B2568 - INTRODUZIONE ALLE TECNOLOGIE PER LA TRADUZIONE

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student knows the basics and can use CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools - s/he can apply her knowledge in a project examplifying their advantages in translation from English into Italian - s/he is able to acquire further knowledge and competences in the field of translation technology independently.

Course contents

The course is delivered in the first semester and its main aim is to offer a basic practical introduction to the tools used by professional translators. Two main areas are covered:

- Information Mining and terminology (Module 1)
Specifically: use of reference corpora (monolingual, comparable); construction and use of specialised corpora (manual and with BootCaT); extraction of bilingual terminology from comparable corpora (with AntConc); cataloguing of specialized terminology (with MultiTerm) aimed at integration into CAT tools.

All the steps in the workflow will be compared with methods supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a critical analysis on its potentials and risks.

CAT and MT tools (Module 2)
Creation of translation memories through alignment; creation of translation projects; concordance searches in translation memories; translation of different file formats, statistics. The software used is Trados Studio. The mainly used software is Trados Studio, in both desktop-based and cloud-based versions. The free, web-based CAT software MateCat will also be presented.

In the Machine Translation (MT) part, an overview of the state of the art in the field of MT and Post-Editing as tools to enhance the translator’s work will be provided.

Readings/Bibliography

During lessons based on theoretical aspects, the teacher will be using the following bibliographical references:

Bersani Berselli, G. (a cura di) (2011). Usare la traduzione automatica. Bologna: CLUEB

Bowker, L., (2002). “Computer-Aided Translation Technology. A Practical Introduction”. University of Ottawa Press.

Bowker, L. and J. Pearson (2002). Working with the specialised language. London: Routledge

Kockaert, H. J. and Steurs, F. (eds.) (2015) Handbook of Terminology. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Lecci, C. e E. Di Bello (2012). Usare la traduzione assistita. Bologna: CLUEB

Sager J. C. (1990). “A Practical Course in Terminology Processing”, John Benjamins Publishing Company

Sinclair, J. (1991). Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Philipp Koehn (2020). “Neural Machine Translation”, Cambridge University Press

Teaching methods

Lessons take the form of workshops.

Particularly in the documentation and terminology part, the use of one's own laptop is recommended (but not mandatory), as lessons will take place in a traditional classroom.

The CAT and MT lessons, on the other hand, will be delivered in a computer laboratory.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 on Health and Safety online.

Teacher presentations will be followed by individual and small group practice. Students will be also required to undertake group projects in class.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists in choosing a specific domain and realizing a group (or individual) project on information mining, terminology and computer assisted translation. The project must be delivered to the lecturer during the examination sessions, when it will be presented orally.

Moreover, students have the possibility to replace the computer assisted translation component of the project with the Trados Studio certification exam (Level 1) which can be taken during the last class of the course.

The project is worth 20 points (each error/omission will be penalized with one point), the oral presentation is worth 10 points. The evaluation criteria will be: correctness, completeness and clarity of the information presented. 10 points will be awarded for an excellent presentation; 7-9 points for a presentation with minor errors; 4-6 points for an incomplete presentation and partial acquisition of the required knowledge; 1-3 points for a sufficient presentation, but with evident limitations in knowledge; 0 points for an insufficient presentation.

The final marks are published a few days later through the Moodle platform.

 

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Teaching tools

Lessons will take place both in a traditional classroom with internet connection and a beamer and in a computer lab.

Since lessons take the form of workshops, with substantial time devoted to pratical hands-on exercises, students have the possibility to become acquainted with the main software programs used in the fields of corpus creation and analysis and Computer-Assisted Translation, both proprietary and open-source/free.

Teaching materials are made available on the Moodle platform.

Links to further information

https://moodle.dipintra.it/course/view.php?id=66

Office hours

See the website of Claudia Lecci