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 LITERATURE

WHAT 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 LITERATURE

WHAT 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 to
maximize 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)

it is heartwarming

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

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, Unio Latina,
Lisbon. Retrieved from
http://repositorio.ul.pt/bitstream/10451/5851/1/What%20has
%20translation%20theory%20got%20to%20learn.pdf on
March 18th, 2015.
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/languageindust
ry/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/Translatio
n%20A%20Must-Have%20Guide.pdf on March 19th,
2015
European Commission (2012). Quality Efforts and the
Consequences of Poor Quality in the European
Commissions Directorate-General for Translation
.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European
Union. Retrieved from http://www.fit-ift.org/wpcontent/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
Pereira, A. (2013). Machine translation. Languages
and translation. N 6 February, 2013. Retrieved from
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/publications/magaz
ines/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