AI & NMT in Arabic L10n: an Asset or an Enemy?! You Decide :):
I enjoyed attending a lot of L10n rooms where they all tackled a lot of important topics related to culture & how AI is affecting us nowadays!
- Platform Economics, Rapid Scaling, and Localization
- Localization Explained
- The Worldly Marketer Chat
- Language, Culture, and Growth
- Localisation talks – PoPo
And in the same week, Slator reported interestingly that: “a court in Poland has set a precedent of sorts by weighing in on the use of free machine translation (MT) tools such as Google Translate?” read the full story.
And that what we have to talk about. It’s not about the replacement of a translator/ linguist, it’s about how we will do the actual work we are doing nowadays!
In their book, Humility Is the New Smart: Your job is at risk—if not now, then soon” Edward D. Hess & Katherine Ludwig are exploring “how human beings can excel at the skills that smart machines and smart robots will not be able to do well in the next few decades, which is totally related!
For me, translation is a scientific art & a sophisticated process performed by the most complex organ in the human body – the human brain!
However, this doesn’t mean that neglecting MT in our translation/ localisation community is the right decision!
We have to study the tech-savvy tools and make use of the available technologies. That’s why I have taken the MTPE certification by SDL, notwithstanding my beliefs because we must have the courage to read the trends hovering around to be able to reap its benefits if any!
It covers the techniques and skills involved in MTPE:
- Rules-based Machine Translation (RBMT);
- Statistical Machine Translation (SMT);
- Neural Machine Translation (NMT);
- Different MT solutions: Generic & Customizable engines;
- Differenct levels of post-editing: light post-editing, full PE vs Over-editing, etc!
And I came to the conclusion that: Neural MTPE is an asset to human linguists & not a replacement! “Translation & Culture Matter” – AI will hardly be able to imitate culture! And according to some studies, 75-80% of prosumers around the world prefer to buy what reflects their own cultural identity.
Entrepreneurial Arabic Linguist (LL.B.) (B.A.)
I’m an Egyptian woman in my 30s passionate about language since childhood. I was born in Egypt & raised up in Qatar until I was 11 then returned back to Egypt i.e. I live & breathe MSA Arabic as well as Gulf & Egyptian dialects/ cultures!
I translate & localise from English to Arabic & specialize in legal, UN & EU affairs, as well as general & documentary translations since 2006. You are neither dealing with a Freelancer nor an Agency! But you are dealing with what is best in Both Worlds ❤
This is a work of love! I haven’t seen many resources addresses to translators/LSPs specifically. Thanks for sharing.