AI has been exerting a substantial impact on all occupations, particularly translation-interpretation. Let’s find out what opportunities and challenges are given to translators and interpreters!
- Opportunities
- Increasing efficiency: AI software such as Google Translate, DeepL, BingMicrosoft Translator, and Chat GPT help us translate texts automatically and by voice, so translators can complete lengthy texts rapidly.
- Translate a variety of text types: All types of text such as resumes, contracts, articles, stories…can be translated from the source language into the target language with AI assistance.
- Improved quality: in addition to Google Translate, which is increasingly enhancing the translation quality in terms of both vocabulary and grammar, especially when translating Vietnamese-English texts, some software such as Trados has many complicated features including Translation memory- a database that is constantly updated to help you store data for long-term use; Termbase – TB: like TM, TB is also a database, but to store terms related to a certain topic, and in bilingual form; Segments: A translated text in TRADOS will be divided into segments (lines) with the source text on the left, and the translation on the right.
- Challenges
- Harsh competition: According to a report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are currently about 300 million users of online translation tools, with lower costs and higher speed than hiring a translator. Therefore, their income is also significantly affected.
- AI errors: AI will have difficulty comprehending the context and cultural factors, so it is inevitable to use inappropriate words or reduce the naturalness of the translation. For example, the idiom “Có công mài sắt có ngày nên kim” will be translated into “With perseverance, iron will become a needle” employing Google Translate, which is completely wrong.
- Lack of flexibility and creativity: After all, AI is just a machine, so there is a restriction on using vocabulary and grammatical structures.
- Conclusion
In the AI era, using technology in translation and interpretation is unavoidable. However, there is no possibility that AI can replace the role of humans, but is only a supporting tool for translation quality improvement. Therefore, we need to constantly cultivate our knowledge, professional skills, translation skills, and proficiency using AI technology applications in our work effectively.
Ngoan Phạm