The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2017 - 14


WHY ERGONOMICS MATTERS TO PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATORS continued
is now regularly mixed in with translation
memory, blurring the boundaries between
it and MT. In addition, new developments
such as "interactive MT" or "adaptive MT"
are changing the nature of the task. It's
regularly assumed that these innovations are
disruptive and increase the cognitive load
of the translation task in general. However,
research studies are starting to show that this
is not necessarily the case.7 A recent focusgroup study carried out by us involving 70
translators from the European Commission's
Directorate General for Translation
demonstrated that translators can have both
negative and positive attitudes toward MT.
On the positive side, translators mentioned
that when the MT engine is good and the
text type appropriate, it can act as a stimulus
for them during the translation process.8

There is much room for improvement
in terms of the ergonomics of
current translation technology.

 Take the time to customize the translation
technology you use to fit your needs.
 Insist on good ergonomics in your
own organization and from your
software suppliers.
 Increase awareness of ergonomics
through professional development in
your networks.
The degree of interest that our work has
received from professional translators all
over the world tells us that they recognize
that ergonomics matters and want it to
be improved at their workplaces. We
hope that our research and this article
contribute to heightening awareness of
this important issue. 
NOTES
1	
"Definition and Domains of Ergonomics"
(International Ergonomics Association),
www.iea.cc/whats.
2	

RECOMMENDATIONS
A greater appreciation of the importance of
ergonomic equipment, technology, settings,
and systems should contribute to translators
and companies designing more efficient
and user-oriented workplaces, tools, and
workflows. We believe this will not only
decrease the health risks associated with
what has always been a desk-bound activity;
it will also optimize the ergonomics of
increasingly technology-driven workplaces.
In turn, this will allow translators to do
what they do best instead of wasting time
and energy dealing with non-ergonomic
conditions, interfaces, and tools.
Based on our research, we can make the
following recommendations:
 Optimize the conditions of your
workplace as much possible rather than
simply adapting to them and risking
long-term health problems (see the
additional resources at the end or consult
an ergonomist).
 Take breaks frequently and change your
posture regularly.
 Consider alternative modes of working
(e.g., speech as input instead of text,
standing while working).
14

The ATA Chronicle | January/February 2017

We would like to thank the translators and
their employers for letting us into their
workplaces and acknowledge the support
of our teams and the funding agencies
that made this research possible. For more
information, visit the ErgoTrans project
website at www.zhaw.ch/linguistics/ergotrans.

3	

Meidert, Ursula, Silke Neumann, Maureen
Ehrensberger-Dow, and Heidrun Becker.
"Physical Ergonomics at Translators'
Workplaces: Findings from Ergonomic
Workplace Assessments and Interviews,"
ILCEA, Volume 27 (Institut des Langues
et des Cultures d'Europe et d'Amérique,
2016), http://ilcea.revues.org/3996.

4	

Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen, Andrea
Hunziker Heeb, Gary Massey, Ursula
Meidert, Silke Neumann, and Heidrun
Becker. "An International Survey of the
Ergonomics of Professional Translation,"
ILCEA, Volume 27 (Institut des Langues
et des Cultures d'Europe et d'Amérique,
2016), http://ilcea.revues.org/4004.

5	

Moorkens, Joss, and Sharon O'Brien.
"Assessing User Interface Needs of PostEditors of Machine Translation," In Dorothy
Kenny (Editor), IATIS Yearbook: Human
Issues in Translation Technology (U.K.:
Routledge, Forthcoming, 2017).

6	

O'Brien, Sharon, Maureen EhrensbergerDow, Marcel Hasler, and Megan Connolly.
"Irritating CAT Tool Features that Matter
to Translators," Hermes-Journal of
Language and Communication Studies,
Special Issue on Translation Technology
(Forthcoming, 2017).

7	

O'Brien, Sharon. "Processing Fuzzy
Matches in Translation Memory Tools:
An Eye-Tracking Analysis," Copenhagen
Studies in Language, Volume 36
(Samfundslitteratur, 2008), 79-102.

8	

Cadwell, Patrick, Sheila Castilho, Sharon
O'Brien, and Linda Mitchell. "Human Factors
in Machine Translation and Post-Editing
Among Institutional Translators," Translation
Spaces, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2016), 222-243.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
International Ergonomics Association
http://bit.ly/ergonomics-definition
ErgoCheck: An Ergonomic Work Environment
(Swiss Federal Coordination Commission for
Occupational Safety)
http://bit.ly/ErgoCheck
Office Ergonomics Fact Sheets (Canadian
Center for Occupational Health and Safety)
www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office
Office Ergonomics: Simple Solutions for
Comfort and Safety (SAIF Corporation)
http://bit.ly/ergonomics-safety-health

Sharon O'Brien is a senior lecturer
in translation studies in the
School of Applied Language and
Intercultural Studies at Dublin City
University (DCU) in Ireland. She
has been teaching and researching
translation studies since 2000, and has a particular
interest in the human factors pertaining to translation
technology. She is a funded researcher in the ADAPT
Research Center, which is supported by Science
Foundation Ireland. She has also been the director of
the Centre for Translation and Textual Studies at DCU
for over three years. Contact: sharon.obrien@dcu.ie.
Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow
is a professor of translation
studies in the Institute of
Translation and Interpreting
at the Zurich University of
Applied Sciences in Switzerland.
Originally a monolingual Canadian trained as a
linguist, she moved to Switzerland in 1985 and has
been involved in translation ever since she learned
German. Her research interests include professional
translation processes, ergonomics, human-computer
interactions, workplace practice, and translation
training. She led the interdisciplinary research
project Cognitive and Physical Ergonomics of
Translation (ErgoTrans), a follow-up to the Capturing
Translation Processes project. She also co-led an
interdisciplinary project on language barriers in
homecare nursing. Contact: ehre@zhaw.ch.
www.atanet.org
http://www.bit.ly/ergonomics-definition http://www.bit.ly/ErgoCheck http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office http://www.iea.cc/whats http://www.bit.ly/ergonomics-safety-health http://www.zhaw.ch/linguistics/ergotrans http://ilcea.revues.org/3996 http://ilcea.revues.org/4004 http://www.atanet.org
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