LANG 2047 Translation Technologies

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Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 101302

Coordinator Anita Byrnes Opens in new window

Description This unit aims to equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to effectively apply information and communication technologies to translation and other language related tasks. It focuses on translation memory and terminology management systems, and on the workflow involved in the handling of multilingual content. Emphasis is also put on uses of the Internet as a resource tool, and to the principles of controlled language for text to be processed by machine translation (MT). Tutorials will be conducted in a computer lab where students will familiarize themselves with leading computer-assisted translation (CAT) software applications.

School Humanities & Comm Arts

Discipline Translating and Interpreting

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 1 10cp

Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 2 subject

Equivalent Subjects LGYA 0191 - Translation Skills

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
  1. Apply computer-aided translation (CAT) and related concepts and examine their place in the broad area of translation studies.
  2. Examine in depth the fields of translation memory (TM) and terminology management, showing the skills required to compare applications and make informed judgments.
  3. Describe the workings of one of the leading TM software packages and develop transferable troubleshooting strategies.
  4. Explore the possibilities and limitations of machine translation (MT) by looking at the relevant literature and by analysing the outcome of some of the freely available engines on the internet.
  5. Consolidate your expertise in internet mining, in particular for parallel corpora, terminological data and subject matter information.
  6. Outline the workflows involved in multilingual content management, and explore the big-picture concepts of globalisation, internationalisation and localisation.

Subject Content

1. Overview of the principles of language engineering, and computer-assisted translation.
2. Basic 'generalist' computing skills of particular relevance to translators, in particular those related to data digitalisation, exchange and protection.
3. Desktop TM: components, workflow, and useful troubleshooting strategies.
4. Server TM: open standards for database content exchange, interface with multilingual content management.
5. Capabilities and limitations of MT engines.
6. The principles and practice of writing in controlled language for TM and MT.
7. Internet mining for parallel corpus, terminology data and specific subject matter.

Assessment

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Item Length Percent Threshold Individual/Group Task
Quiz equivalent of 3 hours 20 N Individual
Report 1,000 words 40 N Individual
Practical Exam 1,000 words 40 N Individual

Teaching Periods

Autumn

Parramatta - Victoria Rd

Day

Subject Contact Anita Byrnes Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window

Structures that include subject