Translation and editing tools I can’t live without: #1 Antidote
If you’re looking for one of the best grammar checkers around, I’d recommend taking Antidote for a spin. I use it like a little office assistant to catch errors my eyes may have read over after I’ve already proofread a document multiple times. It ranks among my most frequently used tools, alongside Outlook, Firefox, and my accounting software. I’ve pinned it to my computer’s task bar, so it’s always within reach, whatever I’m working on.
Antidote's logo
A fellow translator once recommended Antidote to me – it has been around for a long time, but in my experience few other translators or writers/editors have heard of it. I have no link whatsoever (financial or otherwise) with Antidote, but I’m keen to tell you about it because I find it so useful.
I should say upfront that I prefer to stay in the linguistic driving seat in my work, so please remember that tools like this are the buttons on the dashboard getting me to the right destination, which means helping me deliver the best possible work for my clients.
Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at how I use this software to help me to reach the holy grail of clear, consistent, correct and complete English translations and edits.
What is Antidote and how much does it cost?
Antidote is writing assistance software and it’s published by Quebec-based Druide.
It’s a grammar and style corrector, a bit like Grammarly or ProWriting Aid.
It integrates with Windows applications and with CAT tools (useful for translators).
The latest version is 12.
Antidote is compatible with Mac or PC and has a mobile version.
You can use it for English or French (or both).
It costs €59.00 per year (billed annually) and you can add the second language for around €30.
I think there’s a limited free option. Or you can try it free for 30 days.
The details: what does Antidote+ include?
To write this blog post, I had to devote a little time to going deeper under the hood of Antidote’s features, and I came across some other neat little perks I wasn’t already familiar with. The counting and billing feature (more on that later) is one example, but I found that my subscription includes Antidote Mobile. I didn’t even have that app installed on my phone, thinking I would never need it. Thinking about it, it could offer a useful bilingual dictionary when travelling in France or when a work-related idea pops into my head when I’m away from my desk. Plus I didn’t know it offered interactive maps and satellite photos of cities and countries around the world. How cool!
I don’t use Antidote Web either; I use the downloadable version of the software that requires no internet access. That means this post will only cover the features of the downloadable version, because I’m not as familiar with the web version. One of the reasons why I have opted for that version is because I wanted peace of mind that my work will stay only on my local computer and isn’t being used to train AI hosted on random servers.
Dictionaries and reference material
Antidote includes pretty comprehensive dictionaries that are frequently updated with new words, just like my other online dictionary subscriptions. It does not replace my online Oxford Premium dictionaries account, my paper New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, or any of my style guides or spelling dictionaries, which I regard as the ultimate authorities. But it does offer me a dictionary at a click, perfect for early queries while working on a first draft of a translation or a first pass of a copy-edit, before I do further research. The information it gives me includes etymologies, synonyms, hyponyms and antonyms, phonetic transcriptions and audio pronunciation.
Seriously simple
As you can see from the screenshot, the dictionary options are neatly displayed in a left-hand column, with the main information in the middle screen, and further details on the right. This includes further sources of information about the word in context and its origins, plus word frequency – this latter bit of information isn’t something typically found in other dictionaries I use.
A playground for language lovers
If you spend a bit of time exploring the software, you’ll discover language guides, including one on the basics of business writing. How about rhymes for your word query, or even quotations? Tick. And buckle up, because you’ll even find an extensive guide to punctuation and grammar, if that’s your thing (guilty as charged).
A pocket-sized grammar guide
Collocations
One of my favourite and most-used features in Antidote is the collocations dictionary (they call it Combinations). Honestly, if you’re a translator, editor or writer, several times a day you’ll be asking yourself, ‘but do we actually say it like this?’, or ‘that doesn’t sound quite right, can I check somewhere?’. Antidote’s got your back. There are collocations dictionaries online, but I find that this one saves me time.
Can I get a side of verb modifier with that adverb?
Spelling treasure trove
Spelling variants are another super useful detail, as seen in the right-hand column in the screenshot below. Sure, other dictionaries can tell me whether a word like ‘program’ is US or UK spelling. But other Englishes exist, too! Multilingual authors writing in English, but for whom English is not their first language, may find they’re not confident about which variant uses which spelling. And remember: Canadian or Australian English may use a spelling variant you might not expect.
Did you know ‘downwards’ (with an ‘s’) is the UK spelling?
Finally, Antidote’s dictionaries offer a few customisation options, so you can also add your words to your custom dictionary (stored locally).
Counting words or characters. And billing, too!
One brilliant feature that I’ve only just discovered, even after using the software for a few years, is the ‘statistics’ tab. This will count a text you’ve written by words, characters or sentences, and even tell you the total reading time. You can get some of this in Word, of course, but you may also want access to these stats when working in a different tool with the Antidote plugin. One example from my own work would be MemoQ – I can use the Antidote plugin to check the word count and other stats without having to first export the file back to its native format. Actually, this would also be a great workaround when working in text within Excel, which does not offer word or character-based statistics.
Stats FTW!
Below the count stats, there’s also a nifty little billing tool that lets you price a piece of work by the word or by characters (with or without spaces), all within the same window. This is a neat timesaver that Antidote doesn’t really shout about. It can also produce a little report for you, if you or your clients like stats!
Writing tools
It depends on the context: checking grammar and sentence structure
Antidote comes with an advanced grammar checker and context-aware corrections. When I’m working, I normally access this feature of Antidote using the Word (or MemoQ) integration.
Here’s two screenshots of how Antidote shows up in my Word ribbon:
Antidote in Word
Clicking on Antidote in the ribbon, then on ‘Corrector’ with the big green tick, will open up the grammar and typography-checking part of the software. Then, in the right-hand toolbar, you can easily select from a menu of ‘errors’ it has caught – and grouped into categories – and click on them to modify them in the text. You’ll see the changes made to the updated text once you close Antidote.
I don’t tend to use suggestions like style improvements because I usually find they flag false errors. Besides, a human brain is better at sensing which words are most appropriate for the text and audience. However, I do use the corrector to detect things like overused or repeated words, filler words, or words that don’t seem to fit.
This part of Antidote is similar to features you see in alternative apps like Grammarly and ProWritingAid, but I find they are deployed less intrusively in Antidote. The main benefit is that I can choose whether or not to look at these suggestions – it doesn’t just underline everything in a sea of colours that take ages to wade through. It sort of defeats the point of using grammar checking software as a time-saver, if you have to spend ages accepting or rejecting false flags. In Antidote, you can also just hover your mouse over a highlighted word to display a tooltip that suggests a correction along with a detailed explanation.
Antidote as an alternative to Word’s built-in checker
So why are the spelling and grammar checking features of Antidote better than what you already have in Word? Antidote’s spelling corrections are more contextual – this goes further than Word’s built-in spellchecker. Meanwhile, the typography and punctuation verification is one of my most used features. I use this to check for non-breaking spaces, date and time formats, and annoying punctuation slips that may have slipped through.
Maybe because it’s made in Canada, it can also support regional language variation, and even spelling preferences within those. I sometimes work on materials written in Canada, and I can tell you it’s not a case of simply assuming they use English in exactly the same way as American English. In projects that are written (or translated into) US or Canadian English, this feature helps ensure I’m using the right spelling variations. It is also useful for style preferences within UK English. For example, when you’re doing a final spell check, make sure you’ve selected UK English with either ‘-ise’ or ‘-ize’ in the settings and do a consistency check.
Six months ago, Antidote introduced sentence reformulation using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), a new feature for subscribers to Antidote+. Druide’s own large language model (LLM) trains the AI, which Druide hosts on its servers. Reformulation mode suggests alternative rephrasing, often with impressive (but also often silly) results. It provides suggestions for shortening or softening your writing at individual word or sentence level, for example. I haven’t really used this new feature yet, but if you want a quick chuckle, try writing something less than polite and watch it reformulate your ‘abrasive’ tone.
But what if you meant to be abrasive?
Either way, you remain in control of the decision-making; it simply offers you ideas that you can accept or reject, or even refine...or use for your entertainment.
Integrations
As I’ve mentioned, Antidote integrates with Microsoft applications and with LibreOffice, as well as InDesign and most web browsers. I started using a new notes tool recently and was delighted to find it even integrates with that. It’s also compatible with email clients and, importantly, with CAT tools like MemoQ and SDL Trados Studio.
Even without integration, the Antidote Toolbar lets you access all its resources from a floating toolbar, if you click on the flask icon in the system tray next to the clock (on Windows computers).
Right-click on the flask for a swig of grammar checking
There are also keyboard shortcuts for correcting copied text, which you can then paste back into the tool you were originally working in.
The verdict: is Antidote worth it?
As with everything, it depends on what you want it for. If you’re someone who works with words every single day, then I would heartily recommend Antidote for giving your work a little glow-up. Or even if you’re someone who just needs a reliable grammar checker for writing business reports and emails, I’d still recommend it over other alternatives I’ve tried.
Pros:
You can easily learn how to use Antidote without yawning through hours of videos or user manuals.
I like that it’s not another monthly subscription; it’s a smart alternative if you prefer to buy software as a one-time purchase. Being able to use the software offline is a HUGE benefit when so many other tools depend 100% on an internet connection.
There are also very few French grammar checkers on the market, so it’s a good option if you write or translate mainly in French.
These days there are few professionals in any field still trying to work with paper dictionaries alone. This software makes me more efficient, thanks to its ability to group categories of errors together so that I can review them in one go instead of constantly switching between errors.
Cons:
Druide released an update recently, and it’s now faster, but Antidote can still be a little slow to check longer or more image-heavy documents.
I’d love to see a few extra features in Antidote, such as a plagiarism checker and a citation manager. It would also make sense for it to offer integration with major style guides.
Let me know if you decide to give Antidote a try, and how you get on. We could create our own little fan club. 🤩
My key takeaways from the 2024 CIEP Conference: Part 2
Read on for my thoughts on some of the (online) sessions at the 2024 CIEP Conference, part two! If you’re looking for the other sessions covered in part one, you need to click here.
Oh, and because I’m a non-fiction editor, my focus was on sessions relevant to my non-fiction editing work
The Impact of AI on writing and publishing
Dr Imke van Heerden from Kings College London presented this session from more of an academic perspective, but it was interesting for editors and writers at the coalface to see where discussions around large language models (LLMs) are going.
Imke referenced Responsible AI UK (RAi UK), which holds creative roundtables to discuss AI’s impact on the creative sector, including writing and publishing.
Imke gave examples of artwork and literature created by AI, and shared quotes from others referring to AI as a ‘wild horse’ that was generating ‘so much alarm, that it’s hard to hear the conversation’. Many writers have said they believe they would see a drop in income because of AI.
The not-so-new normal?
While acknowledging that LLMs rely on pattern recognition (rather than wit, candour or intent), and that they also present major ethical challenges such as bias, disinformation, impersonation and copyright infringements, Imke also gave examples of positive precedents. She emphasised that AI actually has a ‘pre-history’ dating back to 1952.
There was also discussion around three possible future scenarios for creativity + AI: two out of the three of these had a more positive vision. I was especially interested in the third scenario, where ‘human-made’ creativity commands a premium.
Co-creativity
Something that caught my attention was the use of the phrase ‘machine in the loop’, because of its inversion of the other, widely used, phrase ‘human in the loop’ when talking about machine learning. This version positions AI as being one of many tools developed to support human creativity.
An aside: One candid comment from a speaker at the recent FPP Awayday went something like ‘if you believe you’ll be replaced by AI, you will be replaced by AI’. This stuck in my memory because it reminds us that it is our mindsets around AI, and its impacts or threats, that will affect how we respond to it.
Imke’s main message was that technology can be used to expand, not just to copy and replicate.
Your editor website is not IKEA: How to attract, retain and convert visitors
This was a more business-focused session (I find these especially great when you’re attending online!) presented by Debbie Emmitt, who is an editor and proofreader, as well as a mentor for website owners. Debbie has a background in web content herself, and is the author of Improve your Editor Website and Improve Your Author Website. She knows what she’s talking about!
The IKEA comparison was an important baseline: as small business owners, we don’t have that massive brand identity behind us so our website strategy needs to be different.
Attract -> Retain -> Convert
You can attract visitors with engaging content by writing about topics not covered in other online spaces. Ideally, this is content that is useful for your customers, for example ‘how to…’, demonstrating our knowledge and expertise.
Next, make it easy for people to find your site – don’t be afraid to share it in other online spaces where you have a profile! It’s an absolute must to include it in your CIEP directory profile and your LinkedIn profile.
SEO plays a big part, of course. Don’t forget about key phrases and always make your site accessible for anyone using a screen reader by using informative alt text, and avoid walls of text.
Retain visitors by keeping your website design simple but attractive. One piece of advice I hadn’t considered before was to use surveys, quizzes and polls within your content. I loved this idea – everyone loves to click!
Convert visitors by using Calls To Action (CTAs) that are meaningful and intriguing. Debbie mentioned that CTAs in the first person had been found to be 90% more effective, so that might be worth trying.
I took loads of notes in this session, including a note to contact Debbie for help in the near future!
Freelancing outside the box
In this session Joanie Eppinga sought to debunk so-called ‘must-dos’ around building a successful editorial career. She believed we should openly discuss and recognise that there are many routes to becoming an editor, many of which are non-traditional. Sometimes new editors are intimidated by all the things they need to do before getting started. So true!
Editors’ signature strengths
World-class editor Benjamin Dreyer noted in his bestseller, Dreyer’s English, that although formal training can be helpful, a certain sensitivity to language is the underlying necessity for an editor. Our sensitivity to language stands us out.
One particular quote that hit home for me was that, as language professionals, we also need to be sensitive to an author’s feelings – including any insecurities. For example, they may have come to us because they lack confidence about their writing, perhaps they feel they are not a ‘good speller’ and feel shame around that. We are there to offer a solution.
Harnessing Technology for Superior Editing
This was a session by a representative from ProWritingAid software, presented by Hayley Milliman, their content lead but also an author and editor herself.
It was useful for writers and authors in different ways. I was wary that it may be too focused on selling the software (even though I was curious about it, having tried it a few times). But there was a lot of discussion around how we humans can use the tool to elevate our work, rather than as a tool to replace human editors.
An editor’s back office?
Hayley accepted that all software has its inherent limitations. But there are also things it is good at. For example, it satisfies our human craving for statistics to measure everything. The buzz of instant feedback for the win! It reassures us when it can quantify repeated words, give percentages for grammar and spelling errors, etc. It can also be used by writers to help them build their confidence if they are nervous about spelling, grammar and punctuation.
It can find patterns within writing, as long as they are numerically quantifiable. But once you move beyond the more basic spelling and grammar mistakes, the ‘errors’ it finds are not always genuine red flags – many of them are not actually wrong, it’s just that the software can’t discern context or voice. Plus it cannot check consistency at informational level – only human editors can check if a fact is actually true and properly cited.
Or tools in the word cleaning cupboard?
An attendee pointed out that the statistics and reports the tool produces might be used against human editors – with clients quoting the stats and asking for each problem on the list to be ‘fixed’ in a sort of ‘computer says no’ scenario, with no room for nuance. There’s also the concern that more inexperienced editors might take the tech’s suggestions at face value.
Hayley acknowledged that could become an issue but said that the idea was for the software to tidy up writing before an editor steps in to work more intensively on higher-level changes. For example, software cannot identify whether a text will create an emotional connection with readers. She said she does not think these tools will replace humans. She made the joke that, if they do, hopefully they can do her washing-up for her too. 100%.
Thorns on the rose: Tricky editing issues
Laura Poole talked about the fact that, no matter how much we train and build up experience, we are often still flummoxed by tricky text problems that the style guides don’t cover. These can include product names and trade names, song lyrics, biased language and plagiarism.
How editors support authors with biased language
Most of the time, authors will not realise they have used biased language. Our job as editors is to make the author look good, so we want to alert them to this unintentional and unknowing use of bias. Once again, this means being sensitive to and questioning of language use. The three key pillars of this are checking that the language is inclusive, respectful, and welcoming to all. The Conscious Style Guide was recommended as an additional resource.
I recently read a book (in translation) where the use of language was deliberately misogynistic, in order to create an atmosphere of toxic masculinity. This was important for the book’s character building, but I found the language extremely uncomfortable to read and I would question whether the translation had strayed a little too far in how it portrayed cultural nuances. As an editor, I would have alerted the author and we could at least have had a conversation with the publisher about the palatability of this language for readers. A friend in my book club said she found she did not enjoy the book because of this language. This is surely counterproductive, from the author’s point of view.
One thing I loved about Laura’s talk was that it was full of quotes that neatly captured why editing is so important:
Editors must be creative problem solvers every day.
‘You write, I’ll clean it up’.
Taking something good and making it great.
The closing plenary
This year’s closing plenary was by CIEP Conference veteran Lynne Murphy, linguistics professor at Sussex University. I’m always excited to hear Lynne speak, and as always she got us thinking.
The title of her talk was (provocatively, for a room full of word people!), ‘No such thing as a word’. She explored the questions, ‘What is a language?’, ‘What is an error?’. As someone who studied linguistics as part of my MA, these are questions that speak to me. Loudly.
Words don’t just mean one thing: we cope with the world by making categories for things, then conceptualise these categories. And some things seem more ‘wordable’ than others.
But there is also a feedback loop: if we introduce a new word, can we change the concept? Disagreement is when our categories clash. Think Jaffa Cakes. I hadn’t heard about ‘category fights’ before, but look them up online for a bit of fun reading.
I felt that the attendees in the room particularly loved the closing phrase (on a mug) used by Lynne in her presentation: Don’t be a pedant, be an expert. That’s exactly who we want to be as editors. I might just put that on a mug myself!
Were you at this year’s CIEP Conference?
Let me know your highlights in the comments.
Autobesity: a neat new term for cumbersome cars
Have you heard of the term ‘autobesity’ before? I came across it a while ago and instantly adopted it into my lexicon. It’s one of those perfect neologisms that captures a concept so succinctly.
Neat neologisms
But what’s a neologism? The term itself is one of my favourite words because of the way I have to curl my tongue and shape my mouth into an ‘o’ shape to pronounce it.
Oxford Dictionaries defines a neologism as a ‘newly coined word or expression’ and combines the affix of Greek origin neo-, ‘new’, and the Ancient Greek logos, ‘word’.
It’s also one of those words that looks and sounds almost identical in other languages. In Spanish, they call it neologismo, in French néologisme, and in Portuguese it’s neologismo.
I love how creative and incisive neologisms are – how they respond to cultural change and the gap in the dictionary where a concept should be, often before that concept even enters our lexicon. They neatly blend words to make new ones, reminding us of how innovative language can be.
Automotive weight gain
Every so often, a neologism comes along that offers a brilliantly novel expression for a modern concept: autobesity.
Have you ever struggled to open your car door because of the immense size of the car parked next to you?
Have you ever needed to swerve your car slightly into a hedge to avoid the truck-sized SUV coming towards you on the other side?
If you have, then you’ve probably experienced autobesity. I know I have, and I’m delighted there’s a word out there that expresses the congestion caused by cars’ expanding waistbands.
This neologism is so new that it’s not even in the Oxford English Dictionary…yet. But it featured in Cambridge Dictionary’s About Word’s blog in August 2023.
Collins Dictionary has a submission for this word, but it hasn’t yet been accepted as a new dictionary entry. It defines it as ‘the phenomenon of cars getting bigger and heavier year by year’.
Etmyology
What are the origins of this word? When searching online, I actually found more more search results for this term in French (autobésité) than for ‘autobesity’ in English.
Could it be a cross-cultural new word borrowed from the French?
In French, the term already has its own Wikipedia entry and a lot of the articles in English referring to the term are about the fact the city of Paris has introduced charges for larger cars, as a major cause of air pollution and road damage. One article even asks if cars are the new tobacco.
Autobesity in the press
A Guardian article reports that councillors in Paris called SUVs ‘dangerous’ and ‘cumbersome’, after the number of these ‘fatter’ vehicles increased by 60% in four years. And Forbes reported in January 2024 on ‘car bloat’, with cars having widened by two centimetres per year. This article says, ‘roads in most British cities are becoming more and more choked as wider motor cars struggle to squeeze past each other’. How true that is.
This is such a neat and fitting word that I believe it’s a definite contender for a dictionary entry.