TransTool: An Indonesian-made software solution for translation

TransTool: An Indonesian-made software solution for translation

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta

Translating documents into a foreign language can be a daunting
and lengthy undertaking. You must not only be fluent in your own
dialect but also that of a foreign tongue, in order for your
converted manuscript to make any kind of sense. Dictionaries and
thesauruses are currently the best friends for professional
translators, but surely in this computer age there is something
digital out there that can help.

Perhaps there is.

TransTool is a made-in-Indonesia software solution that can
assist and ultimately speed up any English to Indonesian (and
vice versa) translation. It claims to be able to translate multi-
page documents in seconds as well as accurately provide the
correct words, idioms and other phrases to ease the translation
process.

There are many translation software programs on the market
today. Unfortunately, like most computer software in Indonesia,
only the pirated copies are on hand. Bootleg copies can sometimes
contain viruses or bugs that can affect the overall system
performance of your PC. For English-to-Indonesian translation
programs, there are only a few dictionary-based applications that
can only convert individual words, not whole sentences.

TransTool is the brainchild of Pius MS, who got the idea after
watching his brother struggle though a translation project in
1986. He sought out to make a working computer program to help
translators nationwide finish their tasks. After initially
programming the application in COBOL (one of the oldest
programming languages around), the programming team finally
converted to the Corel Paradox database system.

The software itself comes in a CD box set, complete with
manual. After the initial installation procedure, it then
requires the user to contact the software company (via phone, e-
mail or SMS) to not only register but also to obtain an
authorizing password to activate the program.

Some people may feel uneasy about this process, since they
lose their anonymity when purchasing software. However, these are
the steps software developers are forced to take to ensure
adequate compensation for their products. Piracy not only affects
the large software companies but also the small startups that
Pius and co. is a part of.

"The fear is always there," Pius notes. "I believe that
someday someone might have succeeded in cracking the protection,
but I am happy to see that 'bajakan' (bootleg copies) of
TransTool are not sold in software shops."

Pius states that the development process is ongoing in order
to make TransTools more effective and, hopefully, give value to
the nation.

How good is it?

There are two ways in getting a result. One is by typing the
text directly into a box; another is by entering a file name (a
text file) as the input. The result is shown in the opposite box
or written to a new file.

The results are amazing. Never has this writer seen whole
sentences, paragraphs even, quickly translated and actually make
sense.

As a litmus test, I plugged in a few stanzas from Aztec
Camera's Somewhere in my heart song (a good 1980s tune). The
translated sentences give a native Indonesian speaker a better
meaning of what the singer is lamenting about.

However, before you buy multiple licenses and fire your entire
translation staff, please remember that no hardware or software
application on this planet (short of Artificial Intelligence) can
adequately compensate for a skilled translator. Many terms and
meanings within a document, especially within the legal,
technical and medical fields, can only be provided by an
experienced linguist

The manual itself states that the results may not be perfect
and should never be given to others without editing. The software
does allow users to add words into the dictionary so it continues
to learn and grow. More importantly, the amount of time saved for
professional translators is enormous as the translated results
speed up the conversion process. It can also give them a new
angle to approach a certain document.

The software retails for Rp 770,000 and is available in
various software stores in nearly all the major cities in
Indonesia, from Padang to Jayapura. Most of the stores already
have the TransTool poster. This software is proof that the skill
sets required to create software exist in Indonesia and should be
allowed to grow.

It is vitally important for those who wish to use the software
program to buy the original program and not a pirated copy. By
purchasing authentic software, users will be able to help
software developers continue their business and provide value to
the local community. Buying a bootleg copy only gives money to
the software pirates.

Pius has some advice to other Indonesian software programmers:
"Make the software known to public (advertise, assign marketing
agents, etc), listen to suggestions, and support them patiently."
Hopefully, there will be others who will have the opportunity to
take this advice in Indonesia's corrupted software economy.