Integrating Speech Synthesis in Institutional Post-Editing of Machine-Translated Texts

Doctoral project - Justus Brockmann

In light of recent technological advancements, machine translation (MT) and postediting (PEMT) have become dominant topics in both Translation Studies and the language services industry, and their impact on the work of professional translators is growing. In line with efforts to improve the ways in which PEMT is supported by technology – and motivated by growing interest in speech technologies among scholars and practitioners – this research project proposes integrating speech synthesis in the workflow of institutional translators, as MT and PEMT are increasingly also affecting translation processes in the institutional space.

Results from a mixed-methods workplace study will be used to investigate the effects the use of speech synthesis has on the PEMT process. Data from translation error annotation, time-tracking, eye-tracking, key-logging, questionnaires, and focus group interviews will be analysed to identify potential effects of introducing speech synthesis on:

• Target text product quality
• Participants' temporal, technical and cognitive effort
• Participants' attitudes towards this mode of working

Activities

• Presentation at the 2023 Translating and the Computer Conference
• Presentation at the 2022 Translating and the Computer Conference
• Presentation at IATIS training event on Neural Machine Translation