Poll: "New communication technologies improve translation quality" Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question ""New communication technologies improve translation quality"".
This poll was originally submitted by A. Sercan. View the poll results »
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2016-03-01 14:15 GMT]
| | | | EvaVer (X) 
Local time: 06:29
Czech to French
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only if the translator knows how to use them and is not lazy to do so. By themselves, they have nothing to do with it.
| | | | | Quality depends on the ability of the translator. | Feb 22, 2016 |
I totally disagree with this because translation is an art which is an inborn skill and is considered as a boon to a person as all other arts and it can't be acquired just like that going to a normal school or taking a training. Any communication technology or tool can't improve the translation quality but it should be attained by the person by himself.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 13:29
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
They are merely aids. If a translator is inherently incapable of translating, then they will not help improve the quality of that person's translation.
"Even the best tools are useless in the hands of the unskilled." Or, something along those lines.
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Since I spent half my career translating before I had access to the Internet (in 1994), I can testify that the accuracy of my work has improved. In the old days, there were times when we had no alternative but to guess at the translation of terms not in dictionaries, institutional names, etc. I used to consult dozens of paper dictionaries (still have them!), sometimes to no avail.
Nor could we easily consult with colleagues on KudoZ or other forums, or by e-mail. By the time we expl... See more Since I spent half my career translating before I had access to the Internet (in 1994), I can testify that the accuracy of my work has improved. In the old days, there were times when we had no alternative but to guess at the translation of terms not in dictionaries, institutional names, etc. I used to consult dozens of paper dictionaries (still have them!), sometimes to no avail.
Nor could we easily consult with colleagues on KudoZ or other forums, or by e-mail. By the time we explained the context, the translation was overdue.
Furthermore, delivery is instantaneous. I well remember the days when I had to print out my translations and rush them to the FedEx box in time for the day's final pickup. That sometimes meant that I had to work so fast that I couldn't proofread my work.
Some colleagues may not even imagine the challenges we had to face.
Off-topic: And BTW, compensation hasn't changed very much since the pre-Internet days. ▲ Collapse
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 06:29
Spanish to English
+ ...
I'd probably put it this way:
"In the right hands, and properly applied, SOME new communications technologies MAY HELP improve translation output, and PERHAPS even quality..."
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Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Since I spent half my career translating before I had access to the Internet (in 1994), I can testify that the accuracy of my work has improved. In the old days, there were times when we had no alternative but to guess at the translation of terms not in dictionaries, institutional names, etc. I used to consult dozens of paper dictionaries (still have them!), sometimes to no avail.
Nor could we easily consult with colleagues on KudoZ or other forums, or by e-mail. By the time we explained the context, the translation was overdue.
Furthermore, delivery is instantaneous. I well remember the days when I had to print out my translations and rush them to the FedEx box in time for the day's final pickup. That sometimes meant that I had to work so fast that I couldn't proofread my work.
Some colleagues may not even imagine the challenges we had to face.
Off-topic: And BTW, compensation hasn't changed very much since the pre-Internet days.
I still remember those long days spent in the library to consult dictionaries and encyclopedias I couldn’t afford buying…
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Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Since I spent half my career translating before I had access to the Internet (in 1994), I can testify that the accuracy of my work has improved. In the old days, there were times when we had no alternative but to guess at the translation of terms not in dictionaries, institutional names, etc. I used to consult dozens of paper dictionaries (still have them!), sometimes to no avail.
Nor could we easily consult with colleagues on KudoZ or other forums, or by e-mail. By the time we explained the context, the translation was overdue.
Furthermore, delivery is instantaneous. I well remember the days when I had to print out my translations and rush them to the FedEx box in time for the day's final pickup. That sometimes meant that I had to work so fast that I couldn't proofread my work.
Some colleagues may not even imagine the challenges we had to face.
Off-topic: And BTW, compensation hasn't changed very much since the pre-Internet days.
This is exactly what I was thinking about. How challeging it was before the Internet and new technologies.
They definitely help working faster, just like any other tools a good translator has access to. They won't "make" you a translator though.
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Josef Šoltes
Czech Republic
Local time: 06:29
English to Czech
In hands of competent translator, those tools help finish translation in top quality faster. But that's it. They increase productivity. Not quality.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 00:29
English to Spanish
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| Read more, write better, translate best | Feb 22, 2016 |
What a nice surprise! First, a succint run-of-the-mill quote used as a quick poll. Second, the intelligent and insightful answers I read from my colleagues here. Respect!
I recently had a conversation with a good friend in Minneapolis, MN, an animator by profession. She studied drawing and animation the old school way, which means she was very good at drawing things. She then slipped a complaint about today's drawing programs, which are more interested in drawing in students ... See more What a nice surprise! First, a succint run-of-the-mill quote used as a quick poll. Second, the intelligent and insightful answers I read from my colleagues here. Respect!
I recently had a conversation with a good friend in Minneapolis, MN, an animator by profession. She studied drawing and animation the old school way, which means she was very good at drawing things. She then slipped a complaint about today's drawing programs, which are more interested in drawing in students with software skills, even if they forgo teaching how to draw, which is an art and a craft, in my view.
Translation is like an ocean: it touches all types of coastlines and geographical features, from flat beaches to curlicue fjords. To navigate that ocean, you need the right skills, whether you paddle, use a catamaran or a speedy motorboat.
So-called communication technologies are just tools. Some translators think they can yield more and better translations by hammering at it with their preferred tool. All they make is noisy text.
Cheers from unusually warm Ohio. ▲ Collapse
| | | | B D Finch
France
Local time: 06:29
French to English
+ ...
| Yes, but ... | Feb 22, 2016 |
I don't know what translation was like before these technologies were available, though I do remember some hilariously bad Italian instructions on cooking pasta and Italian tourist guidebooks in English. In fact, I bought a couple of guide books because the bad English was just so funny. However, I imagine that the following effects have occurred.
When used by a good translator, I am absolutely certain these technologies must have improved translation quality. The access to resource... See more I don't know what translation was like before these technologies were available, though I do remember some hilariously bad Italian instructions on cooking pasta and Italian tourist guidebooks in English. In fact, I bought a couple of guide books because the bad English was just so funny. However, I imagine that the following effects have occurred.
When used by a good translator, I am absolutely certain these technologies must have improved translation quality. The access to resources for research and to peer assistance are invaluable, especially in technical subjects. Even in literary translation, translators now have access to background reading that would previously have been available only via university libraries, often with long waits for inter-library loans. The speed of transmitting documents for translation, reference documents and translations between client and translator should enable more time to be spent on actual translation (though it would also have influenced client expectations of translation speed and, thus, client business scheduling).
On the other hand, these technologies have also, probably, opened the market to more unqualified, unskilled purveyors of translation services and so, particularly at the cheap end of the market, enabled the spread of fast, poor quality translation, whether or not based on MT.
[Edited at 2016-02-22 15:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Something like this: | Feb 22, 2016 |
neilmac wrote:
I'd probably put it this way:
"In the right hands, and properly applied, SOME new communications technologies MAY HELP improve translation output, and PERHAPS even quality..."
Yes - and it is amazing what a confused mind can bungle up with the aid of google and poor analytical skills. I've proofread/edited some texts lately...
[Edited at 2016-02-22 16:57 GMT]
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Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 01:29
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| It's very obvious for us, perhaps not to the youger | Feb 22, 2016 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Since I spent half my career translating before I had access to the Internet (in 1994), I can testify that the accuracy of my work has improved...
Anyone who started working as a translator before the internet existed will not have the slightest doubt about this.
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