Hey folks,
Here's the latest FoundCAT press release, which we have just translated into English using FoundCAT (of course!). Many thanks to Lea Heuser, our Communications Manager for creating the German version. Both can be found here.
Other languages are now supported, so for example, you can translate from English into Dutch, or German into French. We are working on many more language combinations right now, so stay informed and pass on the good news that FoundCAT is up and runniing!
Regards,
Gary
FoundCAT: So much more than an intelligent translation tool
Now the cat is out of the bag: The open source software project FoundCAT is being released and can be used online by anyone. A new, free and open translation tool with added value is available to the whole world.
The name is no coincidence: CAT stands for Computer-Aided Translation, or computer-assisted translation. FoundCAT combines various translation tools such as DeepL or MyMemory, whose services can be used by learners as a basis for their own translations. With the help of CAT tools, translators can also give each other feedback. Several people can work on the same document online at the same time, thus complementing and improving their respective translations. Each text segment can be discussed on the platform and FoundCAT also has a forum. The combination of various CAT tools with the translation work of real people makes FoundCAT unique.
Anyone interested is now invited to register on the website https://bluecloud.academy/ and enter directly. Copyright-free or Creative-Commons-licensed texts can be uploaded and then translated together on the server. The involvement of an increasing number of people can lead to the creation of very good translations and those who are not yet able to achieve perfect translations will learn a lot from the suggestions of the CAT tools, or the corrections made by other translators. Currently, only the language combination German-English in both translation directions is fully supported, but all conceivable language combinations are planned.
Everything depends on the participation of as many people as possible who share their language competence. But not only the translations created in FoundCAT are open and crowd sourced. FoundCAT is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPLv3). Accordingly, anyone interested can view and collaborate on the source code. This is very important to the FoundCAT team as every person should be able to contribute his or her ideas. That way not only will the software continue to improve over time but it's also a question of freedom in the spirit of the Free Software movement. A so-called freemium model is also planned in which commercial customers can have texts translated, which are protected by copyright. By this separation between free of charge and a paid service, the project is intended to generate income in the long term and to be self-sustaining.
The project started almost a year ago at the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences. It originated as a learning tool and was funded by the Fellowships for Innovations in Digital Higher Education of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Stifterverband. Students learning a foreign language can improve their language skills through joint translation, corrections and feedback from the software. Anyone can highlight errors or points worth discussing in the translations of others and assign them to a specific error category to support the learning process.
FoundCAT is a suitable and enriching platform for both professional translators and learners. The team therefore calls on all language enthusiasts to try out the offer and actively participate.