Can Computer Translators Ever Beat Speaking a Foreign Tongue? 计算机翻译会取代人工翻译吗？

2020-11-10

时代英语·高三 2020年6期

Put “crottin de chèvre” into Google Translate， and youll be told it means goat dung.

So if it appeared on a menu， you might pass. Alas， you would be ruling out a delicious cheese made of goats milk that is often served as a starter in France.

Such misunderstandings are why Google admits that its free tool， used by about 500 million people， is not intended to replace human translators.

Tourists might accept a few misunderstandings because the technology is convenient. But when the stakes are higher， perhaps in business， law or medicine， these services often fall short.

“Using Google Translate can lead to some serious errors， especially when words have multiple meanings， which is often the case in fields such as law or engineering，” says Samantha Langley， a former lawyer who is now a legal translator based in Meribel， France.

That is not to say professional translators do not use computer-assisted translation （CAT） tools. Some sophisticated applications can help them take the donkey work out of repetitive translations.

CAT tools are even used as part of modern language degree courses these days. So how good are they？

在谷歌翻譯中输入crottin de chèvre，它会告诉你其意思是“山羊粪”。

所以如果这个词出现在菜单上，你可能不会点它。可惜的是，你会因此错过一道美食。在法国，这个词指的是用山羊奶制成的美味奶酪，经常被当作开胃菜。

正是由于有这样的误译，谷歌承认，这款已经拥有大约5亿用户的免费工具不会替代翻译人员。

考虑到工具本身的易用性，游客可能会接受少许误译。但在商业、法律或医疗等专业领域，这类服务往往达不到要求。

“使用谷歌翻译可能会导致一些严重的错误，尤其是在法律或工程等领域，许多单词常常会有多种含义。”在法国梅里贝尔工作的萨曼莎·兰利说。她曾是一名律师，现在是一名法律翻译。

这并不意味着专业的翻译人员不使用计算机辅助翻译工具。一些先进的应用程序能够帮助他们减少很多重复度高、单调乏味的工作。

如今，现代语言学位课程甚至涉及计算机辅助翻译工具的使用。那么，它们的效果到底如何？

One of the most popular new tools is the so-called “translation earpiece”. Usually paired with a smartphone app， they pick up spoken foreign languages and translate them for the user.

“It has taken decades of research to create a framework of algorithms designed to recognize patterns in the same way as the human brain—a neural network，” says Andrew Ochoa， chief executive of US startup Waverly Labs， which produces translation earpieces. “Combining that with speech recognition technology has allowed us to make a huge leap forward in terms of accuracy.”

Theres no doubt that CAT tools have taken some of the hard grind out of text translations like instruction manuals or questionnaires， says Milan-based Paola Grassi， a professional translator for Wordbank， a global marketing and translation agency.

“Survey contents are among the most repetitive ones and a good CAT tool can hugely speed up the process，” she says.

For meetings and conferences， wearable translators like Waverlys are undoubtedly popular. But even this new generation tech， which combines speech recognition neural networks and Internet-based translation engines， has limitations.

Users must wait at least a few seconds for a phrase to be translated， or more if the Internet connection is poor.

And computers still lack the subtlety of human communication.

“Translation technology is undoubtedly a useful tool for certain content such as manuals，” says Zoey Cooper， brand director at Wordbank. “But if you want to create a relationship with the reader， you need a human translator to make it sound natural and capture the sentiment.”

“翻譯耳机”是最流行的新翻译工具之一。它通常与一款智能手机应用程序配合使用，将听到的外语给用户翻译出来。

“经过几十年的研究，我们创建了一种算法框架，目的是以与人脑（神经网络）相同的方式来识别语言模式。”美国初创公司、翻译耳机生产商Waverly Labs的首席执行官安德鲁·奥乔亚说，“通过将它与语音识别技术相结合，我们大幅提高了翻译的准确性。”

在米兰工作的保拉·格拉西是全球营销和翻译机构Wordbank的一名专业翻译。她认为，毫无疑问，计算机辅助翻译工具已经接手一些文本翻译的烦琐工作，例如产品说明书或调查问卷的翻译。

“调查问卷是内容重复度最高的文本之一，好的计算机辅助翻译工具能够极大地加快翻译进程。”她说。

在各种会议中，Waverly Labs等公司制作的可穿戴式翻译器确实很受欢迎。但是，即使是这种结合了语音识别神经网络和基于互联网翻译引擎的新一代技术，也有局限性。

用户至少要等待几秒钟才能听到一条短语的翻译版本。如果网络条件不太好，等待的时间会更长。

另外，计算机翻译仍然难以表达人际交流的微妙之处。

“毫无疑问，对说明书等特定内容来说，翻译技术是一种有用的工具。”Wordbank品牌总监佐伊·库珀说，“但如果你希望与读者建立联系，那么你就需要一名翻译人员。翻译人员会让你表达的内容听上去更自然，更容易引发共鸣。”

“I believe CAT tools hinder creativity，” says Antonio Navarro Gosálvez， a translator based in Alicante， Spain. “If the tool shows you a partial translation match， I find its actually harder to discard part of the sentence and rebuild it than to just create something from scratch.”

Ochoa thinks this problem could be resolved within the next 10 years.

“When it comes to expressing emotion and intonation， we need sentiment analysis， which is not there yet but may well be in 10 years time，” he says.

Foreign language skills are still in demand in the labor market.

In the UK about 15 percent of the jobs posted on recruitment website Reed ask for a foreign language.

New research from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages shows 75 percent of manufacturing companies need employees with diverse language skills.

For Cooper， speaking a foreign tongue remains a precious skill.

“There are lots of opportunities for language graduates， both in specialist translation and global marketing，” she said.

And even if you dont use your language professionally， it has other benefits.

“How can you get to know a country and embrace the culture if you dont speak the language？” says Cooper. “Even with the voice-activated apps available， you will still miss out.”

“我认为计算机辅助翻译工具会阻碍翻译人员发挥创造力。”在西班牙阿利坎特工作的翻译人员安东尼奥·纳瓦罗·戈萨韦兹说，“如果计算机辅助翻译工具已经译出部分词句，我发现舍弃部分词句并重新组织语言甚至比从头开始翻译更困难。”

奥乔亚认为，这个问题有望在10年內得到解决。

“谈到表达情感和语气，我们需要情感分析。虽然目前还无法做到，但在未来10年内也许能够实现。”他说。

在劳务市场，外语技能仍然重要。

在英国招聘网站Reed上，大约15%的职位要求应聘者懂一门外语。

根据美国外语教学委员会的最新研究，75%的制造企业需要掌握多种语言的员工。

库珀认为，掌握一门外语是一项非常宝贵的技能。

“在专业翻译和全球营销领域，语言专业的毕业生有很多机会。”

就算你在工作中不使用外语，它也会给你带来很多好处。

“如果你不会说某个国家的语言，你怎样去了解那个国家及其文化呢？”库珀说，“就算能使用语音翻译软件，你还是会错过很多东西。”

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