People have been translating texts into different languages for hundreds of years, and up until recently, that process has remained largely the same. It’s historically been a manual, painstaking routine: If a phrase appeared 10, 100, or 1000 times in a document, it would still have to be translated each time. But recent years have brought one of the most significant advances to this historically slow, repetitive process: the invention of the translation memory.

In its simplest sense, a translation memory is a list of words or phrases and their corresponding translations into one or more other languages. (Picture a spreadsheet with “Where is the bathroom?” in Column A and “¿Dónde está el baño?” in Column B.) Modern-day, computer-aided translation software can automatically generate a translation memory when utilizing that specialized software. But how is this useful?

Thanks to translation memory, after a translator translates “Where is the bathroom?” as “¿Dónde está el baño?” once, it’s in the translation memory forever. The next time the translator encounters that phrase, the translation memory helpfully displays “¿Dónde está el baño?” again, and the translator confirms that this is the proper contextual translation and moves on to the next sentence. This can be useful over the course of one document, but it can also be useful on any future translations as well. And because a translation memory saves time for the translator, it also saves money for the client.

Video: What is Translation Memory?

Translation service providers can build a translation memory for a client and update it with each subsequent translation project. The more text that goes into the translation memory, the more likely it is that there will be translation memory matches on future translations. This means that savings can increase over time as more and more previous translations are leveraged.

Cutting costs is always nice, but the benefits of translation memories go beyond the financial. Much like how a glossary or style guide can help standardize the terms a company uses in its translations, a translation memory is also a great way to ensure that the same translation for a term is used throughout your current document or 50 documents from now. This consistency helps to maintain high levels of quality, preserve your company’s voice, and ensure maximum understanding for your reader.