| Beware
of the computer!
Computers are becoming increasingly powerful. Why not just have everything
translated by the computer? It's quicker, simpler and cheaper.
Scope for the imagination?
But whether it really saves money is another story. For example, the
Italian government was recently embarassed when the following (unedited)
machine translations became public: ·
-
About a cabinet minister: "Been born to
Lucera (Foggia) 20 October 1941. Conjugated and it has two daughters. In
1965 one has graduated in economy near the University of Mouthfuls of Milan,"
-
Another passage read: "In 1977 it has been Megaphone
of the President of the European Commission, Roy Jenkins, participating
to the jobs that have carried to the launch of European Monetary Sistema."
A professional translation (or professional editing of the machine translation
output) would have avoided much embarassment.
Use and abuse of computer translation
Computers can, in fact, be helpful in translation. They just have to
be used properly.
Machine translation:
The EU Commission, for example, uses automatic machine translation
for information purposes. The Director-General of the Translation Service,
Colette Flesch, commented: "... Innovative solutions, such as on-line machine
translation of web sites, evolve on almost a daily basis. However, the
Commission's needs are more at the high end spectrum of language services,
where only human translators can deliver the quality required." (Europe
News 1/98) These human translators generally use other computer aids.
Database systems:
There are a number of programs on the market which operate on the so-called
"translation memory" principle. Earlier translations, terminology lists
etc. are systematically scanned and automatically presented for the translator
to review when working on a new text. The translator then decides whether
the previous translation must be adapted for the present purpose. This
process helps to ensure a high level of quality and consistency in the
translation. With suitable texts it may also save time.
The leading programs of this kind are Déjà
Vu, Trados Translator's Workbench, Star
Transit, SDLX and IBM
Translation Manager.
After comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these systems, I
decided on Déjà Vu. In addition to the various database functions,
I am convinced by the flexible handling, the outstanding user support and
the ability to work with texts from a number of file formats. Besides the
standard text formats, this program is especially suitable for translating
web site files in HTML - including the typical branched file structure
with a number of sub-directories.
To handle translations with such programs, the original texts must of
course be available in electronic format. |