On the Perception of Human Translation and Machine Translation Post-Editing among Vietnamese Translators

On the Perception of Human Translation and Machine Translation Post-Editing among Vietnamese Translators

The translation paradigm has radically shifted from translation-from-scratch by humans, to translation done with the help of machines—especially during the last decade. Nevertheless, the role of humans in the translation process remains, but altered, for both academic and occupational purposes. This article touches on the perception of the processes and products of human translation (HT) and machine-translation post-editing (MTPE). Three hypotheses were proposed to understand perceptions between HT and MTPE: (1) the difference in the level of difficulty in searching for ‘vocabulary’ and ‘terminology’; (2) the difference in the level of satisfaction with the ‘accuracy’ and ‘fluency,’ and with the usage of ‘terminology’ and ‘idioms’ in the products; and (3) the difference in the level of satisfaction with the ‘pay’ for the work between HT and MTPE. Survey data were collected from 94 student translators in Vietnam, an Asian nation where multinational translation services prevail. The results reveal that the Vietnamese participants perceive that ‘vocabulary’ and ‘terminology’ searches can be more conveniently carried out in MTPE than in HT; the participants are equally satisfied with accuracy and fluency of HT and MTPE; and the participants generally satisfied with the pay for the translation services both in HT and MTPE.