The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023 - 21

own frustration with
communicating both the
promise and the pain of
language technologies
like MTPE (or even CAT
tools, for that matter), is a
surgical robot. I've shared
this illustration on countless
occasions with linguist,
client, and government
audiences, and the silence
that immediately falls makes
it clear that a loud, clangy
bell has rung somewhere in
their heads.
It goes like this. If you're
on the operating table about
to undergo a right radical
nephrectomy ( " the oldfashioned
way " ) and the preop
nurse casually mentions
your surgeon will be using
a robot-whoa, Nellie!
How would you respond?
Personally, I would jump
off the table and demand to
know five things:
y Is my same, excellent
Harvard-trained surgeon
going to do my surgery?
y Is that " robot " any
good? I mean, how many
nephrectomies does it have
under its hood?
y Is my same, excellent
Harvard-trained surgeon
any good at doing surgery
via a robot? That is, how
much training does she
have " on the bridge "
between her medical
degree and proper
certification or " whatever "
she needs to be qualified to
use that thing on me?
y How many right radical
robotic nephrectomies has
she actually done this way?
And finally:
y Don't tell me that sassy,
know-it-all tech guy
sitting there is going to do
www.ata-chronicle.online
this, 'cuz he doesn't even
know where my kidney is.
Yes, family and friends,
MTPE is its own thing,
with distinct advantages,
disadvantages, quirks
and benefits, headaches,
heartbreaks, and absolute
moments of ecstasy-but
you must take it seriously.
Now for the
Necessary Pause...
For those hesitant about
MTPE, you're in good
company. Some of my most
respected colleagues assure
me that they're just fine
without it, but these are
mainly veterans who have
spent decades honing their
own niche and client base. For
the rest of us, this sarcastic
essay is a clarion call to think
proactively instead of just
drinking the MTPE Kool-Aid
without reserve.
T&I veterans whose
bottom line may be suffering
realize that we must train
ourselves to think, talk,
and educate others about
MT not just in conjunction
with PE, but in new ways
that include MT engine
training, asset management,
language learning, artificial
intelligence, and many
other possibilities yet to be
discovered/proven. In fact,
it's incumbent upon us as
industry professionals to
lead with enthusiasm but
also with care, and to keep
the playing field and our
minds open to the many
and powerful ways these
technologies can assist,
enhance, and even improve
our efforts and our income.
Return on investment
(ROI), bottom lines, and
time savings may be on
the tip of every MTPE
evangelist's tongue, but as
language connoisseurs who
understand the power of each
properly or poorly translated
word, we're obligated to
gauge the success/failure
of MTPE by the equally
essential measures of quality,
nuance, connection, and
more-all of which ultimately
contribute to ROI! Critical
outside factors such as
privacy and data protection
haven't even been addressed
here, but they need to be
intimately understood
and communicated to
high-stakes clients for
whom such matters are a
deal breaker and, in fact,
eliminate MTPE (and other
technologies such as cloudbased
MT) as an option.
For the foreseeable future,
many (many) jobs will be
done in post-editing mode,
but many (many) others will
utilize MT differently. How
so, you ask?
The answer is as
complicated as it is simple.
Professional linguists, like
all professionals, need to
continuously research, train,
upgrade, and self-motivate
to forge their own paths.
Neither MT nor MTPE is
going anywhere, and, most
importantly, neither one will
threaten your career. They
will only enhance it. (Unless,
of course, if you ignore them.)
Buckle up and stay tuned.
This carnival ride is just
beginning. Until next time...
Something to Ponder
Michael Farrell, the
developer of IntelliWebSearch,
recently conducted a survey
on how MT is actually used
professionally. His findings
were published in a paper
entitled " Do translators
use machine translation
and if so, how? Results
of a survey held among
professional translators, "
as well as in his new
book, A Guide to Machine
Translation for Today's
Professional Translator.
One interesting result
from his research was that
experienced translators
tend to use MT in other
ways besides just postediting,
whereas young
translators simply " dive in "
and run with MTPE as a
sellable end product.
Perhaps another take on
this data is: " Experienced
linguists know the pitfalls
and benefits of MT and
proceed with appropriate
sobriety, whereas industry
newbies don't know what
they don't know...and throw
caution to the wind, " which
clearly represents a potential
recipe for MTPE disaster,
most especially when the
stakes are high.
Bridget Hylak is the administrator of ATA's
Language Technology Division. She is an ATAcertified
Spanish>English translator and a
certified Spanish<>English court interpreter.
She is an approved oral exam candidate for
the Federal Court Interpreting Certification Examination.
She is also a master editor (English, Spanish, Italian, and
Portuguese). She has directed Come Alive Communications,
Inc. since 1990. bhylak@comealiveusa.com
American Translators Association 21

https://www.transcreate.it/do-translators-use-machine-translation-and-if-so-how-results-of-a-survey-held-among-professional-translators/ https://www.transcreate.it/do-translators-use-machine-translation-and-if-so-how-results-of-a-survey-held-among-professional-translators/ https://www.transcreate.it/do-translators-use-machine-translation-and-if-so-how-results-of-a-survey-held-among-professional-translators/ https://www.transcreate.it/do-translators-use-machine-translation-and-if-so-how-results-of-a-survey-held-among-professional-translators/ https://www.transcreate.it/do-translators-use-machine-translation-and-if-so-how-results-of-a-survey-held-among-professional-translators/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTRXF2QW?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_W3CKRK7EQE70WR3JQDAY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTRXF2QW?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_W3CKRK7EQE70WR3JQDAY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTRXF2QW?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_W3CKRK7EQE70WR3JQDAY http://www.ata-chronicle.online

The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023

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