Papers by Anne Schjoldager
Forskningssamarbejde mellem Oversætterhuset og Handelshøjskolen i Århus
The professional translator vs. Google Translate: the case of Lars Larsen’s autobiography
Hermes, Jan 17, 2024
Wishing to contribute to a necessary discussion of how the task of translation should be conceptu... more Wishing to contribute to a necessary discussion of how the task of translation should be conceptualised in our posthuman world, the paper investigates what characterises a professional translation completely unaided by translation technology and compares it with a translation generated by Google Translate (GT), a well-known and free neural machine translation (NMT), based on artificial intelligence (AI). The source text is Lars Larsen’s Danish-language autobiography from 2004, assessed as particularly challenging to translate because of many instances of contextually and culturally embedded meaning. Analyses are carried out in three steps: (1) a textual analysis of the source text; (2) a skopos-theoretical analysis of the professional translation; and (3) comparative analyses of the two translations. In terms of wording, two thirds of the translations are assessed as sufficiently similar to conclude that these parts of the GT translation achieve professional translation quality. The remaining parts are sufficiently different to conclude that professional quality is not achieved by GT. The professional translator complies with professional ethics and Vermeer’s hierarchy of rules and succeeds in solving all predefined translation problems, while this is not the case for GT. The reason may be that GT does not understand text in the real sense of the word, does not work situationally and goal-oriented and does not base decisions on professional expertise and ethics. While we are looking into a future with increasingly advanced translation technology, we should not lose sight of what is expected of a professional translation.
Hermes – Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2023
Wishing to contribute to a necessary discussion of how the task of translation should be conceptu... more Wishing to contribute to a necessary discussion of how the task of translation should be conceptualised in our posthuman world, the paper investigates what characterises a professional translation completely unaided by translation technology and compares it with a translation generated by Google Translate (GT), a well-known and free neural machine translation (NMT), based on artificial intelligence (AI). The source text is Lars Larsen’s Danish-language autobiography from 2004, assessed as particularly challenging to translate because of many instances of contextually and culturally embedded meaning. Analyses are carried out in three steps: (1) a textual analysis of the source text; (2) a skopos-theoretical analysis of the professional translation; and (3) comparative analyses of the two translations. In terms of wording, two thirds of the translations are assessed as sufficiently similar to conclude that these parts of the GT translation achieve professional translation quality. The remaining parts are sufficiently different to conclude that professional quality is not achieved by GT. The professional translator complies with professional ethics and Vermeer’s hierarchy of rules and succeeds in solving all predefined translation problems, while this is not the case for GT. The reason may be that GT does not understand text in the real sense of the word, does not work situationally and goal-oriented and does not base decisions on professional expertise and ethics. While we are looking into a future with increasingly advanced translation technology, we should not lose sight of what is expected of a professional translation.
Call for papers: Cognitive aspects of non-professional translators’ interactions with digital translation tools
What motor vehicles and translation machines have in common - a first step towards a translation automation taxonomy
Perspectives, 2021
ABSTRACT In professional translation and in society in general, translation is increasingly autom... more ABSTRACT In professional translation and in society in general, translation is increasingly automated. However, in Translation Studies, we lack an updated taxonomy of translation automation (TA) to understand the evolving and dynamic relationship between humans and digital technologies. Therefore, taking a first step towards a new taxonomy of TA, this paper adapts the Society of Automotive Engineers' taxonomy of six levels of driving automation, ranging from no automation to fully automated driverless cars, to the field of translation. The six levels of the TA taxonomy basically describe whether the translator and/or the system translates by means of source-text analysis and target-text production and checks for and corrects errors and inadequacies; whether the translator or the system responds to system failures; and whether the performance of the system is limited to a certain domain. Adapting the taxonomy was a complex endeavor, and constructive criticism from stakeholders interested in TA would be welcome.
HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2017
Though we lack empirically-based knowledge of the impact of computer-aided translation (CAT) tool... more Though we lack empirically-based knowledge of the impact of computer-aided translation (CAT) tools on translation processes, it is generally agreed that all professional translators are now involved in some kind of translator-computer interaction (TCI), using O’Brien’s (2012) term. Taking a TCI perspective, this paper investigates the relationship between machines and humans in the field of translation, analysing a CAT process in which machine-translation (MT) technology was integrated into a translation-memory (TM) suite. After a review of empirical research into the impact of CAT tools on translation processes, we report on an observational study of TCI processes in one particular instance of MT-assisted TM translation in a major Danish translation service provider (TSP). Results indicate that the CAT tool played a central role in the translation process. In fact, the study demonstrates that the translator’s processes are both restrained and aided by the tool. As to the restrainin...
Oversættelse i fremmedsprogsundervisningen
Christina Schäffner, Beverly Adab (eds). Developing translation competence. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2000. 244 s
A fordító és a számítógép interakciója: egy számítógéppel támogatott fordítási munkafolyamat megfigyelése
On Names and Definitions in Translation Studies
The paper reports on a questionnaire survey from 2013 of the uptake and use of computeraided tran... more The paper reports on a questionnaire survey from 2013 of the uptake and use of computeraided translation (CAT) tools by Danish translation service providers (TSPs) and discusses how these tools appear to have impacted on the Danish translation industry. According to our results, the uptake in Denmark is rather high in general, but limited in the case of machine translation (MT) tools: While most TSPs use translation-memory (TM) software, often in combination with a terminology management system (TMS), only very few have implemented MT, which is criticised for its low quality output, especially when Danish is one of the languages, though some also express willingness to consider using MT (more) when output quality improves. Most respondents report that CAT has changed the translation industry, mentioning that the technology facilitates improved productivity and consistency, but also that sometimes it results in lower prices and decreasing output quality.
HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2017
200 Anne Schjoldager "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell a... more 200 Anne Schjoldager "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet (Romeo and Juliet, II. ii. 33).
HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2017
This paper discusses some possibilities that the theory of translational norms (Toury 1980) may o... more This paper discusses some possibilities that the theory of translational norms (Toury 1980) may offer in connection with research into simultaneous interpreting. After a brief discussion of the concept of translational norms, I explore how this concept may be useful in interpreting research in general. I then proceed to discuss and criticize the set-up of my own project on simultaneous interpreting and translation - especially how progressive aspect was originally used as a focus of analysis. I conclude by demonstrating how the theory of translational norms has been a useful methodological tool in the analysis of my data. One result is the discovery that certain translational norms seem to be peculiar to simultaneous interpreting - for instance norms regarding what one ought to do in connection with capacity saturation.
Target, 1995
This article examines, explains and puts into perspective what others have dubbed the 'Manipulati... more This article examines, explains and puts into perspective what others have dubbed the 'Manipulation School'. This group of scholars see themselves as working within descriptive translation studies (DTS), as defined by Holmes (1975), and their main methodological tool is a search for translational norms, first proposed by Toury (1980a). The article then explores how these ideas relate to current research on interpreting-especially Gile's work-and it concludes that, with certain modifications, the theory of translational norms could be extended to interpreting.
Meta, 2008
The paper reports on and discusses the authors’ development of and experience with Précis-writing... more The paper reports on and discusses the authors’ development of and experience with Précis-writing, revision and editing, a pilot module developed especially for the European Master in Translation (EMT). The background, aim and important characteristics of the EMT are briefly explained. Inspired by the IAMLADP report from 2001, the module development included an exploratory survey of the translation industry internationally and in Denmark, employing web-based questionnaires supplemented by a focus-group interview with translator-editors of the European Commission. Our findings generated knowledge about professional précis-writing, revision and editing, including relevant norms and concepts. It also provided useful input on perceived training needs in this respect within the translation profession. The module development also comprised selecting a suitable theoretical foundation and designing a manageable course structure. Students’ written evaluations of a course taught in the spring...
Revising Translations A Survey of Revision Policies in Danish Translation Companies
jostrans.org
HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, 2015
The paper presents and discusses an empirical study of simultaneous interpreting (SI) between Eng... more The paper presents and discusses an empirical study of simultaneous interpreting (SI) between English and Danish, carried out with a view to improving the SI teaching situation. Since the study is still in its preliminary stages, the paper focusses on methodological and didactic reflections. One important hypothesis is that the main difference between SI and non-literary translation (hereafter referred to as "translation") is to be found in transmission conditions and process rather than in objective. The paper gives the rationale of this hypothesis and, by means of examples from the empirical data, tries to examine its truth-value. For methodological and diagnostic reasons, the study concentrates on the rendition of progressive "meaning" in English and Danish. The paper explains how the subjects' mastery of progressive aspect, which is realized in very different ways in the two languages , may be used as one indicator for the communicative adequacy of their target texts 1 (hereafter referred to as TTs).
HermesJournal of Language and …, 2010
It is no exaggeration to say that the advent of translation-memory (TM) systems in the translatio... more 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 workfl ow, 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 fi nd out what we know about the nature, applications and infl uences 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 fi eld 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.
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Papers by Anne Schjoldager