REVISITING MACHINE TRANSLATION TEACHING

TINVOM 2015

Zeineb Ayachi Ben Abdallah

LAYOUT• Introduction• Review of the literature What makes a bad translation Required skills• Methodology Participants Instruments• Results• Conclusion • References

INTRODUCTION 1/2 There is a great need for translation as a result of the globalisation of the economy A translation should have the same virtues as the original, and inspire the same response in its readers. o Translation : the profession of second choice

 

INTRODUCTION 2/2

Newly-graduates focus on machine translation while lacking target language linguistic and

cultural knowledge and editing skills On the other hand, clients expect quality work that meets their needs Poor quality translation leads to reputation loss and clients’ loss of faith in the profession o What requirements are necessary to meet the gap

between academic training and market needs?

REVIEW IF THE LITERATUREWHAT MAKES A BAD TRANSLATION 1/2

Machine translation (MT) might be useful to help translators find the right word; it could be used almost like a dictionary

Translation aids are merely tools. When used by unskilled or inexperienced translators MT would yield

poor results.

REVIEW IF THE LITERATUREWHAT MAKES A BAD TRANSLATION

2/2 Translation of different types of texts demands much

more than knowledge of two or more languages.

What does translation require?

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 1/7

Pre-translation skills:

Enjoyment

the ability to work in teams

Flexibility

adaptability

mind-openness

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 2/7

Awareness of learning styles

field dependent/independent, flexible/structured environment translator

discover one's own strengths,

learn to structure one's working environment so as tomaximize those strengths

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 3/7

Ethics IT literacy

Thematic knowledge

Style

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 4/7

Linguistic and cultural knowledge Now I not only admit but freely announce that in

translating from the Greek —except of course in the case of Holy Scripture, where even the syntax contains a mystery — I render, not word for word, but sense for sense. (Robinson 1997, p. 25)

صدري it is heartwarming أثلج

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 5/7

Special care in the translation of Special words: croque Monsieur: add a description (for example, ‘the cheese oozed over the salty

ham sandwich’) Swearing Slang Humor

Provide a glossary for words that do not translate.

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 6/7

Editing skills

Pre-editing

Post-editing

REVIEW IF THE LITERATURE REQUIRED SKILLS 7/7

Punctuation skills

“No, benefits will be provided anyway” versus “No benefits will be provided anyway.”

Time management

Stress management

METHODOLOGY

Participants

2 professional translators 1 client

Instrument

Interview

RESULTS 1/5 How to harness professional practice for

more effective training programs? Semantic search Creation of glossaries Study of similar texts in the same field in the target language Training in communication techniques: some

basic knowledge of the client's personality, the kind of corporate image that the client tries to give to his business.

RESULTS 2/5 What coaching needs to be given to new freelancers to help them

survive their first steps in the profession? Technical training in various fields (legal, health, business, etc.) Training in translation assistance software and in terminology software  Participate in forums on translation by helping others and sharing topics related to translation

o Internship

RESULTS 3/5 Use specialized websites for freelancers and offer your services at a lower cost in areas where you want to improve your skills. Deal with competent people; get a mentor, a coach, etc. subscribe to newsletters and Youtube that deal with your profession. Take classes online. There are many sites that can offer the lowest cost to quality training and you can follow at your

own pace.

RESULTS 4/5 What is the nature of the role that seasoned

translators and interpreters need to play in this capacity-building process, and how to go about it?

encourage future translators to: learn the job on site be curious about the area of interest and check developments on the Internet work in team

RESULTS 5/5 Use social networks like LinkedIn, Viadeo and Facebook to make yourself known, Ask your satisfied customers to leave you a positive opinion and to recommend you on these media, Create yourself a portfolio on these various social media so that people can judge your work online, Networking: participate in activities in your area, your business environment, get involved in your

Chamber of Commerce and other business associations

CONCLUSION 1/2

It is easier to learn translation by doing it in the real world for money than it is in artificial classroom environments

Good translators are lifelong learners

The process of translation can be a lonely and often frustrating job, and even the best translators can struggle to find exactly the right words, or to get across an idea or a theme

CONCLUSION 2/2

Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly helps Translation: linguistic and cultural skills, dealing with clients, employers, networking, research, use of technology, the motivation to be a lifelong learner, an awareness of the role translation plays in society and society plays in translation

REFERENCES 1/4

Bennett, K. (2004). What has translation theory got to learn from contemporary practice? Published in the Proceedings of the 7th Seminar on Scientific and Technical Translation in Portuguese “Translation and Interculturalism’, União Latina, Lisbon. Retrieved from http://repositorio.ul.pt/bitstream/10451/5851/1/What%20has%20translation%20theory%20got%20to%20learn.pdf on March 18th, 2015.

o Brussels (2009). Conclusions: Translator profile, what skills for a changing market? Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/languageindustry/platform/documents/translator_profile_conclusions_en.pdf on March 1st, 2015.

REFERENCES 2/4

Center for Health Literacy (2010). Translation: A Must-Have Guide. Maximus. Retrieved from http://www.maximus.com/sites/default/files/Translation%20A%20Must-Have%20Guide.pdf on March 19th, 2015

European Commission (2012). Quality Efforts and the Consequences of Poor Quality in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation .Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from http://www.fit-ift.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/quality_cost_en.pdf on March 17th, 2015

REFERENCES 3/4

o Paul, G. (2009). Translation in Practice: a symposium. 1st edition. British Centre for Literary Translation, Arts Council England,

The Society of Authors, British Council, and Dalkey Archive Press

o Pereira, A. (2013). Machine translation. Languages and translation. N° 6 February, 2013. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/publications/magazines/languagestranslation/documents/issue_06_en.pdf on March 18th, 2015.

REFERENCES 4/4

o Robinson, D. (1997). Becoming a translator: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Translation. Second edition. Routledge