Nomenclature
The archaic-sounding term MT is - for historical reasons
- nowadays primarily associated with standalone translation
programs, whereas the translation software now available
runs the gamut from simple dictionary lookup programs
used as word-processor a add-ons to sophsticated batch-translation
systems based on relational databases running under
Unix. The EAMT maintains an inclusive point of view.
Computer-aided translation
In recent years, translation software packages which
are designed primarily as an aid the human translator
in the production of translations, rather than a standalone
"black box", have become popular within professional
translation
| The Internet
has proven to be a huge stimulus for MT, with hundreds
of millions of pages of text and an increasingly
global - and linguistically diverse - public. What
role will MT play in bridging languages barriers
in cyberspace? Stay tuned. |
organizations. These programs, referred to as computer-aided
translation (CAT), use a variety of linguistic tools
to improve the productivity of translators, particularly
when translating highly repetitive texts, such as technical
documentation.
Content scanning
Another viable application for MT is content scanning,
that is, using a translation system simply to obtain
a rough draft so as to be able to get the general gist
of a text. MT is widely used in the European Commission
for this purpose, for example.
Software manuals, not literature
Comprehending the enormous complexity of translating
human language and the inherent limitations of the current
generation of translation programs is essential to understanding
MT today.
from The European
Association for Machine Translation (EAMT)
