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11 things a translation is not

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Mikhail Kropotov
Mikhail Kropotov  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:30
English to Russian
+ ...
Good points but a poor read Apr 11, 2016

I stopped reading on item 5 or 6 after stumbling one time too many on irrelevant attributions like '...as Elisabeth Hippe-Heisler wants you to note...'
 
Rita Translator
Rita Translator  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:30
German to English
Irrelevant? Apr 11, 2016

Mikhail Kropotov wrote:

I stopped reading on item 5 or 6 after stumbling one time too many on irrelevant attributions like '...as Elisabeth Hippe-Heisler wants you to note...'


Why is it irrelevant to cite the source of a quote?
 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:30
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Good points but a poor read Apr 11, 2016

Mikhail Kropotov wrote:

I stopped reading on item 5 or 6 after stumbling one time too many on irrelevant attributions like '...as Elisabeth Hippe-Heisler wants you to note...'


I kind of agree with you.

[Edited at 2016-04-11 14:48 GMT]

[Edited at 2016-04-11 23:02 GMT]
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not bad Apr 11, 2016

Some good points there, but nothing world-shattering from my point of view. The last one, about dodgy source texts, seemed like a filler.
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 09:30
French to English
Irrelevant? Apr 12, 2016

Kelly Neudorfer wrote:

Mikhail Kropotov wrote:

I stopped reading on item 5 or 6 after stumbling one time too many on irrelevant attributions like '...as Elisabeth Hippe-Heisler wants you to note...'


Why is it irrelevant to cite the source of a quote?


it's not that it's irrelevant, but names (including a mysterious Kelly) are bandied about without any explanation as to who they are and why the author is referring to them, their names aren't even hypertext linked
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 09:30
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Preaching to the converted Apr 12, 2016

Any professional knows these points, more or less consciously, but it is good to have them set out and explained.

It is the kind of thing that needs to be circulated among clients, or politicians who think about funding universities and training - and cut down on funding, because they think 'in twenty years the machines will be doing it all anyway'.

Even some programmers and providers of software need to be reminded occasionally that they are always a step behind.
Tran... See more
Any professional knows these points, more or less consciously, but it is good to have them set out and explained.

It is the kind of thing that needs to be circulated among clients, or politicians who think about funding universities and training - and cut down on funding, because they think 'in twenty years the machines will be doing it all anyway'.

Even some programmers and providers of software need to be reminded occasionally that they are always a step behind.
Translation memories are fine for the routine things that are said again and again, but software like that is still unable to cope with the constant stream of new, creative language use that occurs every day. If you need programmers to pick up on language developments and update the computers, the chances are it would be more effective just to use translators (humans) direct...

The only thing neural networks have in common with the human brain is that neither understands the other. That does NOT make them equivalent or interchangeable. OK, computers can learn to beat humans at chess and Go, but the elements in these games are still far more limited and predictable than real life.

Artificial intelligence may be a help with translation, if used effectively, but for the foreseeable future, trained human translators who really know what they are doing will be indispensable.

We know that, but we have to be able to convince others, and then it is good to have some quotes (and some sources to attribute them to - people expect those as well). ▲ Collapse
 


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11 things a translation is not







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