Computer-Aided Translation TechnologyAbstract: This article begins with a brief analysis of the significance of translation technology in modern life, followed by a distinction between machine translation(MT) and computer-aided translation(CAT). It then describes some positive aspects of computer-aided translations for students, finally it comes to a conclusion that it would be greatly efficient and productive for the translators to acquire the new skills in the translation workplace. Keyword: machine translation; computer-aided translation; application I IntroductionWhy should we be interested in using computers for translation at all? The first and probably most important reason is that there is just too much that needs to be translated, and human translator cannot cope. The long-awaited global market is fast becoming a reality, an international market may be emerging or still growing, and sales abroad can help to finance the next generation of products. Furthermore, most product can be more profitable overseas because these markets often support higher prices. Therefore, in order to stay competitive and increase profits, companies in a variety of field are localizing their products and websites. This has resulted in an increase in the volume of translation, particularly technical translation. Meanwhile, the nature and function of translation is inevitably affected by these changes with increasingly international exchange of products and services. Lastly, companies want to reduce translation costs, they are looking for translators who can work cheaply and quickly, but still deliver high-quality work. Thus, computer-aided translation comes into being.2 The distinction between machine translation and computer-aided translationIt is important to make a distinction between machine translation (MT) and computer-aided translation(CAT). Computer-Aided translation is a form of language translation wherea human translator uses computer software to support and facilitate the translation process.It is sometimes called machine-assisted, or machine-aided translation and itis not to be confused with Machine Translation. These two technologies are in fact based on very different approaches. The respective results they are intended to achieve are also extremely different, since they are used in quite distinct and specific contexts. 2.1 machine technology translation(MT)Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT, is a sub-filed of computational linguistics that investigate the use of software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another. Machine translation research began in the 1950s. MT (machine translation, often called automatic translation) systems are those that use linguistic information about the languages being translated to automatically generate translations. machine translation aims at assembling all the information necessary for translation in one program so that a text can be translated without human intervention. As we know, the translation often relies on in extra linguistic message, however, the difficult in translation lies in the complexity and extensiveness of the extra linguistics message which cannot be appropriately captured in computer terminology, in other word, the correct understanding of natural language depends heavily on language intuition of human beings. 2.2 computer-aided translation(CAT)Considering the drawbacks of MT, the computer-aided translation(CAT) was born at very crucial time. It is a form of language translation in which a human translator uses computer software to support and facilitate the translation process. CAT is a complex process involving specific tools and technology adaptable to the needs of translator, who is involved in the whole process and not just in the editing stage. And CAT incorporates the manual editing stage into the software, making translation an interactive process between human and computer. The computer becomes a workstation where the translator has access to a variety of texts, tools and program. CAT is greatly beneficial to those people who are working in the translation field. With the great help of CAT, the translators are able to make their work more efficient and productive.3 the significance of computer-aided translation (CAT)Computer-Aided translation increases productivity and quality at the same time. In practice, most translators give privilege to computer-aided translation to help them deal with the piles of documents about their translation work. CAT uses a number of tools to help the translation work more accurately and quickly, the most important of which are terminology databases and translation memories. Computer-Aided (CAT) incorporates that manual editing stage into the software, making translation an interactive process between human and computer. The automatic machine translation systems available today cannotproduce high-quality translations without human aid: