Making MT commonplace in translation training curricula - too many misconceptions, so much potential

Abstract

This paper tackles the issue of how to teach Machine Translation (MT) to future translators enrolled in a university translation-training course. Teaching MT to trainee translators usually entails two main difficulties: first, a misunderstanding of what MT is really useful for, which normally leads to the misconception that MT outputs quality always equals zero; second, a widespread fear that machines are to replace human translators, consequently leaving them out of work. In order to fight these generalised prejudices on MT among (future) translators, translation instruction should be primarily practical and realistic, as well as learner-centred. It thus ought to highlight the fact that: 1) MT systems and applications are essential components of todays global multilingual documentation production; 2) the way in which MT is employed in large multilingual organisations and international companies opens up new work avenues for translators. This will be illustrated by two activities, one using commercial MT systems for quick translations, whose process outcome is improved through the trainees interaction with the system; the other focusing on MT output comprehensibility by speakers of target language only. MT is thus a mainstream component of a translation-training framework delineated in Yuste (2000) that, by placing the trainee in workplace-like situations, also echoes Kiraly (1999).