Machine translation, translation memories and the phrasal lexicon: the localisation perspective (original) (raw)

Translation and Modern Technologies: An Appraisal of Some Machine Translation

Degel Journal of Arts and Islamic Studies, 2017

In the 21 st century and in this challenging world, Technology is not an option but a necessity. Computers are used in many aspects of modern translation particularly for technical texts. Translation technology is a new field of interdisciplinary study lying between Computer-Based Program and Translation. The task is carried out with the aid of a Computer Aided Translation (CAT) and Terminology Management Tools (TMT): document creation, terminology data based and telecommunications which involves Internet, web browser and E-mail. This paper therefore, examines a variety of Computer web-based applications and software specially designed for translation tools for translators with special reference to Trados and Systran. Special emphasis is on the importance of Modern Technology in translation using Machine Translation (MT).Thus, the article concludes that it is important in present day time to involve MT) in translation.

Professional Translators and Translation Technology

Journal of Educational and Social Research

Nowadays we are all aware of the role that technology plays in our private and professional lives, as this has been and continues to be the purpose for which it was created and continues to develop. This article begins with a short analysis of the importance of the use of translation technology in various areas of modern life, focusing on the causes that led to its birth and development. It then describes in general terms the tools offered by this technology, from the translation machine to the computer-assisted translation, explaining what is considered to be the core of CAT known as MT – memory translation. In the last part, the article discusses the pros and cons of professional translators regarding the tools offered by this technology, concluding that on the one hand translators should increasingly insist on using these tools, to be competitive in translation’s process, but on the other hand also the companies that produce these technologies should work more towards the quality...

Trends in e-tools and resources for translators and interpreters

Translation & Interpreting, 2021

Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of translation technology, which has achieved tremendous success in both academia and industry. Due to these rapid advances, it is clear that technology has already profoundly affected the way translation is produced. More recently, translation technology-ranging from translation-specific technologies such as MT to more general-purpose speech technologies and cloud computing-calls into question some of the assumptions about how, by whom, and to what level of quality translation should be done. Commercially viable translation today is almost entirely the computer-aided variety, given the ubiquitous use of computers in text production practices (O'Hagan, 2020). According to Lynne Bowker, translation technology refers to different types of technology used in human translation, machine translation, and computer-aided translation, covering the general tools used in computing, such as word processors and electronic resources, and the specific tools used in translating, such as corpusanalysis tools and terminology management systems (Bowker, 2002, pp. 5-9). A broader definition is given in A dictionary of translation technology (Chan, 2004) which describes translation technology as "a branch of translation studies that specializes in the issues and skills related to the computerization of translation" (p. 258). This means that translation technology includes both computer-aided translation and machine translation. Since machine translation serves basically as an automated aid to human translation, it is considered to be a form of computeraided translation. The book under review contains ten chapters in three sections that respectively cover Electronic Tools for Translators, CAT and CAI Tools, and Machine Translation; there is also an appendix and an index. After the editors' introduction, the remaining nine chapters offer contributions by translation studies researchers and experts in the field, with each dedicated to investigating specific problems relating to translation technology. In their short introductory chapter, editors Corpas Pastor and Duran-Muñoz explain the book's main objectives, outline, and foci "on translation technology, namely, e-tools and resources" (p. 1). They begin with a discussion of the effects of the technology on translation by recognising the literature gap in the field.

Computer-assisted translation. Its advantages and disadvantages

2016

Kyiv national university of technologies and design, Kyiv Translation has undergone several stages in its development, but currently, the preference is given to informative translation in which the features of individual author's style are not so important. The development of information technology has resulted in computer programs to facilitate translation; we should know the advantages and disadvantages of this type of translation. Translation is a complex multifaceted phenomenon, some aspects of which may be the subject of study of different sciences. In the framework of translation studies one examines psychological, literary, ethnographic and other spheres of translation practice, as well as history of translation practice in a particular country or countries. But the main topic of my paper will be computer-assisted translation or computer-aided translation. And now it is important to make a distinction between machine translation (MT) and computer-assisted translation (CAT). On a schematic level, machine translation involves the calculation speed of a computer in order to analyse the structure of each term or phrase within the text to be translated (source text). It then breaks this structure down into elements that can be easily translated, and recomposes a term of the same structure in the target language. In doing so, the method calls upon the use of highly voluminous, multilingual dictionaries plus sections of text that have already been translated [2]. Using a computer-assisted translation tool is a process which includes the use of software to aid individuals in translating. In case of time constraints, a computer-assisted translation tool can effectively reduce the translation time, enabling the translator to translate content in a timely manner [5]. The major distinction between MT and CAT lies with who is a primarily responsible for the actual task of translation. In MT, the computer translates the text, though the machine outputs may later be edited by a human translator. In CAT, translators are responsible for doing the translation, but they may make use of a variety of computerized tools to help complete this task and increase their productivity. Therefore, whereas MT systems try to replace translators, CAT tools support translators by helping them to work more efficiently [1, p. 4]. Humans and computers each have their strengths and weaknesses. The idea of CAT software is to make the most of the strengths of people and computers. Translation performed solely by computers has very poor quality. Meanwhile, no human can translate as fast as computer can. If we accept that translation demands total sensitivity to the cognitive aspects of a source text, it follows that a computer would need to understand language and assimilate facts in the way that humans do it in order to resolve textual ambiguity and create a version that paid due regard to semantic content and register. For example, an awareness of context is essential for the correct interpretation of a sentence such as visiting European dignitaries can be a nuisance. In translating this sentence, a human translator would take into account the sentences which preceded and followed, as well as the general context, the overall theme of the text and any relevant social, economic or cultural factors. However, a computers inability to acquire, comprehend and rationally apply real-world knowledge in this way does not render MT useless as a production tool. Raw MT output does not need to be perfect in order to be useful. Direct comparisons between a system's raw output and human translation are pointless; as MT is a production tool, its capacity to increase or speed up production, within acceptable cost parameters, is the only valid measure of its effectiveness. If its use can be shown to increase productivity and reduce costs, it is clearly advantageous; if it fails to de either, it is a white elephant [3, pp. 3-4]. By using a CAT tool, however, you can gain some of the speed, consistency and memory

Electronic tools for translators in the 21st century

Translation Journal, Vol 4, Issue 4, 2006

Translation software has been the subject of many authors in recent years. However, these studies lack a realistic professional approach because they are mainly focused on CAT tools, without mentioning other tools commonly used such as image editors or PDF tools. The aim of this paper is thus to overcome these shortcomings, presenting a quick overview of a wide variety of electronic tools for Windows which make the translation process easier and faster and of which translators should have a good command in order to satisfy today's market demands.

MACHINE TRANSLATION: A BRIEF HISTORY

The translation of natural languages by machine, first dreamt of in the seventeenth century, has become a reality in the late twentieth. Computer programs are producing translations -not perfect translations, for that is an ideal to which no human translator can aspire; nor translations of literary texts, for the subtleties and nuances of poetry are beyond computational analysis; but translations of technical manuals, scientific documents, commercial prospectuses, administrative memoranda, medical reports. Machine translation is not primarily an area of abstract intellectual inquiry but the application of computer and language sciences to the development of systems answering practical needs.

Translation Technologies and Corpus Studies for Translation Scholars and Practitioners - an overview

2010 There are many tools that could be addressed under the heading of translation technologies, including means to capture data in electronic form (scanners, optical character recognition programs, voice recognition programs), corpora and corpus-analysis tools (including monolingual and bilingual concordancers), terminology management systems (including databases and term extractors), and translation memory systems (which includes their integration with all the previous tools as well as machine translation systems). We will try to see to what extent some of these tools have had an incidence on the manner translation and terminology are performed (practice) and understood (theory), limiting ourselves to the most significant points. We will conclude with a closer look at the impact of corpora on both disciplines.