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* access to the online session with a Q&A portion,
* unlimited access to video recording and handouts (available within one working week after the session),
* a certificate of attendance available for download from your ProZ.com profile.
Important: Those that purchase a seat in advance may be able to pay an "early bird" or cheaper price, and those that confirm participation later or last minute, may likely get to pay a higher fee. In some training sessions a price increase based on the number of registrants may also apply, i.e. the first 15 registered pay one price, the next 10 pay a a slightly higher price etc.
Early payment is advised in order to secure participation and help reach the course minimum participation - unfortunately, courses may occasionally be cancelled or rescheduled, if the confirmed participation in advance is very low.
Even if you do not attend the online session you will still have unlimited access to the video recording and training materials within one working week after the session.
This course aimed at translators, LSPs and project managers debunks the myths about machine translation (MT) and explains the challenges involved in setting up customized MT systems. Participants are guided through the key steps in the process of successfully integrating MT into their translation workflows, to reduce turnaround times and offer competitive rates without sacrificing the quality of the final product.
Description
This course explains how translators, LSPs and project managers can turn machine translation (MT) from a dreaded foe into a powerful ally. By learning the strengths and weaknesses of this much talked about but little understood technology, you will be able to assess if, why and how you could use MT as part of your business, depending on your language pairs, specialization areas and type of clients.
The main approaches to MT system design are presented in a non-technical accessible way, including the well-established rule-based architectures and the increasingly popular statistical and hybrid approaches, which rely on parallel corpora and translation memory databases. You will be alerted to the key factors to consider when assessing the actual potential and the limitations of MT, balancing the pros and cons of introducing it into your own translation workflows, especially with regard to the initial investment and its expected return.
It is no surprise that machine translation (MT) is a hot topic that polarizes opinions, especially in online communities of translators, interpreters and language professionals such as ProZ.com. However, the way in which the debate on MT has developed, especially on the Internet, is quite surprising and interesting: in the last decade or so, the discussion has moved from the feasibility and viability of translation technology to its potential applications in everyday scenarios, as a tool to address real multilingual communication needs. This in itself shows that MT is making progress and perhaps it is now time for mature reflection, leaving aside prejudice and misconceptions, primarily for translators and language specialists, who certainly are more directly affected by MT than anyone else. As an MT researcher and trainer, I take a special interest in the public debate on translation technology: here I would like to comment on a selection of recent online news stories and blog posts on the topic, discussing their relevance to professional translators.
Some feedback from others on this course's trainer:
"Very good presentation! Structured, easy to follow and providing a general overview of MT. Just what I expected." VBeidinger
"Excellent. Simple and straight to the point, emphasizes the main aspects, and pros and cons, of this still new technology." adtrans
Target audience
- Translators starting in the industry who want to develop up-to-date professional skills
- Experienced professionals (both freelance and in-house) wishing to explore the potential of MT
- Translation project managers
- LSPs and translation agencies
- Localization vendors
Learning objectives
In this course you will:
- understand the principles behind how MT systems work, covering rule-based, statistical and hybrid systems
- learn how to plan the preparation of the resources required to build MT systems using well-established open-source development platforms
- familiarize yourself with the key variables to consider when deciding if/how/why you could use MT, depending on your own language pairs, specialization areas and clients
Prerequisites
- Interest in understanding how MT works and how it can play a role in professional translation
- English as one of your working languages (source or target)
- Experience in technical/specialized translation is desirable
- Familiarity with CAT tools (especially translation memory software) is an advantage, but not essential
Program
Click to expand
- Recent evolution and latest developments in MT
- Main approaches to MT system design: rule-based, statistical and hybrid
- Challenging linguistic and translation-related phenomena for MT
- Issues to consider when incorporating MT into your translation workflow
- Integration of MT and CAT tools (in particular translation memory software)
- Current trends and future prospects in MT
Registration and payment information (click to expand)
Click to expand
Click on the buy button on the right to purchase your seat
Participation fee includes:
• access to webinar session.
• unlimited access to the webinar recording.
• powerpoint slides to remind participants of the key points and lessons learned.
• certificates of attendance.
If I register will I be charged automatically?
No. Registering for the course means that you expressed interest in the training only. ProZ.com training session vacancies are limited, and minimum attendee confirmation is required in order for training sessions to be conducted, so be sure to book your seat as soon as possible.
How do I purchase my spot?
To purchase your seat at this session please click on the "buy" button. Available slots are limited and will be assigned to registered and paid participants as soon as payment is reported. Early payment is advised in order to secure participation. Allow some time for payment processing if you are paying by wire transfer.
After your payment is received, your status will be changed to “registered and paid” and your spot for the session will be secured. An invoice and receipt of payment will be sent to you for your records.
How do I access the online platform?
72 hours before the webinar takes place, you will receive an invitation to join the session. Please, click the registration link or button provided in the invitation email and complete the registration form.
Important: Those that purchase a seat in advance may be able to pay an "early bird" or cheaper price, and those that confirm participation later or last minute, may likely get to pay a higher fee. In some training sessions a price increase based on the number of registrants may also apply, i.e. the first 15 registered pay one price, the next 10 pay a a slightly higher price etc.
Early payment is advised in order to secure participation and help reach the course minimum participation - unfortunately, courses may occasionally be cancelled or rescheduled, if the confirmed participation in advance is very low.
Software and system requirements (click to expand)
Click to expand
For PC-based Users:
• Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
• Required: Internet Explorer® 7.0 or newer, Mozilla® Firefox® 3.0 or newer or Google™ Chrome™ 5.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Internet Connection Required: Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection
• Recommended: Dual-core 2.4GHz CPU or faster with 2GB of RAM (recommended)
For Mac®-based Users:
• Safari 6, Firefox 34, Google Chrome 39 (JavaScript enabled) or the latest version of each web browser
• Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or newer
• Internet Connection Required: Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection
• Required: Intel processor (1GB of RAM or better recommended)
To Use VoIP (microphone and speakers or headset):
• Required: Fast Internet connection (384 kbps or more recommended)
• Required: speakers or headset (USB headset recommended)
• NOT required: Microphone - attendees can communicate with the trainer through incorporated chat.
Recommendations
• For the visual section of the training course, we recommend that you have a 64kbps link. This means using an ISDN line or Broadband. Wireless connection is NOT recommended.
• For the audio section of the training course, we recommend that you have a headset or speakers.
• We recommend that you log in 30 minutes in advance of the start time to prepare for the training course.
Courses will be open half an hour before the start time. Please login before the start time to ensure that everything on your system is working correctly.
Bio: Federico Gaspari is associate professor of English linguistics and translation studies at the University for Foreigners ‘Dante Alighieri’ of Reggio Calabria (Italy), where he is coordinator of the two-year Masters-level Programme in ‘Interpreting and Cross-Cultural Mediation Studies’ and director of the ‘Dante Alighieri’ University Language Centre. Since 2010 he has been a visiting postdoctoral researcher at Dublin City University (Ireland), where he has worked on 4 European research projects focusing on machine translation evaluation (CoSyne, QTLaunchPad, MLi and currently TraMOOC).
After graduating in translation studies from the University of Bologna at Forlì (Italy) he completed an MSc and a PhD in machine translation at the University of Manchester (UK) and has held lecturing and research positions at the Universities of Manchester, Salford, Bologna at Forlì and Macerata. His teaching and research interests include translation technologies (with a special focus on machine translation, post-editing and translation quality evaluation), technical and specialised translation, translation theory, corpus linguistics, corpus-based translation studies and English linguistics. He has published widely on these subjects and is a regular speaker at international conferences on these topics.
Machine translation: Cause or solution of all evils?
Jan 15, 2016
It is no surprise that machine translation (MT) is a hot topic that polarizes opinions, especially in online communities of translators, interpreters and language professionals such as ProZ.com. However, the way in which the debate on MT has developed, especially on the Internet, is quite surprising and interesting: in the last decade or so, the discussion has moved from the feasibility and viability of translation technology to its potential applications in everyday scenarios, as a tool to addr... See more
It is no surprise that machine translation (MT) is a hot topic that polarizes opinions, especially in online communities of translators, interpreters and language professionals such as ProZ.com. However, the way in which the debate on MT has developed, especially on the Internet, is quite surprising and interesting: in the last decade or so, the discussion has moved from the feasibility and viability of translation technology to its potential applications in everyday scenarios, as a tool to address real multilingual communication needs. This in itself shows that MT is making progress and perhaps it is now time for mature reflection, leaving aside prejudice and misconceptions, primarily for translators and language specialists, who certainly are more directly affected by MT than anyone else. As an MT researcher and trainer, I take a special interest in the public debate on translation technology: here I would like to comment on a selection of recent online news stories and blog posts on the topic, discussing their relevance to professional translators.
It is no surprise that machine translation (MT) is a hot topic that polarizes opinions, especially in online communities of translators, interpreters and language professionals such as ProZ.com. However, the way in which the debate on MT has developed, especially on the Internet, is quite surprising and interesting: in the last decade or so, the discussion has moved from the feasibility and viability of translation technology to its potential applications in everyday scenarios, as a tool to address real multilingual communication needs. This in itself shows that MT is making progress and perhaps it is now time for mature reflection, leaving aside prejudice and misconceptions, primarily for translators and language specialists, who certainly are more directly affected by MT than anyone else. As an MT researcher and trainer, I take a special interest in the public debate on translation technology: here I would like to comment on a selection of recent online news stories and blog posts on the topic, discussing their relevance to professional translators.
