The Positive Impact of Technology in Translation
The Positive Impact of Technology in Translation
The Positive Impact of Technology in Translation
A. Introduction
Over the years, translation has gone under continuous evolution and has seen significant
changes brought about by the advent of new technologies. Centuries ago the only companions of
a translator were ink, quill pens and paper. Since early writing was also considered an art,
calligraphy was paid much attention to, which eventually would lead to a long time to draft one
or two pages. Even though later the invention of the pencil eased some of the pains by allowing
the text to be more easily erased and overwritten, it was not until the development of the
typewriter that a tool caused such great impact.
Although computers became common in the late 1970s, in Albania they became popular
after the 1990s, and nowadays they have become an indispensable part of everyone’s work,
including here translators. However, computers themselves have evolved immensely and have
consequently brought innovation to the translation process by introducing new electronic tools
and software which on the one hand facilitate the translation process, and on the other hand are
seen as an enemy to what the professional translation process involves.
The latest technology has taken computers to such a level that many people have started
guessing whether human work will soon be replaced by computers. The fact is that nowadays we
are living a life which is not conceived anymore without the presence of technology, since it has
become present in every aspect of our lives to that extent that some people consider it as an
invasion, while others make the best of it.
Since technology is now an undeniable part of our lives and work, it is of great
importance to highlight the positive aspects and impact of technology in translation and find a
way how translators can best use it in reaching to the final product of their work. Technology can
be seen positively through considering some of the technological tools which are becoming
widely used not only by translators in their daily work but also from all the people worldwide
who need to transfer words, phrases or sentences from one language into another for their own
specific purposes.
B. Content
C. Machine translation
D. Useful software
However, one must not forget that, if the professional-quality voice-recognition software
is available in your target language the dictated translations are still drafts that require revision
and editing and high-output dictation only works in fields and language pairs you know
exceedingly well.
a) OCR .
Usually, the OCR program will allow the user to review the operation by identifying a
few potentially incorrect words transposed to the text document and comparing them to the
corresponding part of the image file. OCR software also usually contains a built-in dictionary in
order to validate the program choices. Whenever the scanning of the image file results in an
unknown word, the user is prompted to validate the choice, as there could have been an error
Needless to say, this software provides a great help for translators who have to deal with
translation of different images incorporated into the text. It is worth noting that until a few years
ago, these images have been carried into the target language without providing any translation
for them, which consequently causes a lack of understanding for the reader.
b) Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft which was first released on
October 25, 1983 and it has been obviously developed with time. Needles to say it has made
translators’ lives much easier and they do not have to go to any lengths to find useful software to
make their work more effective. Microsoft Word for Windows is arguably the most widely used
word processor, and this is partly due to the fact that it is very intuitive and easy to use – you just
launch it and start typing. However, Word is a very powerful application with countless features
that most users never take advantage of. One of them is the so-called AutoCorrect, by means of
which typing frequently repeated terms may be prevented.
Another element worth mentioning is the Word's glossary function. Whenever the
software finds a word that is not in its glossary, which is a possible typo, it underlines the word
in red, and the user, by right-clicking on the word, opens a context menu with similar words, one
of which might be the actual word he wanted to use. This is specifically useful when the
translator is unsure of the spelling of a given word but does not want to lose time by looking up a
dictionary.
Until not very long ago, searching for information on the Internet always gave you a
feeling that you might have been missing some information published elsewhere. Now this has
all changed with the development of the so-called search engines where you can actually search
inside virtually any web site. It is as if you could assemble all your old books and instantly find
out how many times a given term was used, in which books, in which pages, and in which
context – that is, next to what other terms and sentences (O’Hagan, 2013). Google is currently
the most popular search engine, where all you need to do is type the word or phrase of what you
are looking for and thousands of pages will appear on the screen in a few seconds. These search
engines are even improving the ability of ranking websites according to relevance. Google, for
instance, has been developed to take specific patterns and information into account to present the
most relevant information at the top of your query results.
Obviously translators have realised the potential benefits of such search engines. The
Internet is not just a tool by which dictionaries and glossaries may be searched for specific
entries to be translated or explained; translators can enter any term and find out how it is actually
used in the language. The translator may be reluctant between two different choices about which
specific word or phrase is most commonly used. For instance, the verbs ‘do’ and ‘make’ in
Albanian mean the same ‘bëj’ but in English they form different collocations. This will lead an
Albanian speaker to be unusure about whether it is more common to say "do a mistake" or "make
a mistake." A simple query on Google gives the hint: "make a mistake" results in 253 million
web pages; "do a mistake", in turn, results in fewer web pages, mainly opposed to ‘make a
mistake’.
The fact that there are web pages containing uncommon phrases in English shows how
unreliable the Internet may be as a source of knowledge. Fortunately, Google tends to present
reliable websites at the top. Nevertheless, a translator should not entirely trust a machine.
Checking the websites listed in search results is essential to verify the adequacy of the
information. Search engines prove no exception to the rule that every source of information
should be looked upon with caution. However, when correctly used, they are arguably today's
translator's best friend.
a) Bringing translators closer through Internet
Technology advances, most notably the Internet, have not only helped translators do their
job faster and more consistently; they have actually brought together translators who live very far
away from each other. In the early days, translators were able to meet up and discuss their work
only by means of conferences and summits. Nowadays, it has become increasingly easy to
contact fellow translators quite instantly in order to solve terminology queries when reference
works seem not to suffice (Cronin, 2013). This allows translators to talk to each other and share
their opinions, possibly leading to solving such query.
Nowadays, there are messaging software programs such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and
Skype, which allow instant communication, both text- and voice-based. Different other social
networks can be considered also helpful such as LinkedIn or even Facebook to connect easily
with different translators worldwide. Nowadays people sharing the same profession create their
own groups or the so-called mailing lists which link a group of people together with common
interests (Kenny & Doherty, 2014). If you belong to a mailing list you can receive regular
messages posted to that list via email. By sending a message to a mailing list, a translator may
potentially reach numerous other professionals subscribed to the same list and receive responses
from all of them, responses which will also be available for the other subscribers. Over time, the
list itself constitutes archives that become a compendium of information on how translation
problems are solved and of the processes involved.
Conclusion
The translation process has evolved with time and so has technology. Together
translation and technology have tried to adapt to one another and overcome changes over the
years. Whether by means of translation memory software, electronic dictionaries or voice
recognition, translators are now able to speed up their work and make it more effective and
efficient. This increase is closely related to the use of technology applied to translation.
It could be claimed that the resources available to the translator through information
technology imply a change in the relationship between the translator and the text, that is to say, a
new way of translating, but this does not mean that the result is a new profession. Translating
with the help of the computer is definitely not the same as working exclusively on paper and
with paper products such as conventional dictionaries, because computer tools provide us with a
relationship to the text which is much more flexible than a purely lineal reading. Furthermore,
the Internet with its universal access to information and instant communication between users
has created a physical and geographical freedom for translators, which was inconceivable in the
past. We share the conviction that this type of translation has not become a new profession, but
the changes are here to stay and will continue to evolve. Translators need to see the positive
aspect of technology and accept the new technologies and learn how to use them to their
maximum potential as a means to increased productivity and quality improvement.
References