The Use of Machine Translation in Translating Creative Language Elements – a Qualitative Study

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Upotreba strojnog prijevoda u prevođenju kreativnih jezičnih elemenata – kvalitativno istraživanje
• Author: Antonela Mihalić
• Mentor: Nataša Pavlović (mentor)
• Committee member: Kristijan Nikolić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Miro Frakić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Nataša Pavlović (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2024-01-17, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

Given the rise in the quality of machine translation (MT) output in recent years and the emerging research regarding its implementation in the translation of literary texts, this paper explores the ways in which translation students use MT while dealing with creative texts. The study focuses in particular on the effects which MT has on creativity. The participants were asked to post edit one part of a journalistic text, originally written in their L1, into their L2 or L3, and to translate another part of the same text from scratch, in the same direction. Afterwards, they were given a short questionnaire in which they were asked to comment on the tasks. The results reveal some inconsistencies in the participants’ responses. For example, the majority prefer translating from scratch, but still use MT in their translation tasks even though they admit it does not provide much help. Most participants also stated that MT had a negative effect on their creativity and that this was one of the main reasons they found post editing to be the more difficult task. However, the majority would still continue to use MT even when dealing with similar texts. The participants’ lack of experience in post-editing, as well as a lack of target language competence in some cases, is likely to have contributed to such findings.

Abstract (croatian)

Kvaliteta strojnog prijevoda posljednjih je godina značajno porasla, pa se pojačano istražuje i njegova moguća primjena u prevođenju književnih tekstova. Uzimajući to u obzir, u ovom se radu istražuju načini na koje studenti prevoditeljskog smjera upotrebljavaju strojni prijevod pri prevođenju kreativnih tekstova. U istraživanju se posebno promatraju učinci strojnog prijevoda na kreativnost. Zadatak sudionika bio je da obave redakturu strojnog prijevoda novinskog teksta, koji je izvorno napisan na njihovom materinskom jeziku (L1), na prvom ili drugom stranom jeziku (L2 ili L3) te da drugi dio istog teksta ispočetka prevedu u istom smjeru. Nakon toga su dobili kratki upitnik u kojem su trebali komentirati zadatke. U rezultatima su vidljive određene nedosljednosti u komentarima sudionika. Na primjer, većina je rekla da preferira prevođenje ispočetka, ali u zadatku prevođenja svejedno su upotrebljavali strojni prijevod iako su napomenuli da im on zapravo i ne pomaže. Većina ispitanika također je rekla da strojni prijevod negativno utječe na njihovu kreativnost i da je to jedan od glavnih razloga zašto im je zadatak redakture bio teži. Međutim, većina ispitanika svejedno bi se u budućnosti koristila strojnim prijevodom u prevođenju sličnih tekstova. Manjak iskustva u redakturi, ali u nekim slučajevima i manjak kompetencija u ciljnom jeziku, vjerojatno su doprinijeli takvim rezultatima.

• Keywords: translation; creativity; machine translation; post editing
• Keywords (croatian): prevođenje; kreativnost; strojni prijevod; redaktura
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:371541
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation; Course: Translation; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-01-20 16:02:56