Machine-Aided Translation: From Terminology Banks to Interactive Translation Systems.

The rapid growth of the need for technical translations in recent years has led specialists to utilize computer technology to improve the efficiency and quality of translation. The two approaches considered were automatic translation and terminology banks. Since the results of fully automatic translation were considered unsatisfactory by various reports, significant efforts were made to construct automatized terminology banks. A critical comparison of the main existing banks suggests that these banks are the first step toward interactive translation systems. Exchange problems in networks of banks and terminological cooperation between international organizations will necessitate standardization of terms, symbols, and definitions. It is proposed that automatized terminology banks be designed from a different viewpoint by making greater use of well known techniques in computer systems and artificial intelligence, based on evaluation of present and future developmental issues in data base organization, translation research, interactive translation systems, and man-computer communication. (Author/CWM)