Translators on translation memories : a blessing or a curse? (original) (raw)
Related papers
Translation-Memory (TM) Research: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?
HermesJournal of Language and …, 2010
It is no exaggeration to say that the advent of translation-memory (TM) systems in the translation profession has led to drastic changes in translators' processes and workfl ow, and yet, though many professional translators nowadays depend on some form of TM system, this has not been the object of much research. Our paper attempts to fi nd out what we know about the nature, applications and infl uences of TM technology, including translators' interaction with TMs, and also how we know it. An essential part of the analysis is based on a selection of empirical TM studies, which we assume to be representative of the research fi eld as a whole. Our analysis suggests that, while considerable knowledge is available about the technical side of TMs, more research is needed to understand how translators interact with TM technology and how TMs infl uence translators' cognitive translation processes.
This thesis investigates whether and how translation metadata affect translator performance in a workflow that combines suggestions from translation memories and machine translation. The study is based on a translation process experiment with 10 professional translators working from English into Spanish in a workplace setting. The keystroke logging tools Inputlog and MTeval allowed for the collection of data on translation times and typing effort. BB FlashBack was used for screen and face recording. A Tobii eye tracker was used to identify how the translators shifted their attention between different parts of the screen. The final translations were assessed for quality by two professional reviewers using an error-score system. Finally, interviews were used for eliciting opinions from participants about certain aspects of their performance. The quantitative data were analysed with mixed-effects linear(ised) regression models. The results show that translation metadata affect translation time and typing effort, and that the effects vary according to the type of translation suggestion (exact matches, fuzzy matches, machine translation). As a complementary finding, the current study identified no significant correlation between the translators’ performances while typing and their performances while translating. The qualitative data obtained from the interviews show a mismatch between the translators’ perceived performance and their measured performance. They tended to prefer an environment with translation suggestions and metadata, even when this environment did not correspond with better performance. The translators mentioned metadata as a helpful feature in the translation tool, among other reasons because metadata help them adapt their translation strategies more easily according to the suggestion type. Task familiarity was also identified as an important factor affecting translators’ perceptions. The results obtained in this study suggest the need to advance research on how translators interact with translation tools, with a view to increase not only productivity but also job satisfaction. This thesis is expected to have also contributed to the field in terms of the methodology of workplace studies, by presenting some challenges and solutions. An important lesson is the need to find an optimal balance between ecological validity and data validity when conducting translation experiments in realistic scenarios.
Beyond Translation Memory: Computers and the Professional Translator
Translation has historically been performed by bilinguals equipped with specialised topic knowledge. In the mid 20 th century, textual theory and discourse analysis saw emphasis on a top-down, whole-text approach that paved the way for modern professional translators as linguistic transfer experts. This professionalisation was further driven by the digital revolution in the 90s which caused a huge increase in translation demand, and the creation of purpose-designed translation tools-principally translation memory (TM). However, the same technological processes that briefly empowered the professional translator also signalled a return to a bottom-up approach by concentrating on the segment. Twenty years on, translation tools and workflows continue to narrow this focus, even tending towards simple post-editing of machine translated output. As a result, topic-proficient bilinguals are again entering mainstream translation tasks via simplified translation management processes and crowdsourcing approaches. This article explores these recent trends and predicts that, over the next decade, professional translators will find it increasingly difficult to survive as linguistic transfer experts alone.
2018
The leading edge of technological development which translators up to now have only dreamed of is perhaps the shift to Translation Memories (TMs). Since they came onto the market in the 1990s, TMs have gained importance in translation training for enhancing speed, productivity and quality. The translator’s demanding job goes far beyond mere knowledge of two languages and cultures to ineluctable knowledge of technological skills. The present article shows that introducing TMs to translator training has indeed given the translation profession a new lease on life. The article is based on hands-on experience from the MA Translation and Interpreting programme at Al-Quds University in which a one-off translation technology (TT) course is offered as part of the requirements for a master’s degree in Translation and Interpreting. The article reveals that although translation students stand in awe of TMs, they are faced with the multifarious intricacies of TMs, mainly because (1) they are unp...
The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research, 2013
During the last decade, research has shown that translation memory systems (TMs) have indeed changed the way translators work and interact with their texts. However, very few studies on TMs have been conducted in the workplace itself. This article presents an overview of an ethnographic study conducted in three different translation firms and services in Canada. Comprised mostly of interviews with translators and shadowing sessions of translators at work, at their workstations, the study focuses on the perceptions of the translator in an increasingly technologized working environment. The analysis pays particular attention to the advantages and disadvantages of TMs, from a translator's perspective, and to the changes in corporate and administrative practices that have followed TM implantation, with ensuing consequences on the translator's professional satisfaction and status.
Translators and TM: An investigation of translators' perceptions of translation memory adoption
There has been little research on the role of translation memory (TM) in practitioners' working practices, apart from reviews and a survey into ownership and rates issues. The present study provides a comprehensive snapshot of the perceptions of UK-based professional translators with regard to TM as a tool in their working environment. Moore and Benbasat's instrument for measuring perceptions with regard to the adoption of an information technology innovation was adapted and used to investigate three hypotheses: that translators who are relatively new to the translation industry have a more positive general perception of TM than experienced translators; that translators who use TM have a more positive general perception of it than translators who do not; and, finally, that translators' perception of the value of TM is not linked with their perceived IT proficiency. The study found that younger translators took a positive general view of TM irrespective of actual use, in particular attributing esteem to more experienced translators using (or perceived to be using) TM. Non-users at all experience levels, however, had a negative general view of TM irrespective of actual use. Both findings point to the significance of adequate knowledge in adoption decisions. Perceived IT proficiency, finally, was found to play a key role in translators' perceptions of the benefits of TM. These findings are discussed in the light of recent trends in the translation industry, including Continuing Professional Development, quality assurance and regulation.
Human-machine Interaction in …, 2011
The use of Translation-Memory (TM) technology and other translation software is bound to influence translators' cognitive processes. Unfortunately we still lack empirically founded knowledge of this. Our paper therefore presents and discusses the theoretical background, setup and preliminary findings of a small-scale pilot study of student-translators' retrospective comments in an online questionnaire survey regarding what they had experienced during an introductory hands-on course in TM-assisted translation. We also discuss some basic concepts and methods within translation process research, and apply a simplified model of the translation process that comprises three main phases taken from a general writing model: planning, drafting and postdrafting. As far as our student-translators are concerned, TM technology seems to affect processes in all of these phases.