Japanese to English Machine Translation Report of a Symposium (1990) / Chapter Skim
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2. The Commercial Challenges
2. The Commercial Challenges
Pages 8-19
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From page 8... ...
Before examining Japanese to English machine translation as it is being developed and used in the United States and Japan, it is helpful to review the broader context of machine translation development throughout the world. Machine translation development has advanced rapidly in the past few years, and while numerous challenges remain, machine-assisted translation is no longer a dream, but is actively and increasingly used around the world.
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From page 9... ...
In the private sector, manufacturing companies are using machine translation technology to produce product manuals and translation companies are using it to improve the volume and efficiency of translation efforts. Xerox, for example, uses the Systran machine translation system to translate its photocopier product manuals for distribution throughout the world.
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From page 10... ...
universities, such as work at Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Machine Translation, and the Linguistics Research Center at the University of Texas, and the sub-language approach pursued cooperatively by Hunter, Monmouth, and N.Y.U. If basic research on natural language processing and computational linguistics is taken into account, the United States still maintains a signficant research effort.8 What is lacking in the United States is a strong development effort on Japanese to English machine translation.
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From page 11... ...
Most Japanese to English machine translation is conducted in Japan. The fact that many Japanese computer makers have developed their own machine translation capability reflects their orientation toward product exports and their need to control the quality of translated manuals.
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From page 12... ...
Critics of machine translation argue that the products are based on dated technology. They argue that translators harbor serious doubts about machine translation on quality grounds, even if translators have a hard time quantifying the concept of quality.
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From page 13... ...
This is a primary reason for Japanese government support not only of researchers, but also of commercial developers, although there are other important reasons such as reducing the language barrier between Japan and other countries and disseminating Japanese technical information worldwide. Given that the major commercial machine translation systems have been mainframe-based, the traditional markets for machine translation have been limited to translation bureaus, multinational corporations, and intelligence and information gatherers, particularly in government.
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From page 14... ...
In fact, some large mainframe computer makers pursue machine translation development as a strategy for marketing their hardware to large companies. Bravice produces the only Japanese to English machine translation system that can be used on a variety of hardware.
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From page 15... ...
The Xerox experience deserves further mention. Xerox has developed an approach that integrates desktop editing programs and a Systran machine translation system to produce service manuals, Gaining programs, and operator 17 Some argue that quality standards must include a mixture of turnaround time, accuracy, and readablity, the relative importance of each varying with the needs of the particular user.
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From page 16... ...
(See Figure 2.) By gradually developing a system that translators are able to see as a tool in their work, and one that produces high-volume product in restricted technical domains, machine translation has been fully integrated with business operations.
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From page 17... ...
MCC has, in addition, recently initiated a research effort on knowledge-based natural language processing targeted toward machine translation technology development. Beyond corporations, individual professional translators and researchers also qualify as potential users of machine translation systems and machine aids for translators.
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From page 18... ...
This user can customize the system to suit his or her needs and tolerate marginal machine translation because there is a direct cost justification for this effort. The profile of the typical user of Japanese to English machine translation in the United States is someone who needs expanded access to Japanese-language technical information but who has no fluency in Japanese.
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From page 19... ...
· Special Purpose Systems · Interactive Systems Domain- · General Specific Purpose Constrained Systems Systems Systems Japanese to English machine translation systems useful for users in Japan only Japanese to English machine translation systems useful for users in both Japan and the United States \ Japanese to English machine translation systems useful for J users in Japan and possibly the United States FIGURE 3 User profiles for Japanese-English machine translation. SOURCE: Bernard Scott, Logos Co~oranon.
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