordance - all impossible. I estimate it increased the time required for the project by at least 30%. Golden age? Hah, don't make me laugh.
Of course, I'm just a journeyman translator, and maybe if you're an amazingly talented translator you can get and keep clients in a field like, say, literary translation, without recourse to a CAT tool.
But if you're not amazingly talented, then you're going to have to learn how to use CAT tools, and before you learn how to do that you're going to have to learn the mental flexibility to tackle things you may not necessarily like - or using an approach that you may not necessarily enjoy - in pursuit of a greater goal, because you're not showing any of that characteristic in this thread.
And if you can't learn either mental flexibility or CAT tools then I suggest you look for another line of business.
Dan
[Edited at 2024-10-11 08:04 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 16:57
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
joannebenz wrote:
Are there NO proper courses & classes with live teachers that properly and thoroughly teach CAT tools? I am talking about the types of courses you see in a T&I program in university.
Perhaps. But those courses and classes would be available only to students that study that particular degree or diploma. I suspect training in using CAT tools would not form a course or subject of its own but be part of a larger module such as "computer usage".
When I was at college, we received extensive training in using WordPerfect, but we didn't have a subject called "WordPerfect usage". It was "computer usage" and it included all kinds of other things as well (spreadsheets, typing skills, internet skills, computer history, letter writing skills, etc.). I'm sure students that study translation these days are taught how to use CAT tools as part of their training, but not as separate subjects that you would be able to take independently.
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joannebenz wrote:
As I stated: I didn't learn CAT tools in ONE whole year in university, and certainly no 1 day webinar would be enough, for obvious reasons.
And no, I dont learn anything through „ self study“
hence my question
„ Are there NO proper courses & classes with live teachers that properly and thoroughly teach CAT tools?“
And I do not mean webinars or 1-2 hrs
and not referring to ANY tutorials eithers.
I am talking about the types of courses you see in a T&I program in university
Can‘t you just translate like in the past? with no tools or internet, but just with WORD & a dictionary?
I don't think what you are looking for really exists. If you want to translate professionally you are going to have to master the skill of independent learning to some degree. It's as much a part of our job as language skills.
It's also unrealistic (for the vast majority of us anyway) to expect to earn a living as a translator without tools or internet. That's just not the way things are any more.
If you can't deal with this reality, I really don't think translation is the career for you.
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joannebenz wrote:
Can‘t you just translate like in the past? with no tools or internet, but just with WORD & a dictionary?
Sure!
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 16:57
English to German
+ ...
| independent learning is key for a translator | Oct 11 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
If you want to translate professionally you are going to have to master the skill of independent learning to some degree. It's as much a part of our job as language skills.
Every single translation job will require you to learn something through „self study“ to some degree.
As to the question if you "need" CAT tools, I'd say it depends. If you work on little assignments with mostly creative content, I'd say no. If your projects are large and repetitive and require consistency, then yes. In those cases they make life easier.
If you want to be taught how to use CAT tools, I'd suggest you find a professional translator in your city and ask them to give a class on the matter, or ask them if they know someone who could do this.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 16:57
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
What is this? A troll account that likes to cause some fuss? This is ridiculous.
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Just create a DeepL account, subscribe to their services and there you go: No need to learn a CAT. DeepL Pro delivers a translation in the same format you put in. Just post-edit the outcome, that's all. No "Thank you" for all the suggestions here needed, no classes, no personal contact. You may comfortably stay in your bubble and try to make a living by post-editing your self-created DeepL results 24/7.
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Samuel Murray wrote:
joannebenz wrote:
Are there NO proper courses & classes with live teachers that properly and thoroughly teach CAT tools? I am talking about the types of courses you see in a T&I program in university.
Perhaps. But those courses and classes would be available only to students that study that particular degree or diploma. I suspect training in using CAT tools would not form a course or subject of its own but be part of a larger module such as "computer usage".
When I was at college, we received extensive training in using WordPerfect, but we didn't have a subject called "WordPerfect usage". It was "computer usage" and it included all kinds of other things as well (spreadsheets, typing skills, internet skills, computer history, letter writing skills, etc.). I'm sure students that study translation these days are taught how to use CAT tools as part of their training, but not as separate subjects that you would be able to take independently.
so the answer is „ no“ those courses only exist in a T&I degree program
good to know
| | | | | CAT tools arent mandatory | Oct 11 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
joannebenz wrote:
As I stated: I didn't learn CAT tools in ONE whole year in university, and certainly no 1 day webinar would be enough, for obvious reasons.
And no, I dont learn anything through „ self study“
hence my question
„ Are there NO proper courses & classes with live teachers that properly and thoroughly teach CAT tools?“
And I do not mean webinars or 1-2 hrs
and not referring to ANY tutorials eithers.
I am talking about the types of courses you see in a T&I program in university
Can‘t you just translate like in the past? with no tools or internet, but just with WORD & a dictionary?
I don't think what you are looking for really exists. If you want to translate professionally you are going to have to master the skill of independent learning to some degree. It's as much a part of our job as language skills.
It's also unrealistic (for the vast majority of us anyway) to expect to earn a living as a translator without tools or internet. That's just not the way things are any more.
If you can't deal with this reality, I really don't think translation is the career for you.
Someone just posted that one does not need to use CAT tools in order to translate.
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 16:57
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER | So let's assume... | Oct 12 |
that you have finally received comprehensive answers to your questions.
The thread is now closed.
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