Abstract:

Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools and Machine Translation (MT) systems have not only enhanced translators’ work, but also revolutionised the translation market and the roles of translators themselves. From the existing web-based MT systems, one in particular, Google Translate (2016) has led scholars (Garcia, 2011; Pym, 2003) to foresee that future translators will see their work reduced to fixing or post-editing the output of MT systems, ultimately posing a threat to the very profession itself by “fully replacing human translation” (Pym, 2013). While human translation may appear to be under threat, it is our perspective that translator education institutions should prepare for future challenges.

The objective of this study is twofold. Firstly, to break existing taboo attitudes towards GT as a valid tool in translator education. Despite the acknowledged importance of the growing uptake of machine translation and its importance in helping students become more informed and critical users of the tools they will encounter in their future careers (Pym, 2003; Kenny 2007, Kenny and Doherty 2014), GT is still restrained to a notorious or inexistent position within translation programs. Secondly, we aim to assess whether using GT in the translation classroom may promote a type of “electronic literacy” (Shetzer and Warschaeur, 2000) or new "digital literacy in translation" which may foster students' awareness towards the cognitive, extra-linguistic and decision-making constraints inherent to the translation process.

This research project was conducted with a group of first year undergraduate students enrolled in a Applied Foreign Language undergraduate course, majoring in Translation at a higher education institution in Portugal. We report on data derived from a mixed-method approach of translation tasks and comparative analyses that aim to capture students’ attention towards the use of GT. The preliminary results presented in this article are also based on the questionnaire prepared to assess students' perceptions of the translation work and tasks carried out.

By integrating tools such as GT in translation syllabi, students not only learn with and from technologies to develop information literacy skills, but also develop their human dimensions of intuition, creativity and cultural awareness. As such, higher education institutions need to engage in an informed discussion so to provide a transversal and uniform position on the place of Machine Translation.

Keywords:

Google Translate, electronic literacy, machine translation, translator training, translation literacy.