This paper outlines the results of the experimental study aiming to explore the impact of using machine translation engines on the performance of translation students. Machine translation engines refer to the software developed to translate source texts into target languages in a fully automatic mode which can be classified according to the algorithm (example-based, rule-based, statistical, pragmatics-based, neural, hybrid) and the level of customisation (generic, customised, adaptive). The study was carried out in the form of a translation test held during the first semester of 2019/2020 academic year (September). The subjects included 48 undergraduate students of the School of Foreign Languages of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (42 women and 6 men aged from 19 to 22) majoring in translation. They were subdivided into two sample groups: sample group 1 performed translation from English into Ukrainian with the help of the MT engine while sample group 2 translated the same text from English into Ukrainian by hand. The MT engine chosen for conducting the research was Microsoft Translator for personal use. The research was arranged into the following stages: preliminary (designing the experiment), main (implementing the experiment into life), conclusive (processing the results and interpreting them). The comparison of the students' average results allowed us to come to the conclusion that the hypothesis preconceived in the beginning of the study was confirmed: the quality of the text translated by the students who received no previous training in post-editing with the use of a modern machine translation engine was of a poorer quality compared to the translation of the same text made by the students without the use of a machine translation engine. The students using the machine translation engine showed the tendency not to treat critically the output of the machine translation engine, thus scoring more penal points than the students translating on their own. The evidence from this study implies the necessity of teaching students to use machine translation in their work and to post-edit texts by means of developing the appropriate cross-curricular methodology of teaching.
Алла Ольховська, доктор педагогічних наук, професор кафедри перекладознавства імені Миколи Лукаша Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна Анастасія Хоменко, студентка другого курсу магістратури кафедри перекладознавства імені Миколи Лукаша Харківського національного університету імені В. Н. Каразіна ВПЛИВ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ НЕЙРОННОЇ СИСТЕМИ МАШИННОГО ПЕРЕКЛАДУ НА ЯКІСТЬ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ ТЕКСТІВ У ГАЛУЗІ ЕКОНОМІКИ У статті описано експериментальне дослідження із вивчення впливу трьох нейронних систем машинного перекладу (Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, online-translator.eu) на якість перекладу уривку тексту економічної тематики в аспекті кількості помилок різних типів. Одержані результати підтвердили сформульовану нами гіпотезу: різні нейронні системи машинного перекладу надають переклад одного і того самого тексту економічної тематики різної якості, яку можна відстежити, порахувавши кількість помилок у кожному виконаному перекладі. Відрив у результатах, продемонстрованих обраними нами системами не можна назвати великим, проте найкращу якість перекладу тексту економічної тематики зафіксовано у Google Translate. Ключові слова: машинний переклад; нейронні системи машинного перекладу; економічна тематика; інформаційно-комунікаційні технології у перекладі; підготовка перекладачів. Рис. 1. Табл. 1. Літ. 11.
The article describes the results of introducing the newly developed methodology of teaching students majoring in philology to translate social and political texts from English into Ukrainian with the help of one of the leading computer-assisted translation software tools (CAT-tools) -SDL Trados. The course "Modern Translation Technologies. CAT-tools" included four thematic blocks (translating files of various formats; creating and managing term bases; creating translation memories based on existing translations (alignment) and managing them; managing translation projects) and three sub-systems of exercises (preparatory exercises, exercises for developing skills in translation with the help of CAT-tools, exercises for developing abilities in translation with the help of CATtools). The pilot study was carried out in the form of natural vertical experimental teaching which lasted during the second semester of 2015/2016 academic year (March -May). The subjects included 12 fifth year students of the Department of English Translation Theory and Practice of the School of Foreign Languages of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University majoring in translation. The course was introduced to the students during three months (24 academic hours), two academic hours per week. The stages of the experimental teaching included the following: preparing the experiment, realising it, processing the results and interpreting them. The comparison of the students' average results obtained before and after the experimental teaching allows to state that there is a substantial increase in students' proficiency in translating social and political texts from English into Ukrainian with the help of CAT-tools while the increase in students' proficiency in translating similar texts from English into Ukrainian by hand is definitely low and can't be regarded even as a satisfactory one. The results of the experimental teaching show that the hypothesis preconceived at the very beginning of the study is confirmed.