Using computer software for enhancing professional competence of a translator

Non-Government Non-Profit Institute of Higher Education

Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages

Faculty of Translation and Interpreting

Department of Foreign Languages Theory and Practice

 

 

Term Paper

 

Use of computer software for enhancing translator’s professional competency

 

by

Tatiana Alexandrovna Afanasyeva

 

501 E/S

 

 

Research supervisor:

V. A. Bochkov ________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study field: Modern Translation and Interpretation

 

 

 

Moscow 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

I wish to thank the MIFL Chancellor - Academician Emma F. Volodarskaya, President of the Russian Academy of Linguistic Sciences, for the encouragement I received in the course of my research into the subject of the present term paper. My enormous gratitude also goes to the Dean of the Translation and Interpreting Faculty B.S. Ivanov for his advice and understanding as well as to the entire staff of the MIFL Department of Foreign Languages Theory and Practice for their disinterested assistance and pertinent advice at every stage of my work.

 

I am very much obliged to the Supervisor of this work Master Teacher Viktor Alexeevich Bochkov for careful leading and valuable help with writing this paper. Thanks to my parents for their infinite tolerance and sympathy during my late night computer sessions. Special gratitude to my dear brother Sergey who was always available with his moral support and advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of abbreviations

 

 

ES electronic software

CAT computer-aided translation

TM translation memory

PC personal computer

TT target text

MT machine translation

 

 

Summary

Not long time ago translators could not even imagine that in a little while they would obtain such a vast number of software and Internet resources to speed up and simplify the process of translation. Advantages are obvious but disadvantages were revealed as well. For example now translators are suffering from the introduction of translation memory programs (Trados, Déjà Vu, Star Transit, Wordfast, Across) since translation agencies and even end-users require translators to use TM's, but then pay the translator in full only for sentences which are not repeated. Under this system, the translator often has more work to do as a result of using a TM, but gets paid much less for a particular translation than he or she would have been paid before the introduction of TM's (John Hadfield's articles¹). Of course this applies not only to TM's but to all CAT (Computer-Aided Translation) software, Internet resources, on-line dictionaries which include users' examples and their variants of translations that are industry or profession concerned, style guides and writers, blogs, languages corpora. The problem of highly professional adequate translation includes expert pre-translation analysis that considerably involves a mind-mapping technique, a known system that is mostly skipped while learning a language but nevertheless is a perfect method of information systematization which a translator can use any moment without searching through the extra material once again. Nowadays software programs for enhancing professional competence of a translator are trying to efficiently enrich their data and keep it up-to-date. In my work I would like to enlighten main goals of a number of programs and techniques, their pluses and minuses for the purpose to fulfill an almost impossible task - peer into the future of translation and translators' professional competence.

 

Table of contents

 

Summary

 

Motivation

 

Chapter 1 Translator’s competence and its tools

 

1.1 What translator's competences involve

1.2 Translator's competence in connection with the international linguistic changes

1.2.1 Linguistic Globalization

1.2.2 Catching up with scientific and technical progress

1.2.3 Technical tools of translator's competence

 

Chapter 2 Practical use of translation softwae

 

2.1 Use of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools in translation

2.2.1 Using Corpora to improve translation quality

2.2.2 Style and Grammar Checker, Spell Checker, Tag Editor

2.2.3 Information search and retrieval

2.2.4 Translation creation. Translation memory. Machine translation

 

 

 

Conclusion

References

 

Motivation

 

Technology is progressing exponentially. The beginning of the new millennium and the uprising of the so called 'era of information revolution' are used to be drawn a parallel between nowadays. The grounds are quite evident:

• globalization in many areas especially in political, economic and technological space,
• gradual development of intercultural communication,
• in this instant, wide application of information and communication technologies,
• huge expansion of the electronic market with the Internet, 'electronic mail' or just e-mail, electronic archives of periodicals, database management system etc. should be underlined.

 

As a result the translational industry underwent a virtual revolution at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. New demands and types of translations appeared, for example localization (instrument adaptation to local environment), work by means of 'translation memory' (TM), computer-assisted translation. Old algorithms that failed to resist brute force of technologies became obsolete. Better algorithms became necessary for prospective computers.

 

This very reason brought about revolutionary changes in the arsenal of the written translator enriching it with electronic tools and various software, The Internet facilitated search for information and data on the required subject. Respectively the translation process and the end translation quality improved essentially.

 

These changes were especially pronounced in written translation from one language to another as facilities appeared to scan word stocks and word usage against the plurality of examples.

The first a personal computer (PC) was immediately hailed as «a highly effective tool of translators» [Zwilling, 1999: 35]. In no time it became the main means of accessing the Internet. Finally computer programs and electronic dictionaries focused especially on translator's performance were devised. Step by step more application areas were identified as:

• a technically equipped workplace,
• a virtual working group,
• instant messages service, videoconferences, multimedia presentation,
• quick and professional pre-translation analysis parallel with mind-mapping and other.

The time frame was limited. But the number of end translations still increased immensely [Ubin, 2001: 4].

 

Translation diversification is a current thing today. The mutually exclusive exaggerated client’s requirements as to expedience, on the one hand, and quality, on the other, seem preposterous. Meanwhile this contradiction can be solved partly through more active use of electronic software (ES) and programs that allow a translator to upgrade quality of a product and at the same shorten the required time. The pass-key is 'the Digital Fortress' [the word combination is adopted from Dan Brown's 'Digital Fortress', 2004 with no straight reference to the plot of the book] implying modern electronic technologies combining intelligence and versatile in knowledge of a translator himself. Translation as a profession can't remain in the same condition it was 20-30 years ago.

 

According to J. Brogueira [Brogueira: 2004] technological skills of from and to English translators may be subdivided depending on their functional purpose as follows:

 

— linguistic or translation skills assuming the use of a spell checker, thesaurus and electronic dictionaries at some point;

 

— communication skills when receiving and providing with the information (receiving, sending and forwarding messages by e-mail, file sending, team work, participation in different forums and conferences);

 

— skill of searching information by means of electronic dictionaries, encyclopedias, search engines in the Internet, web libraries and archives, terminological banks etc.);

 

— technological skills and means (scanners, printers, interactive voice menu, text editor and others).

 

Now a translator has the following electronic resources for enhancing his competence and improving the quality of end product:

 

— text editors;

 

— electronic on-line and off-line bilingual and monolingual dictionaries;

 

— the Internet;

 

— English-speaking terminological databases;

 

— specialized terminological dictionaries and glossaries;

 

— programs of automatic editing, Tag Editor program;

 

— general and specialized encyclopedias, encyclopedic dictionaries in English and Russian;

 

— electronic guides to English stylistics;

 

— electronic corpora of parallel texts and concordances;

 

— electronic libraries;

 

— on-line newspaper and journal archives;

 

— «Translational memory» programs;

 

— machine translation software;

 

— new communication technologies, RSS Feed, podcasts etc.

 

Unfortunately Russian theorists in translation underestimate the importance of electronic tools. As a rule in a course of practical translation at the translation and interpretation faculties these sources and programs are not given the attention they deserve. As a result, future or current graduates enter the translation and interpretation world with very approximate idea of possibilities offered by electronic tools except for some tentative experience of translation by means of PROMT, which professors consider as absolutely deleterious for a will-be translator. However in some contexts this instrument may prove useful given the time factor. From our point of view, electronic software and computer-aided translation (CAT) programs are not a whim, a craze or an idle toy in the hands of a person. It is a time-saving sine-qua-non translator’s instrument. The present tune must be modified as modern translator or interpreter ought not to be ignorant in the usage of CAT tools.

 

It is almost impossible to imagine a professional up-to-date translator without electronic means - a computer, a printer, a scanner who doesn't use a e-mail box and translation software.

 

Here and further on we intend to describe a number of resources and their performance. In doing so we shall rely on various Internet translators’ fora, e.g. www.proz.com, www.translatorscafe.com, forum.onehourtranslation.com and others, try to bring separate data together in a review of various electronic software while outlining patterns of their combined use by a translator.

 

Further on we shall proceed with a more detail consideration of advantages, features and most recent trends in the sphere of translator’s competence enhancing electronic software.

 

Chapter 1

 

       1.1 What translator's competences involve

 

Professional competence of a translator or an interpreter is made up of his key scopes and special scopes. “Competence” and “scope” are the concepts that should be refined upon and differentiated.

A translator or an interpreter versatile in languages and whose intelligence scope is as vast as possible is in great need in the modern world. Provided dynamic development of the international cooperation in politics and economics a first priority problem became a high-quality education of the Russian experts in the field of the foreign economic and diplomatic relations obtaining skills in business communication and with profound knowledge of languages, including such actual as Chinese, Arabic, understanding main economic and politic terminology and being able to work with original materials on trade and economic subject and well versed in the current course of world events. Training of future employees is essential. The quality of the higher education is understood today as a complete compliance of vocational training of future experts with modern requirements. The notion «professional competence» involves all the above mentioned training approaches and demands.

 

The definition of the word 'competence' given in the Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd Edition © Oxford University Press 2010) states that:

 

- competence - (mass noun) the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. Examples: courses to improve the competence of staff; the players displayed varying degrees of competence.

 

Competencies is a derivative concept of competence (syn. expertise) and designates a sphere of application of knowledge, skills of a person. Meanwhile competence is a semantically prior notion representing them as one.

 

The most acceptable definition of competence is following: competence is a readiness of a person for mobilization of one's knowledge, abilities and external resources for effective activity in a certain life circumstances that can involve a set of questions with paramount importance and while solving them a professional would apply the authority knowledge of which allows that person to carry out his professional duties effectively. It is all about personal ability of an expert to solve certain class of professional tasks.

 

The cornerstone of the modern educational system and new pedagogical process in the conditions of the market relations is the competency-based approach to training. It is understood that the purposes of education are more focused and adhered to applicability of the received knowledge and abilities in practice. Competency-based training helps to bridge the gap between what is taught in training and what tasks will be performed on the actual job. Training employees to perform functions required helps to ensure that front-line workers have the skills, knowledge and abilities required to perform their jobs properly, safely and effectively. Thus, the attention is strongly focused not on the number of acquired information but the ability of a person to operate in various situations.

 

The competency-based approach allows:

 

– connection of the purposes of education and professional activity;

 

– application in professional activity of the gained knowledge instead of its mere reproduction;

 

– focusing on a variety of professional and life experiences, etc.

 

In the flow of one of the pedagogical discussions concerning competency-based approach the following definition was offered: competence is an ability to operate in a situation of uncertainty. The level of person's erudition is as greater as the field of his professional activity and a degree of uncertainty of situations in which he is capable to act effectively independently is wider. From the generally accepted point of view competencies is a set of qualities of an expert gained by experience in the sphere of his professional activity. It is the characteristic given to a person as a result of an assessment of productivity of his actions on the solution of a certain circle of tasks. Thus competencies of an expert with higher education are defined as the integrated features of personality characterizing his eagerness and readiness to realize his potential (knowledge, abilities, experience, personal qualities, etc.) for successful creative activity in the professional and social sphere, realizing its social importance and an individual responsibility for the results of such activity and need of its continuous improvement and further development.

 

In Russian scientific literature key and professional competences are singled out. Key competencies are universal, applicable in various life situations. Professional competences in their turn aren't so universal. They are limited in accordance to this or that sphere of professional activity of a person. The term «professional competence» involves both ability to actualize gained knowledge and abilities, to use them in realization of the professional functions, ways, means of achievement of main goals and demands for obligatory solution of professional questions and tasks relying on the base qualification of an expert.

 

In other words professional competence is the integrated characteristic of several components necessary for effective implementation of professional activity problems. It is believed that professional competence is a quality forming in the educational process. So it is expedient to consider it as a subjective quality revealing itself during the activity of the one being trained taking into account qualifying requirements. According to E.F.Zeera, training the competences is possible only in the conditions of knowledge and abilities realization in practice. Thus a complete result of the education is shown not only in professional but social competences like personal integrative quality of the ability to come to solutions in standard and especially non-standard creative tasks as well. Professional competences are subdivided into basic and special (functional) competences. Basic competences are transferable and less adhered to an object of the labor, i.e. they can be demanded in various types of professional activity. Use of special (functional) competences is limited to a framework of a certain profession, specialty. They reflect peculiarities of the sphere of professional activity. Usually having no special names they are formulated as a function of concrete professional qualification. Special competences can be considered as a realization of key and basic competences of certain area of professional activity. Key, basic and special competences, cooperating with each other, actually work solving vital professional problems of different complexity level.

 

Therefore, it is possible to accept a point of view that professional competences a future expert gaines are personal qualities, abilities, knowledge, skills as preconditions of his activity of a competent professional. Being put into practice they become competences of a certain level thus proving that all three types of competences are interconnected and should develop at the same time that will finally provide formation of professional competence of an expert as the certain integrity, some integrative personal characteristic.

 

Translation at the United Nations will be given as an example.

 

United Nations documents are issued simultaneously in the six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Some core documents are also translated into German.

 

This is made possible by United Nations translators, whose job is to render clearly and accurately the content of original texts into their main or “target” language, which is normally the language in which they did their higher education studies. United Nations translators provide terminologically precise translations and revisions of original texts. They seek consistency throughout a single document, series of documents and multi-part special editions. It is important to be able to get an overview but it is no less important to do a microscopic reading, often under very tight time constraints. Failure to grasp the meaning of even one preposition could lead to a terrible mistake. The quest to find an accurate equivalent in a target language takes United Nations translators through standard bilingual dictionaries, comprehensive monolingual dictionaries, highly specialized dictionaries, subject glossaries prepared by the Terminology and Reference Section, previous United Nations documents, reference works, and the Internet, which, along with a broad variety of electronic tools, has become a vitally important part of their work. All this research is supplemented by consultations with fellow translators and other experts at the United Nations and with the Permanent Missions of United Nations Member States.

 

United Nations translators are recruited through a rigorous selection process. They translate and revise a wide range of United Nations documents on subjects that require experience and recognized proficiency in such areas of expertise as political, economic, financial, budgetary, administrative and other matters. That is why, in addition to having an in-depth knowledge of several official languages, many translators are also able to master specialized legal, scientific or technical vocabularies and styles. They have excellent writing skills, political sensitivity and a good knowledge of international affairs.

 

Competencies required of United Nations translators: 

 

• Excellent writing skills in their main language, high standard of accuracy and faithfulness to the spirit, style and nuances of the original text, as well as good grasp of a variety of subject matters.

 

• The ability to meet tight deadlines and maintain required productivity without sacrificing quality.

 

• The ability to use a variety of open and in-house reference sources relevant to the text at hand.

 

• The ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national, linguistic and cultural backgrounds with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

 

• The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and to demonstrate a willingness to learn from others.

 

• May be promoted to become revisers and later senior revisers. In addition to

translating the most difficult and sensitive texts, revisers check and correct drafts prepared by junior colleagues and provide feedback to them for training purposes.

 

 

1.2 Translator's competences in their connection to the international linguistic changes

 

1.2.1 Linguistic Globalization

 

Citing 'Translators through History' by Jean Delisle & Judith Woodsworth: “Translators are the learned agents of cultural transmission who circulate information, knowledge and passions around the globe…”.

 

Globalization - outcome of the spread of capitalism after the Soviet Union’s dismemberment and the end of the cold war - that entailed political, economic, cultural, environmental consequences, generated numerous debates. The fact is supported by the very many definitions of the complex term and international phenomenon. Globalisation has been defined as the process whereby “events happening in one place importantly impact upon many other places, often remote in time and space” Urry (2003: 39).