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Contribution Details

Type Conference or Workshop Paper
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Published in Proceedings No
Title Making MT Commonplace in Translation Training Curricula Too Many Misconceptions, So Much Potential
Authors
  • Elia Yuste
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Event Title Proceedings of the Machine Translation Summit VII, Teaching MT Workshop
Place of Publication Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Abstract Text This paper tackles the issue of how to teach Machine Translation (MT) to future translators enrolled in a university translation-training course. Teaching MT to trainee translators usually entails two main difficulties: first, a misunderstanding of what MT is really useful for, which normally leads to the misconception that MT output’s quality always equals zero; second, a widespread fear that machines are to replace human translators, consequently leaving them out of work. In order to fight these generalised prejudices on MT among (future) translators, translation instruction should be primarily practical and realistic, as well as learner-centred. It thus ought to highlight the fact that: 1) MT systems and applications are essential components of today’s global multilingual documentation production; 2) the way in which MT is employed in large multilingual organisations and international companies opens up new work avenues for translators. This will be illustrated by two activities, one using commercial MT systems for quick translations, whose process outcome is improved through the trainees’ interaction with the system; the other focusing on MT output comprehensibility by speakers of target language only. MT is thus a mainstream component of a translation-training framework delineated in Yuste (2000) that, by placing the trainee in workplace-like situations, also echoes Kiraly (1999).
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