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  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Sansha87 View Post
    ...

    Given these findings do you think in another ten years perhaps machines will begin replacing human translators?
    They do a very good job if you translate normal text but if you try to translate some slang or things that are badly written with wrong grammar, words spelled wrong and so on it's over and you need a human translator.

  2. #42
    Bloodsail Admiral Zonned's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lordjust View Post
    They do a very good job if you translate normal text but if you try to translate some slang or things that are badly written with wrong grammar, words spelled wrong and so on it's over and you need a human translator.
    I would think slang would probably be more associated with a voice translator. For online text and articles generally people use proper grammar.

  3. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by haxartus View Post
    I don't think that you understand how translation works.
    Machines translate words. Humans don’t translate words. They translate meanings.
    When you are proficient in a given language, you don’t translate anything in your head anymore. You think in the language and when you read something, it's meaning appears in your head. Not the words, not the grammar, the meaning. And then you think of the best way to express the meaning in the other language. This is the hardest and most important part.
    Machines have no concept of meaning. None. This part of the translation process is completely lost to them. It's not about computation power, or advancement in the algorithms. They simply can't do it.
    I stopped bothering when you started talking about "feelings" relatively to intelligence but I just can't let THAT pass. Semantic analysis is an active research domain and, unless you live 60 years ago, you should know we are pretty much able to "make machines take meaning into consideration" (whatever that may mean).

    On a more personal note, I want to kill myself every time someone says "machines translate words", "machines can't feel" or "machines are automatons and we're not". Please don't.

  4. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by haxartus View Post
    I don't think that you understand how translation works.
    Machines translate words. Humans don’t translate words. They translate meanings.
    When you are proficient in a given language, you don’t translate anything in your head anymore. You think in the language and when you read something, it's meaning appears in your head. Not the words, not the grammar, the meaning. And then you think of the best way to express the meaning in the other language. This is the hardest and most important part.
    Machines have no concept of meaning. None. This part of the translation process is completely lost to them. It's not about computation power, or advancement in the algorithms. They simply can't do it.
    Are you implying that we aren't able to teach a computer whatever we like? Because if you are, you must be very naive.

    ---------- Post added 2011-11-28 at 03:33 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Authary View Post
    I stopped bothering when you started talking about "feelings" relatively to intelligence but I just can't let THAT pass. Semantic analysis is an active research domain and, unless you live 60 years ago, you should know we are pretty much able to "make machines take meaning into consideration" (whatever that may mean).
    Feelings are basically social "intelligence", which leads me to the conclusion that feelings are intelligence, just not in the conventional way. But I agree, "meaning" has nothing to do with translation. That's just silly teachers trying to force us to read between the lines for god knows what reason.
    Last edited by kATTEKONGEN; 2011-11-28 at 02:35 PM.

  5. #45
    As a translations student and future translator, all I have to say is: context. I don't believe machine translation will replace human translation just for this very reason, not feelings or whatnot. It depends of course on what is translated but I want to feel like a special snowflake and think that not everyone can translate without proper studies in the field. :>
    As for the evolution yes, it is clear that machine translation has evolved and will keep improving but ^

    Edit: nice to see such a topic.

  6. #46
    The Lightbringer Siri's Avatar
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    One of the absolutely hardest things to translate well is jokes. When a computer program can grasp that something is funny and WHY it is funny, then it can translate it. Until that happens, it can't. And at least I personally think that day is a long, long way off because when you're translating any kind of play on words, like puns, you have to reconstruct the entire sentence.

    If we're just talking instruction manuals then whatever, go for it.

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