Input requested - terminology needs of translators using MT solutions Thread poster: Joanne Archambault
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Hello,
I will be attending the Association for Machine Translation in the Americas (AMTA) conference in a couple of weeks and participating in a workshop on terminology.
http://amta2010.amtaweb.org/cfp-workshops_accepted_W2.html
As part of this workshop, I have been asked to give a presentation on the needs of translators in this are... See more Hello,
I will be attending the Association for Machine Translation in the Americas (AMTA) conference in a couple of weeks and participating in a workshop on terminology.
http://amta2010.amtaweb.org/cfp-workshops_accepted_W2.html
As part of this workshop, I have been asked to give a presentation on the needs of translators in this area. I thought that my presentation would be more interesting if I could talk about not only my needs, but the needs of my fellow translators who use MT solutions.
At this point, my own needs are fairly basic since I am early in the process of implementing a desktop MT package... how do I import all the words in my glossary into MT-specific dictionary? At first pass, it looks like I will have to review each entry to set the linguistic parameters (ugh!).
So I would love to here from you (either in this thread or off-list) if you currently use MT software for your translation work, and have any needs / problems with terminology.
Joanne ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeff Allen 
France
Local time: 22:33
Multiplelanguages
+ ...
| reply on terminology (dictionary building) for MT | Oct 21, 2010 |
Joanne Archambault wrote: I will be attending the Association for Machine Translation in the Americas (AMTA) conference in a couple of weeks and participating in a workshop on terminology. http://amta2010.amtaweb.org/cfp-workshops_accepted_W2.html As part of this workshop, I have been asked to give a presentation on the needs of translators in this area. I thought that my presentation would be more interesting if I could talk about not only my needs, but the needs of my fellow translators who use MT solutions. At this point, my own needs are fairly basic since I am early in the process of implementing a desktop MT package... how do I import all the words in my glossary into MT-specific dictionary? At first pass, it looks like I will have to review each entry to set the linguistic parameters (ugh!). So I would love to here from you (either in this thread or off-list) if you currently use MT software for your translation work, and have any needs / problems with terminology.
Much on this topic has been documented (with many details) in:
1) the various software reviews and dictionary building articles found in the MT & MT postediting sections of my list of publications : (updated 16jan2006)
https://www.box.net/shared/vh616semi6
See especially the 2006 case study on dictionary building and the AMTA2004 paper/presentation + the AMTA2004 tutorial on MT
2) in the ProZ forums
Use the advanced search feature here on ProZ with the following search criteria:
keywords:
dictionary
dictionaries
forum poster:
mtpostediting
3) partly covered in the MT sessions of the ProZ Virtual Conferences 2010
4) the MT webinars available on ProZ
5) also much documented in specific threads on MT and dictionary building in several key LinkedIn forum areas, which I have captured and put in links at the bottom of my ProZ profile.
Jeff
Panelist & Moderator at ProZ Virtual Conference 2010 MT sessions
ProZ trainer - MT topics
[Edited at 2010-10-21 01:04 GMT]
| | | | | @ Jeff - need to train translators on dictionary building | Oct 22, 2010 |
I attended your MT webinar on ProZ this summer. It was very timely in helping me define my needs and evaluate which desktop MT solution to invest in. I also remember you mentioning that the key to MT output quality was in the use of customized dictionaries, but having no idea how to systematically go about it.
Well, after reading through much of the material that you outlined, I have a better idea on how to build up a dictionary and incorporate it into my MT workflow. So thank you ... See more I attended your MT webinar on ProZ this summer. It was very timely in helping me define my needs and evaluate which desktop MT solution to invest in. I also remember you mentioning that the key to MT output quality was in the use of customized dictionaries, but having no idea how to systematically go about it.
Well, after reading through much of the material that you outlined, I have a better idea on how to build up a dictionary and incorporate it into my MT workflow. So thank you for that.
It also helped me define one of the "needs" that I will included in my presentation...
- training translators who are SME but not linguists (like me) on how to set up dictionaries
(as you pointed out in one of your articles, the MT software vendor only provides us with a description of the features of dictionary tool, but not how to actually do it)
A related need would be the integration of a commercially available term extraction tool into this workflow.
Any other suggestions for my list of needs?
Joanne
P.S. I would sign up for a course on dictionary building if it was offered on ProZ. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeff Allen
France
Local time: 22:33
Multiplelanguages
+ ...
| do you want a co-author for you AMTA/ATA prez? | Oct 22, 2010 |
Joanne Archambault wrote:
I attended your MT webinar on ProZ this summer. It was very timely in helping me define my needs and evaluate which desktop MT solution to invest in. I also remember you mentioning that the key to MT output quality was in the use of customized dictionaries, but having no idea how to systematically go about it.
ah, yes, that was just the overview session. There is now a new one on MT for freelancers and MT for agencies.
and others being planned right now which will dig into details that you are others are looking for. however, it was important to start with the overview session and the general one for freelancers, to at least help each audience determine all the pros and cons and factors to qualify if MT is appropriate for their needs (basically a needs analysis) before investing in the actual logistics and operations necessary for translation jobs.
Joanne Archambault wrote:
A related need would be the integration of a commercially available term extraction tool into this workflow.
Yes, I pointed out this one in the 2006 MT dictionary building article. All of those several papers/articles in 2004 - 2006 were specifically aiming at demonstrating that the key is the methodology, and that it can be done manually, and providing that baseline along with some benchmarked figures. Then it is possible to automate various steps and accelerate the cycle
Joanne Archambault wrote:
Well, after reading through much of the material that you outlined, I have a better idea on how to build up a dictionary and incorporate it into my MT workflow. So thank you for that.
It also helped me define one of the "needs" that I will included in my presentation...
- training translators who are SME but not linguists (like me) on how to set up dictionaries
(as you pointed out in one of your articles, the MT software vendor only provides us with a description of the features of dictionary tool, but not how to actually do it)
Any other suggestions for my list of needs?
Well, how about including me as a co-author to your presentation (i can't go to AMTA/ATA since i was already in the US this summer for vacation and AMTA would have to be a personal trip since I don't work in this field now)
We can work together on your prez and really give it some solid punch.
How does that sound?
Just ping me through ProZ or contact me at the emails on my LinkedIn profile.
Joanne Archambault wrote:
P.S. I would sign up for a course on dictionary building if it was offered on ProZ.
that type of session is in the plans.
Jeff
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Simon Sobrero
United Kingdom
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
Hi Joanne, (excuse the non-jargon, I am not a grammarian!) I use a DIY method to augment my desktop MT software (Systran). Basically it's a few keystrokes that input the terminology I am using live in my translations into a glossary (notepad file). Then every few weeks I import it into Systran. It automatically categorises terms into things like verbs/nouns/adjectives etc. I have to double check this though for quality. It has worked very well for me for the last few years and is definitely wort... See more Hi Joanne, (excuse the non-jargon, I am not a grammarian!) I use a DIY method to augment my desktop MT software (Systran). Basically it's a few keystrokes that input the terminology I am using live in my translations into a glossary (notepad file). Then every few weeks I import it into Systran. It automatically categorises terms into things like verbs/nouns/adjectives etc. I have to double check this though for quality. It has worked very well for me for the last few years and is definitely worth the extra split seconds each sentence. The best part is not so much the time saving but the consistency and automatic good suggestions!
But I would love to see better automatic term extraction tools that can digest millions of TMs and then create useful glossaries. So far I haven't found a desktop solution that can handle the 4 million words I have personally translated, nevermind the other millions I can get hold of. I have tried a few and they just crash EVERY TIME. Yet the Googles of this world have such technologies and are using them to make their MT systems better and better... So I have given up this holy grail because soon a big shot is going to sell me (or open-source for me) a better MT system than I could dream of which might obviate the need for such a tool anyway. Until then I will plug away manually. At the end of the day perhaps it's not such a chore inputting manually. Although I do wish my language combination with Systran had had a better dictionary input to start with...it is a bit poor really and I am forever finding 'new' words to feed into it that I shouldn't have to. There's a warning to you, make sure your language combos are very well catered for. I believe Systran is better with French than Italian (obviously).
Another thing I do is to store common "find and replace" operations (in MS Word) with another DIY programme that I made. So I run a MT "improver" on my MTd text. I believe this is called automatic post-editing. For example the letters "lyze" always automatically become "lyse" (for the British spelling).
Unfortunately this big mama list of operations is now thousands of pages long and I have to use my spare laptop to run it (takes about 30 minutes). I would love a programme that does this even faster (perhaps online). I can't be the only MT user who is fed up of finding the same silly errors to correct each time. I had even commissioned a teenage computer nerd to design such a thing but he lost interest, even though I am convinced there is a BIG market for it.
And yet, again, are my efforts not just going to be made a bit redundant when a really good MT system comes out that irons out all my issues and leaves me fewer and fewer personal MT needs that I can easily tackle?
Thanks for your contact, do get back to me if you need more, and let us all know!
Simon ▲ Collapse
| | | | Claudio Porcellana (X)
Italy
| my desktop MT software (Systran) | Nov 1, 2010 |
Hi Simon
can you say to me what kind of Systran do you have?
SYSTRAN Business Translator?
SYSTRAN Premium Translator?
thanks
Claudio
| | | | Simon Sobrero
United Kingdom
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
Sorry for delay, I didn't get notification of your message.
I use Premium. Why?
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