One of the pieces of software I find most useful when I translate is Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I’ve been using it for years since version 9 or 10. It allows me to dictate with a high accuracy and flexibility, avoiding potential typos and misspellings. It also helps me proofread long texts without having to print out hundreds of pages. The text-to-speech feature dictates everything which I can just check against the translation on the computer (or a Kindle, if you have one). Overall, Dragon allows me to translate and proofread between 20% and 40% faster, in my opinion, more accurately.
Now Newegg is having a sale on the Home and Premium versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 (English). I assume it’s because Dragon 12 has just been released. As far as I know, this offer is available only in the US using rebates. I recommend you get the Premium version so you can use extra features like:
- Import and export of custom word lists (if you’re working with a particular terminology or glossary, you can just import it)
- Text-to-speech recognition (so you can use it to proofread documents)
- User profiles (so you can import and backup your settings)
- Support for Bluetooth devices
The Premium version has more features but these are the ones that I consider the most helpful when I translate. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you need a quality microphone to get good results, a $20 mic or the included one is not going to do it–it’ll work but you will spend more time correcting than translating.
