Translation-Memory (TM) Research: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?

It is no exaggeration to say that the advent of translation-memory (TM) systems in the translation profession has led to drastic changes in translators’ processes and workflow, and yet, though many professional translators nowadays depend on some form of TM system, this has not been the object of much research. Our paper attempts to find out what we know about the nature, applications and influences of TM technology, including translators’ interaction with TMs, and also how we know it. An essential part of the analysis is based on a selection of empirical TM studies, which we assume to be representative of the research field as a whole. Our analysis suggests that, while considerable knowledge is available about the technical side of TMs, more research is needed to understand how translators interact with TM technology and how TMs infl uence translators’ cognitive translation processes

A memory-based classification approach to marker-based EBMT

We describe a novel approach to example-based machine translation that makes use of marker-based chunks, in which the decoder is a memory-based classifier. The classifier is trained to map trigrams of source-language chunks onto trigrams of target-language chunks; then, in a second decoding step, the predicted trigrams are rearranged according to their overlap. We present the first results of this method on a Dutch-to-English translation system using Europarl data. Sparseness of the class space causes the results to lag behind a baseline phrase-based SMT system. In a further comparison, we also apply the method to a word-aligned version of the same data, and report a smaller difference with a word-based SMT system. We explore the scaling abilities of the memory-based approach, and observe linear scaling behavior in training and classification speed and memory costs, and loglinear BLEU improvements in the amount of training examples

Principles underlying the experiential and the logical structures of the nominal group in Portuguese

This paper presents a description of the Portuguese nominal group both for its experiential and logical organizations and carries out a contrastive study of English and Portuguese nominal group features. Halliday & Matthiessen (2004) state that the nominal group can be seen as a multivariate structure (experiential), in which elements play different functional roles and as a univariate structure (logical), generated by iteration. Consequently, the most comprehensive form to approach how the nominal group is organized is to look at these two structures at the same time. In order to do so, a corpus was collected based on the socio-semiotic processes typology (see Herke-Couchman, 2006) and nominal group elements were annotated. The analysis was carried out and patterns of functions and relations were retrieved. It was possible to identify features of elements taking part in the experiential and logical structures of the nominal group as well as their functional configuration. In the contrastive study with English, it was possible to understand how these systems differ when more delicate investigation takes place. Results indicate recurrent grammatical features and lead to a possible description of the nominal group in Portuguese — i.e., the elements that compose it as well as how they are functionally organized

Translating Conceptual Metaphor: The Processes of Managing Interlingual Asymmetry

Encountered at all levels of language, conceptual asymmetries between source and target languages present translators with fundamental challenges that require problem awareness, problem identification and problem solving. A case in point is conceptual metaphor in translation. Versions of conceptual metaphor theory have been applied in various productoriented studies of how translators deal with the challenge of metaphor in translation. However, there is potential in combining product-oriented approaches with techniques used to access translators’ cognitive processes, although process-oriented studies on how conceptual metaphor is re-conceptualised or re-mapped in translation are still rare. Building on an exploratory study carried out at our institute, in which findings from translation process data suggest that experience and/or training appears to be a main factor in handling conceptual metaphor, we present some salient features of re-mapping metaphor. Triangulating data from target-text products, keystroke logs and retrospective verbal commentaries collected under very similar conditions in a laboratory setting, we analyse how translators at different levels of experience handle two complex conceptual metaphors. The results appear to suggest that complex metaphor might indeed be culturespecific. They also potentially indicate that re-mapping practices are a function of experience and that re-mapping to a source-language target domain could create more uncertainty than generic-level re-mapping. Both findings hold pedagogical implications, which are discussed together with some methodological issues

Presenting a united front : assessed reflective writing on group experience

Assessed reflective writing is increasingly common in UK higher education. Students writing in this mode are typically required to narrate their experiences, evaluate their performance, investigate associated emotions, and comment on what has been learned. In this paper I focus on assessed reflective writing by students on an MA TESOL course who are required to write individual reflections on a process of working in a group to produce teaching materials. This task places particular demands on the writer. Like other students writing reflectively, they need to manage complex self presentation: to appear honest about relative successes and failures, to show evidence of appropriate reflection, and to indicate desirable learning. Because they are reflecting on a group experience, they also need to differentiate themselves from their work group in their account, and to reflect critically on others as well as on themselves. My focus in this paper is on the ways they manage these additional demands. I first examine the relative frequency with which writers refer to themselves and their work group, and then examine the content of self-referential and group-referential statements. Finally, I examine semantic patterns in the data and draw conclusions regarding possible reasons behind student writers’ choices about how to represent themselves and others

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE: FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO POLISH-ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF SELECTED COURT DOCUMENTS

W artykule zaprezentowano wyniki badań, których celem była analiza problemów właściwych dla tłumaczenia z języka polskiego na język angielski wybranych pism procesowych i orzeczeń sądowych w sprawach rozwodowych oraz w sprawach o orzeczenie separacji. W ramach badań przeprowadzono m.in. analizę tekstów paralelnych, zastosowano metody właściwe dla językoznawstwa korpusowego w celu ekstrakcji jednostek terminologicznych oraz komparastykę prawniczą w celu porównawczej analizy pojęć. Wyniki, w tym uwagi dotyczące konkretnych wyborów terminologicznych i frazeologicznych oraz rozwiązań na poziomie tekstu, a także krytyczną analizę wybranych powszechnie przyjętych ekwiwalentów, przedstawiono w formie tłumaczenia z komentarzem. W artykule ujęto także wyniki obserwacji dotyczących rodzajów oraz źródeł problemów tłumaczeniowych napotykanych przez początkujących oraz doświadczonych tłumaczy. Ponadto we wnioskach wskazano na potrzebę opracowania skuteczniejszej formy prezentowania wyników ukierunkowanych praktycznie badań w dziedzinie translatoryki, w szczególności w odniesieniu do tłumaczeń prawnych i prawniczych, która – w porównaniu do tradycyjnych słowników oraz baz terminologicznych – byłaby bogatsza pod względem merytorycznym oraz zawierała szersze informacje na temat kontekstu użycia poszczególnych terminów.The paper presents results of a study aimed at analysing problems that arise in Polish‑English translation of selected court documents in divorce and judicial separation cases, as well as the ways of solving such problems in the light of the functional approach to translation. The methodology used includes parallel texts analysis, corpus linguistics for term extraction and comparative legal research into concept comparison. The results, including comments on specific terminological, phraseological and textual choices and a critical analysis of certain established equivalents, are presented in the form of an annotated translation. The findings also include general observations on the types and the sources of common problems encountered by both beginner and experienced translators. Finally, a need is identified for developing a more effective form of presenting results of practice-oriented research in the field of translation studies, especially with reference to legal translation, which would account for a richer knowledge component and more extensive contextual information than traditional dictionaries and term‑bases