Working with Anaphraseus in OpenOffice
CAT is a term for computer-aided translation. It is software that permanently (when active) stores pairs of translated and original texts in its Translation Memory (TM). When a translator translates a document, the software offers him all previously translated texts from his TM.
CAT is a term not used for machine translation, which is a different thing. CAT software usually works hand in hand with editors such as MS Word or Openoffice.org; it compares the text stored in the TM with that of the document and gives suggestions to the translator.
There are many commercial CAT tools on the market today such as Trados, minimalistic Wordfast or Metatexis. Wordfast for example is not standalone software and requires MS Word (it runs as a macro in it).
Anaphraseus: CAT with OpenOffice.org
Anaphraseus as an OpenOffice.org extension is installed directly from the OOo menu: Tools | Extension Manager where you just click on Get more extensions here… text. On the OOo Extensions website that appears in your default browser after clicking on the text above, you’ll find Anaphraseus.
You will get a file with OXT extension (some older versions used Zip format). After downloading it, click the Add button in the OOo Extension Manager window and locate the OXT file on your computer. When you’re done, read the license and scroll down to accept it. After you click the Accept button, Anaphraseus will move permanently to your OOo Extension Manager.
Anaphraseus is not platform dependent but OOo dependent. It works in OpenOffice, no matter if you’re running Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, or even OpenBSD. This nice CAT extension is compatible with OpenOffice.org 2.1 and later; StarOffice 8, update 5 or higher, and will give you the following capabilities:
* Term recognition
* Fuzzy search
* Unicode UTF-16 TMX export/import
* Plain text and Unicode UTF-16 TM
* User dictionary
After installation, you must restart OpenOffice.org for the changes to take effect. You will then see a new panel with the Anaphraseus icons appearing in the OOo environment.
To make your first translation, create (or import) your 1) translation memory; 2) open a document with your desired source language; and 3) start translating it by clicking the Alt+Down button in the Anaphraseus icon panel.
Translation memory
The first step is to create (or possibly import) your TM. To do this, click on the Anaphraseus Setup icon, select New, and then enter the appropriate TMX codes, which you will need in case you decide to export your TM later (see Small Glossary at the bottom). You will need a separate TM for each language combination – for example, if you translate from German to Polish, this combination – that is, this TM is not good for translation from Polish to German.
The software allows you to work with many translation memories. You can use them for any translation work; for example, bible-italian2eng.txt (Italian to English) or bible-eng2italian.txt (English to Italian) would be your TMs for Bible translation projects (both Wordfast and Anaphraseus use TXT format in their TMs).
A small CAT dictionary
TMX
In Computer Aided Translation, you use the Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) (XML) format because translators often need to migrate (export/import) their TMs to different CAT tools they use. It is the translator’s right to choose any CAT software and in case a group of translators work on a project, they can share their TMs. Many CAT tools use their own (proprietary) Translation Memory formats, and TMX helps translators and translation agencies easily share their TMs. For example, you export your TM from a native CAT application format (like Trados, etc.) to TMX format and then import that TMX format into Anaphraseus (or any other CAT tool).
TMX is a kind of database with different codes that identify languages (CS-01 for Czech, EN-US for American English, etc.).
Unicode
If Anaphraseus asks if you want to use Unicode, you should be aware that CAT software may have problems displaying words with diacritics such as those used in Eastern European languages. By “display” I mean that once the source and target sentences reach the TM, Anaphraseus will compare the source sentence in the document with the one in its TM and show you the target sentence if it meets certain criteria. With unicode font it will display all fonts correctly. If you’re not working with Western-type languages, it’s always a good idea to use Unicode.
Cleaning
The term “document cleanup” in CAT terminology means that you remove the original (source) text from the document that still remains there for editing purposes. Both the source and target segments are separated by colored markers like {0> and you cannot delete them from the document (of course you can, but only by “cleaning the document”). Authors of CAT tools know that translators need to compare the original text with translations, even after the translation is complete. In addition to the fact that Anaphraseus (and many other CAT tools) writes sentence pairs to its TM, you’ll also have those pairs embedded in the document until you clear it.
If the document is still not cleaned up, you can always click the down arrow button on the Anaphraseus toolbar, compare the source (original) text with the translations, and continue editing it. When you’re done, select CLEAN. The software will ask you if you want to update your translation memory. All color markers and output sentences will disappear from the document and you will only see your final work (the text you translated).
Conclusion
Anaphraseus does not have all the features of commercial applications (like Pandora’s box, etc.), but not all translators need complete solutions every hour and every day. Thus, OpenOffice.org has become not only a complex and very useful tool for translators, but also a little star on your way to freedom.
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