Long term memories: Trados and TM turn 20

During the nineties, translation memory (TM) technology revolutionised the way corporations and translators handled specialised text. Last year, 2004, the TM industry leader and de facto standard Trados turned 20. This article examines Trados’ contribution to the development of TM and its current hold on the translation and globalisation markets as reflected by information gathered from the websites of Trados and its major competitors, plus expert opinion from professional publications and practitioner views from discussion lists. It then argues that, while Trados seems to have a firm grip on the lead, the push for Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) and new approaches for the reuse of text at the phrase level may tilt the balance. Finally, it ponders the capacity of freelance translators – the mainstay of the industry – to keep pace with the evolution of the new translation paradigm.