Free/Open-Source Software for the Translation Classroom: A Catalogue of Available Tools

AbstractResponding to the growing recognition that Information and Communication Technology is central to translator training, the pedagogical relevance of market-leading commercial proprietary tools has been increasingly explored in the scholarly and professional literature. The contribution that free/open-source programmes can make to the development of trainees’ translation skills has, however, so far received less attention. This paper explores the pedagogical advantages and drawbacks of using free/open-source software, including its social implications, and focuses on two main initiatives to raise translator trainers’ awareness of the growing importance of open-source programmes. On the one hand, the article examines the online catalogue of free/open-source tools for translators, a compilation of 160 programmes grouped under four categories: editing and publishing tools, language tools, translation tools, and management tools. On the other hand, it explores new pedagogical developments afforded by th...