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Information Sciences Letters

Information Sciences Letters

Abstract

This study provides a baseline for future comparisons in translation technology awareness which has implications for teaching translation technology under the premise that greater systematic training on translation technologies is needed in Saudi universities. The study is quantitative in nature: It investigates the awareness of translation technologies among 213 Saudi translators via a questionnaire distributed through Twitter and LinkedIn. The questionnaire was used to measure translators’ awareness of five types of translation technology tools, namely CAT tools, Machine Translation (MT), Terminology Management Systems (TMS), Corpora Analysis Tools, and Quality Assurance (QA) tools, along with seven types of online resources, namely online dictionaries, knowledge-based resources, discussion fora, search engines, web pages, online documents, and Translation Memories (TM). The results show various degrees of awareness toward the tools and resources. However, Saudi translators were more familiar with the online resources than tools. More specifically, 50% and above of respondents displayed comparable high familiarity for all online resources, except for TM which recorded lower familiarity. As for tools, MT was the tool most familiar to translators, followed by CAT tools with a fair awareness, and a limited awareness was reported for TMS, QA tools, and Corpora Analysis Tools. Based on the findings, the study suggests searching for effective solutions to keep translators motivated and updated regarding recent translation technology. Another recommendation is to conduct further research that draws upon broader perspectives to explore the factors that have a decisive influence on the awareness of translation technology.

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