Translating perceptions and managing expectations: an analysis of management and production perspectives on machine translation

Abstract

The use of machine translation (MT) in professional translation tasks can change not only how translators work, but also how projects are managed and the expectations they entail across translation supply chains. Previous research has looked extensively into translators' attitudes to MT but has often ignored important aspects of how translators' views interact with those of other language industry stakeholders. This article presents a contrastive analysis of attitudes to MT which covers management and production perspectives. The discussion draws on semi-structured interviews which were thematically coded and qualitatively examined. The study shows how MT adds uncertainty to translation production networks. It argues that the challenges posed by MT are exacerbated by how the current makeup of the language industry restricts translators' field of influence to texts while possibly alienating them from wider aspects of business strategy. The article makes two suggestions. First, it calls for increased translator involvement in the management aspects of service provision. Second, it emphasises the need for a deeper discussion of MT which, rather than framing the technology itself as a potential 'threat', addresses broader societal issues involving misguided perceptions and mismatched expectations. ARTICLE HISTORY

The Effect of Critical Thinking on Translation Technology Competence Among College Students: The Chain Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy and Cultural Intelligence

“…51 In certain areas of language services, translators are expected to take advantage of machine translation as a helpful assistant in producing the target text, as it can result in more accurate translations and improve the efficiency of translators. 52 In light of the increasing prevalence of machine translation in the translation sector, higher education institutions providing translation programs have added machine translation to the curriculum so that translation students can become competitive in the job market. 53 The widespread application of machine translation in educational endeavors showed that machine translation has contributed to the growth and acquisition of students' translation competence.…”

Natural Language Processing in Higher Education

“…This weakness will cause a reasonably valuable loss if an error occurs in translating essential financing-related documents. The development of machine translation is considered a threat to the translation profession [76]. This will indirectly lead to an increase in the number of unemployed.…”

Accuracy and Problems of Machine-Based Translation in Contrast to Human-Based Translation when Rendering Health Awareness Texts Versus Poetry Texts

“…Otherwise, machine translation could not yet tackle this issue, or in other words, one can say that some unacceptable errors still occur. (Vieira et al, 2020) conducted research on perspectives and issues related to management and production of translation software. In their analysis they explained how software can add doubt to services provided and trigger miscommunication.…”