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Chapter 1; Introduction*; Harold Somers; UMIST, Manchester, England; 1. Preliminary remarks; This book is, broadly speaking, and as the title suggests, about computers and translators. It is not, however, a Computer Science book, nor does it have much to say about Translation Theory. Rather it is a book for translators and other professional linguists (technical writers, bilingual secretaries, language teachers even), which aims at clarifying, explaining and exemplifying the impact that computers have had and are having on their profession. It is about Machine Translation (MT), but it is also about Computer-Aided (or -Assisted) Translation (CAT), computer-based resources for translators, the past, present and future of translation and the computer. Actually, there is a healthy discussion in the field just now about the appropriateness or otherwise of terms like the ones just used. The most widespread term, "Machine Translation", is felt by many to be misleading (who calls a computer a "machine" these days?) and unhelpful. But no really good alternative has presented itself. Terms like "translation technology" or "translation software" are perhaps more helpful in indicating that we are talking about computers, the latter term emphasising that we are more interested in computer programs than computer hardware as such. Replacing the word "translation" by something like "translator's" helps to take the focus away from translation as the end product and towards translation as a process1 carried out by a human (the translator) using various tools, among which we are interested in only those that have something to do with computers. We hope that this book will show you how the computer can help you, and in doing so we hope to show also what the computer cannot do, and thereby reassure you that the computer, far from being a threat to your livelihood, can become an essential tool which will make your job easier and more satisfying.
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Computers and Translation Benjamins Translation Library The Benjamins Translation Library aims to stimulate research and training in translation and interpreting studies. The Library provides a forum for a variety of approaches (which may sometimes be conflicting) in a socio-cultural, historical, theoretical, applied and pedagogical context. The Library includes scholarly works, reference works, post-graduate text books and readers in the English language. General editor Gideon Toury Associate editor Miriam Shlesinger Tel Aviv University Bar Ilan University Advisory board Marilyn Gaddis Rose Franz Pöchhacker Binghamton University University of Vienna Yves Gambier Rosa Rabadán Turku University University of León Daniel Gile Roda Roberts Université Lumière Lyon 2 and ISIT Paris University of Ottawa Ulrich Heid Juan C. Sager University of Stuttgart UMIST Manchester Eva Hung Mary Snell-Hornby Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Vienna W. John Hutchins Sonja Tirkkonen-Condit University of East Anglia University of Joensuu Zuzana Jettmarová Lawrence Venuti Charles University of Prague Temple University Werner Koller Wolfram Wilss Bergen University University of Saarbrücken Alet Kruger Judith Woodsworth UNISA Mt. Saint Vincent University Halifax José Lambert Sue Ellen Wright Catholic University of Leuven Kent State University Volume 35 Computers and Translation: A translator’s guide Edited by Harold Somers Computers and Translation A translator’s guide Edited by