The implementation of computer assisted tranlation tools in translating technical documents the case of english translation and interpreting senior students at can tho university

CAN THO UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

B.A THESIS

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION
TOOLS IN TRANSLATING TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS: THE CASE OF
ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING SENIOR STUDENTS
AT CAN THO UNIVERSITY

Field of study: English Translation and Interpreting

Supervisor:

Student:

TRƯƠNG THỊ NGỌC ĐIỆP, M.Ed

TRẦN ĐỨC TÀI

Senior lecturer

Student code: 7116873
Class: XH11Z8A1
Course: 37

Can Tho, May 2015


STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, and it has
not been submitted for any other degrees. All of sources I have used or quoted have been
indicated and acknowledged by the complete references.

Trần Đức Tài
April, 2015

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Mrs. Truong Thi Ngoc
Diep, who has given me valuable comments and guidance. Without her dedicated support
and patience, the thesis could not have been completed.

Next, I would like to appreciate Mr. Chau Thien Hiep for his valuable suggestions on my
interview questions.

I also would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Le Sang Thien Phu, and Ms. Luu Thanh
Phung Co for helping me finding necessary materials to conduct this thesis.

Finally, I would like to thank all participants of this thesis. Without their assistance, my
research study could not have been completed.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................ i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. iii
LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES ................................................................. v
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1
1.1. Rationale ................................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Research aims ........................................................................................................ 2
1.3. Research significance ............................................................................................ 2
1.4. Research organization ........................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................ 4
2.1. An overview of translation, technical translation, and technical documents ........ 4
2.1.1. Definitions of translation .............................................................................. 4
2.1.2. Definitions of technical translation ............................................................... 5
2.1.3. Definitions of technical documents .............................................................. 5
2.1.4. Types of technical documents ....................................................................... 6
2.1.5. Problems encountered when translating technical document ....................... 7
2.2. An overview of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools .................................. 8
2.2.1. Definitions ..................................................................................................... 8
2.2.2. Types of CAT tools ....................................................................................... 9
2.2.3. Benefits of CAT tools and users’ skill requirements ................................... 12
2.3. CAT implementation in technical translation ....................................................... 13
2.4. Research questions ................................................................................................ 14
2.5. Expected outcomes ................................................................................................ 14

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................ 16
3.1. Research design ..................................................................................................... 16
3.2. Participants ............................................................................................................ 16
3.3. Instruments ............................................................................................................ 17
3.3.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................................ 17

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3.3.2. Interview ....................................................................................................... 18
3.4. Data collection ....................................................................................................... 18
3.4.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................................ 18
3.4.2. Interview ....................................................................................................... 19
3.5. Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................. 20
4.1. Research results ..................................................................................................... 20
4.1.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................................ 20
4.1.1.1. The implementation of online and electronic dictionaries,
glossaries when translating technical documents ........................................ 20
4.1.1.2. The implementation of tools that can capture data
into electronic form, spelling checker, grammar checker,
and Google Translate................................................................................... 21
4.1.1.3. Terminology management methods ..................................................... 21
4.1.1.4. The implementation of translation softwares ....................................... 22
4.1.1.5. Students’ definition of CAT tools ........................................................ 23
4.1.2. Interview ....................................................................................................... 23
4.1.2.1. Frequency of CAT tools use ................................................................. 23
4.1.2.2. Benefits of CAT tools when translating technical documents ............. 25
4.1.2.3. Effectiveness of CAT tools .................................................................. 26
4.1.2.4. Types of documents that students used CAT tools to translate ........... 27
4.2. Discussion .............................................................................................................. 28
4.2.1. The popularity of CAT tools among students when translating
technical documents .......................................................................................... 28
4.2.2. The frequency of CAT tools implementation among students ..................... 29
4.2.3. Types of technical documents that students use CAT tools to translate ....... 29

4.2.4. Benefits and effectiveness of CAT tools ...................................................... 29

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS....................................................................... 31
5.1. Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 31
5.2. Limitations ............................................................................................................. 32
5.3. Recommendations ................................................................................................. 32

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5.4. Directions for further research .............................................................................. 33

REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 34
APPENDIX A .................................................................................................... 37
APPENDIX B..................................................................................................... 39

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LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart 2.1 .................................................................................................................... 6
Table 1 ..................................................................................................................... 20
Table 2 ..................................................................................................................... 21
Table 3 ..................................................................................................................... 22
Table 4 ..................................................................................................................... 22
Table 5 ..................................................................................................................... 23

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ABSTRACT
Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools are prominent and beneficial tools for
translators in the translation process, especially in translating technical documents.
Although CAT tools are very popular among translation-majored students, research
studies on CAT tools implementation in translating technical documents in Can Tho
University have not been found. This research study aims to describe the
implementation of CAT tools among students and to explore students’ perception on
the benefits of CAT tools application when they translate technical documents.
Descriptive quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a 16-item
questionnaire and a 6-item interview. There were 60 participants from English
Translation and Interpreting major at Can Tho University. The findings suggested that
(1) simple CAT tools were more popular than complicated CAT tools, (2) the students
used CAT tools very often although they did not have a clear understanding of CAT
tools, (3) manuals were the most popular technical documents type that the students
use CAT tools to translate, and (4) most students considered CAT tools as effective
tools in translating technical documents. This research study can help students and
teachers to have a better understanding of CAT tools, thus they can consider teaching
or applying these tools for more effective technical translation.

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TÓM LƯỢC
Các công cụ dịch thuật có hỗ trợ máy tính (CAT) là những công cụ nổi bật và có nhiều
lợi ích cho dịch giả trong quá trình dịch thuật, đặc biệt là khi dịch các văn bản kỹ
thuật. Tuy nhiên các nghiên cứu liên quan đến đề tài ứng dụng của các công cụ CAT
khi dịch văn bản kỹ thuật ở Đại học Cần Thơ đã không được tìm thấy mặc dù các công
cụ CAT được sử dụng rất phổ biến trong các sinh viên ngành dịch thuật. Nghiên cứu
này nhằm mô tả việc sinh viên ứng dụng các công cụ CAT và tìm ra quan điểm của họ

về lợi ích của việc ứng dụng công cụ CAT khi dịch văn bản kỹ thuật. Dữ liệu mô tả
định lượng và định tính được thu thập thông qua một bảng câu hỏi gồm 16 câu và một
bảng phỏng vấn gồm sáu câu. Đã có 60 sinh viên chuyên ngành Biên Phiên Dịch tiếng
Anh tại trường Đại học Cần Thơ tham gia vào nghiên cứu này. Kết quả nghiên cứu chỉ
ra rằng (1) các công cụ CAT đơn giản phổ biến hơn các công cụ CAT phức tạp, (2)
sinh viên sử dụng các công cụ CAT rất thường xuyên mặc dù họ không hiểu rõ về
chúng, (3) hướng dẫn sử dụng sản phẩm hoặc thiết bị là loại văn bản kỹ thuật thường
được sinh viên sử dụng công cụ CAT để dịch nhất, và (4) hầu hết sinh viên đánh giá
công cụ CAT là các công cụ hiệu quả khi dịch văn bản kỹ thuật. Nghiên cứu này có
thể giúp giảng viên và sinh viên hiểu rõ hơn về các công cụ CAT và nhờ đó họ có thể
giảng dạy hoặc áp dụng các công cụ này nhằm đạt được những bản dịch kỹ thuật hiệu
quả hơn.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes (1) the rationale of the current research, (2) research
objectives, (3) research significance, and (4) research organization.

1.1 Rationale

Through out history, translation has been playing an indispensable role in
communication by means of written texts. According to Newmark (1988), first signs
of translation can be traced back to 3000 B.C, in the Old Egyptian Kingdom era.
Translation is a tool for communication and interaction between languages as long as
languages contact with each other (Newmark, 1988). In the Eastern world, signs of
translation can be traced back to the translation of the Buddhist sutras from Sanskrit to
Chinese in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period (Munday, 2001).
Newmark (1988) also emphasized the importance of translation by addressing the case

of the mistranslation of the word mokasuiu in the Japanese telegram sent to the United
States of America prior to Hiroshima bombing, when mokasuiu was translated as
“ignored” instead of “considered”. Translation also has a great impact on the whole
society as it appears in big, international events to small, daily events (Hatim &
Munday, 2004). Thus, the importance of translation and translation studies are
undeniable.

Documents are classified into genres or types. Technical translation is the translation
of technical documents. It is stated that any documents in any specialized fields that
have technical terms are properly classified in technical documents (Dickins, Hervey,
& Higgins, 2002). From a different point of view, technical document is claimed to be
the communicating tool used to transfer technical information to a small group of
professional readers (Nirmaldasan, 2005).
Swift advances in computer technologies and information technologies have resulted
in great benefits for translators in the translating process. A new form of translation
arrives from these advances is computer-assisted translation (or computer-aided
translation, machine-assisted translation) in which human translator incorporates with

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computer software in the translation process (Wikipedia, "Computer-assisted
translation", 2015). Automation, accuracy, time saving, and searching for equivalences
have been impressively improved since the appearance of CAT tools. However, few
research studies on CAT have been found in Can Tho University, especially in
translating technical document. Nguyen (2014) only focused on challenges in
translating manuals, a type of technical documents. This is the main reason that
motivated me to conduct the research study on “The implementation of computerassisted translation tools in translating technical documents: the case of English
translation and interpreting senior students at Can Tho University”.

1.2 Research aims

This research study aims (1) to describe the implementation of CAT tools among
students, and (2) to explore student’s perception on the benefits of CAT tools
application in technical translation.

1.3 Research significance

The results from this research study can help students and teachers to have a better
understanding of CAT tools, thus it can help them to consider teaching and applying
these tools more effectively. In addition, this research study can also be a reference
source for further research studies on related topics.

1.4 Research organization

The research study is divided into five chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Literature review,
(3) Research methods, (4) Results, discussion and conclusion, and (5) Limitations and
recommendation.
Chapter One presents the current situation of CAT tools implementation among
translation-majored students. Background information about translation, technical
translation and reasons to conduct this thesis are also mentioned in this chapter.

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Chapter Two reviews previous related studies and background information on
translation, technical translation and CAT tools
Chapter Three includes research method designs, materials, participants and data
collection procedures.
Chapter Four presents the research results from the questionnaire and the interview,

discussions about the findings and related conclusion.
Chapter Five covers the research limitations, recommendations and directions for
further research.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviews some previous theory studies in relation to technical translation
and CAT tools. This chapter includes: (1) an overview of translation, technical
translation, and technical documents, (2) an overview of CAT tools, (3) CAT
implementation in technical translation, (4) research questions, and (5) expected
outcomes.

2.1 An overview of translation, technical translation, and technical documents
2.1.1 Definitions of translation
Translation is the act of transferring the message in one language to another language
(Newmark, 1988). From this point of view, translation attempts to replace the message
in the source language (SL) by the same message in the target language (TL) while
preserving the message in the SL as much as possible. Translation can also be
understood as a process of transferring the written document in one language into
another language (Hatim & Munday, 2004). However, whether the focus is on the
meaning or on the form of the translated document is not shown.

Bhatia (2002) defines translation as an act of communicating the meaning of a
document in one language and an equivalent document in another language. This
definition focuses on the communicative aspect of translation. Having the same
perception, the process of translation includes the reproduction in the TL the closest
natural equivalence of the SL message, first in terms of the meaning of the message
and second in terms of the style of the message (Nida & Taber, 1982). This definition

considers the process of translation as a communicative process and focuses on the TL
readers because Nida & Taber (1982) also focus on style.

In conclusion, translation can be defined as the process of rendering, in the written
form, the message, meaning and style in one language to the equivalent message,
meaning and style in another language. Therefore, the term “translation” in this thesis
can be defined as the process of rendering the message, meaning and style of the SL
document to the equivalent TL document. This definition is contributed from all of the
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aforementioned definitions, yet it is simple and easy to understand. For that reason,
this definition is suitable for students, potential readers of this thesis.

2.1.2 Definitions of technical translation
Technical translation is a sub-group of specialized translation which includes technical
translation and institutional translation (Newmark, 1988). In this definition, specialized
translation focuses on professional fields, while technical translation deals with
technical documents such as documents in the field of medical, geography and so on.
Technical translation focuses on technological documents such as user manuals,
service guides, or documents that belong to subjects that are based on applied
knowledge from the natural, scientific fields (Byrne, 2006). Both Newmark (1988) and
Byrne (2006) describe technical translation as the one that deals with technical
documents. In conclusion, technical translation in this thesis paper can be considered
as the translation that focuses on technical documents because this definition is
adopted from the definitions of technical translation proposed by Newmark (1988) and
Byrne (2006).

2.1.3 Definitions of technical documents
Technical documents are the tools for communicating technical information to a small

group of professional readers (Nirmaldasan, 2005). It can be derived from this
definition that professional documents are written by technical writers and intended for
professional readers. Technical writers are professional writers who prepare instruction
manuals, journal articles or other types of supporting documents in order to
communicate technical information in written form (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
“Technical writers”, 2014).

Other features of technical documents are described as objectivity, absence of
expressiveness and emotion, precision, economy, conciseness, and formality (Baakes,
1994). Newmark (1988) also lists some grammatical features such as: nomination (or
nominalization), passive, third person, empty verbs, and present tenses. Based on
terminology and syntactic features, and the relationship between subject and matter,
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Byrne (2006) classifies a number of technical translation features such as
nominalization, heavy pre and post-modification, extensive use of passives, third
person, long and complex sentences.
However, terminology, defined by Cambridge dictionary as “special words or
expressions used in relation to a particular subject or activity”, is the most important
feature. In addition, Newmark (1988) exerts that terminology is the feature that helps
distinguish technical translation to other forms of translation, despite making up only
five to ten percent of the documents in terms of the number of words.

2.1.4 Types of technical documents
Technical documents such as documents in the fields of geography, medical and so on
are probably non-cultural and for that reason, are universal. While institutional
translation deals with more cultural documents in the fields of politics, commerce,
finance, law, government, etc (Newmark, 1988). The reason for this classification is
that terms used in technical documents are common to all languages and not dependent

on culture while terms used in institutional translation refer to a specific cultural
phenomenon.
Specialized translation
Institutional

Technical

Subject field

Approach

Geography

T

P

Art

T

P

Medical

T

P

Finance

T

P

Law

T

Politic

P

T

P

T (Theoretical approach): textbooks, articles, essays
P (Practical approach): rule, code, research

Chart 2.1: Division of specialized documents by Newmark (1988, cited in Nguyen,
2014)
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According to Byrne (2006), technical documents can be classified into four groups: (1)
documents that have a function to guide in a procedure such as instructions, (2)
documents that describe or explain such as descriptions or explanations, (3) documents
that persuade or evaluate such as research proposals, and (4) documents that
investigate or report that has the purpose of introducing new information. Byrne’s

classification of technical documents is based on the function of the documents and
thus, focuses on the practical aspect of technical documents. The definition of
technical documents that this thesis paper focuses on adopts Byrne’s classification.
The adoption is due to the focus of this thesis paper is on the practical aspect of
technical translation. Byrne’s classification is also eighteen years later than
Newmark’s and therefore more modern. The more modern it is, the more likely it is
compatible with the implementation of CAT tools in translating technical documents.
Because CAT tools emerge and change in accordance with computer and information
technologies while these technologies are probably changing and developing really
fast.

2.1.5 Problems encountered when translating technical documents
Translators usually encounter with various difficulties in the translation process. The
challenges can be found in many levels from words, phrases, sentences, and even the
whole document. Technical translation is not an exception to this overall phenomenon.
The general difficulties in translating technical documents are mainly related to
terminology and consistency.

There are three types of lexical problem that the translator can encounter when
translating technical documents (Dickins et al., 2002). These lexical problems can be
generalized as terminology problems due to the fact that they all relate to technical
terms. According to Dickins et al. (2002), these lexical problems are (1) technical
terms that are unfamiliar to the translator as they are only used in the technical
documents; (2) technical terms that are familiar to the translator because they are also
used in normal, non-technical contexts, but they seem like they are also used by the
writer in a technically specialized way in the technical documents; and (3) technical
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terms that are familiar to the translator because they are also used in normal, nontechnical contexts, but they do not seem like they are also used by the writer in a

technically specialized way in the technical documents. Also, according to Nguyen
(2014), terminology is the most difficult challenge for translation-majored students
when they translate technical documents.

When translating technical documents, according to Dickins et al. (2002), conceptual
problems are related to the underlying knowledge in the specialized field that the
translator does not understand or fully understand due to the fact that the translator is
not an expert in the field and also does not have the necessary skills and/or knowledge
in that field. Conceptual problems can be seen as the problems when the translators do
not understand the underlying message in the technical document.

Another type of problems when translating technical documents is consistency
(Merkel, 1996). As many technical documents or many translators are involved in the
translation process, “it is very difficult to produce consistent translations of recurrent
stretches of document, such as paragraphs, sentences and phrases” (Merkel, 1996, p.
1). Interestingly, translation memories, which is one of the main types of CAT tools,
are also proposes by Merkel (1996) as a solution to this problem. This is discussed in
2.3.

2.2 An overview of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools
2.2.1 Definitions
CAT is a form of translation in which computer softwares are used to support a human
translator in the translation process (Wikipedia, "Computer-assisted translation",
2015).As CAT tools cover a wide range, they can include many kinds of tools, from
simple to complicated ones. CAT is also defined as the process in which the human
translators are responsible for the translation process, but they use computerized tools
to help them complete the translation process and improve the translation productivity
(Bowker, 2002). Therefore, CAT tools are the computer tools that help the translators
to improve the translation process efficiency.
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Both definitions are rather similar, yet Bowker’s definition of CAT tools states the
purpose of implementing CAT tools in the translation process. As this thesis paper
focuses on the practical aspect and the use of CAT tools, the definition of CAT tools in
this thesis is an adoption of Bowker’s definition of CAT tools: CAT tools are the
computerized tools that can assist the translators in their translation process to improve
the translation efficiency.

2.2.2 Types of CAT tools
Bowker (2002) classifies CAT tools into four main types as follow: (1) tools that can
capture data into electronic form for simpler editing: if the translators want to utilize
any computerized tools for the translation process and enjoy the benefits of these tools,
they must have the documents in electronic form. This is the CAT tools that can
capture the data in the printed, hard copy form of documents into electronic form. (2)
corpora and corpus-analysis tools: these CAT tools are large collections of texts, built
by translators in their research for terminologies, and usually divided into specific
fields. These texts can be useful for the translators because they can compare the
function, meaning and message of the texts in their contexts or environment; thus
helps them to understand better the texts if they encounter them again in other
documents. (3) terminology-management systems: the function of these CAT tools is
to help the translators to manage their terminology database. Terminologymanagement systems can help the translators to store, retrieve and manage their
terminology records. Therefore, the translators have a clear understanding and control
of their terminology usage during the translation process, which can help the
translators to solve terminologies and conceptual problems when translating technical
documents. (4) translation-memories systems: this type of CAT tools is one of the
main types of CAT tools which can store segments of the SL and their equivalent
segments of the TL in the previous translations. These segment pairs can be used by
the translators during their later translation. Also, there are many options for segment
pairs that offer the translators many solutions to translate. Bowker (2002) also predicts

the developments of CAT tools in the future such as the adjustments of user interface
to be more convenient for the translators when they use these CAT tools, and the
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emergence of localization translation CAT tools. Localization is the process in which
the translation process occurs even before the writing process of the documents is
finalized. The writing process and the translation process can happen simultaneously.

In addition, Craciunescu, Gerding-Salas, & Stringer-O'Keeffe (2004) classify CAT
tools into four following groups from the most simple to the most complicated: (1)
electronic dictionaries, glossaries, and terminology databases: these electronic
dictionaries and databases can help the translators to type and look for words, jargons
and terms much faster than printed dictionaries. Moreover, the translators can also
manage the finding process. (2) concordances: the definition of concordances is rather
similar to the definition of corpus and corpora tools of Bowker. In fact this can be
understood as another name of corpus and corpora analysis tools. However,
concordances also handle part of the word such as prefix as suffix. (3) online bilingual
documents: this is basically another type of concordance but gather their segment pairs
from online user and attempt to apply the most-suggested segment pairs in the
translation process. This type of CAT tools attempts to store a source document and
it’s previously translation. This is called a bi-text; and from this bi-text, segment pairs
and options are offered to the translators. (4) translation memories: its definition is
similar to Bowker’s one. The segment pairs are primarily offered by translators from
the same segment pair occurrence that belongs to previous translations.

Wikipedia.org (“Computer-assisted translation”, 2015) also gives a classification of
CAT tools and each type definitions as follow:

(1) translation memory softwares: This type of CAT tools is already defined by

previous studies. However, Wikipedia states that segments can be large units such as
paragraphs, to smaller units such as sentences and clauses.

(2) spelling checker, grammar checker: This type of CAT tools is used to check for
spelling and grammatical errors. A prominent tool of this type is attached to Microsoft

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Word software, in which errors in grammar and spelling are shown and highlighted to
the translators so that they can apply appropriate adjustment.

(3) language search-engine softwares: This tool can help the translators to search for
previously translated version of the texts. The softwares focus on searching the
repositories of the translation memory softwares that are available on the internet.
Some notable search-engine softwares are ISYS Search Software and dtSearch.

(4) project management softwares or crowd translation: This type of CAT tools can
help translation project managers to assign and manage the translation tasks to the
translators participate in the translation project. Some examples of this type of CAT
tools are Projetex, Quahill, and Project Translation. Trados also has a small extension
that functions as a project management tool for individual management purposes.

(5) alignment softwares: This type of CAT tools aligns the SL texts and TL texts for
better analysis and translation. Some advanced CAT tools can also attempt to
determine what segments from both languages can be group into a pair. Thus these
pairs can be used to construct database for translation memory softwares.

(6) interactive machine translation: In this type of CAT tools, the process of
automated translation is based on predicting the way the translator will translate. Then,

the translator is free to edit the resulted translation. An example of interactive machine
translation is Google Translate.

(7) terminology management softwares and electronic dictionaries: This type of CAT
tools provides the translators the ability to quickly search for the meaning of
terminologies and vocabularies. Some advanced CAT tools can also allow the
translators to edit and add terminologies into their terminology databases, or check for
errors in using terms.

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The main reason for the differences in the classification of CAT tools are the
development of information technology and computer technology. CAT tools are
understood in this thesis paper as: any computerized tools that the translators use to
assist them in completing their translation process. The classification which contains
nine types of CAT tools is as follow: (1) tools that can capture data into electronic
form for simpler editing, (2) online or electronic dictionaries, glossaries, terminology
management softwares, (3) spelling checker, grammar checker, (4) interactive machine
translation, (5) project management softwares, (6) language search-engine softwares,
(7) alignment softwares, (8) concordances, and (9) translation-memories systems.
2.2.3 Benefits of CAT tools and users’ skill requirements
Barrachina et al. (2009) assert that in the experiments with Xerox Corpora, when using
Alignment template (AT)-based or Stochastic finite-state transducers (SFST)-based
interactive system, a translator from Spanish to English only needs to spend about 20%
typing effort to type the characters in order to produce a correct translation. The
percentage when using Phrase-based models (PMBs) system is even less than 20%.
When experimenting with EU Corpora and using PMBs system, a translator from
French to English only needs 20% effort of typing in order to produce the translation.
The percentage of Alignment templates (ATs) and Stochastic finite-state transducers

(SFSTs) is about 30%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the translators can save a
great effort of typing when using translation memory softwares listed above.

To use CAT tools requires certain skills. As CAT tools based on computer, it requires
the translator to have a sufficient level of computer skills in order to utilize them. In
the survey Translation Memories Survey conducted by the Imperial College London in
2006, this computer skills requirement could be concluded. The survey was conducted
with the participation of 874 translation professionals from 54 countries in two
months. The language combinations, according to the survey, covered all living
languages. Among 874 participants who were translation memory tool users, 64% of
respondents reported to have “good” level computer skills and 30% reported to have
“excellent” level, no one reported to have no skills at all. This clearly showed that all
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translation memory tools required their users to have high or excellent computer skill
to use. Although this survey was only about translation memory – one of the major
types of CAT tools, it also could show that CAT tools required their users to have a
sufficient level of computer skills to use.

2.3 CAT implementation in technical translation
According to Merkel (1996) translation memory, a kind of CAT tools can help with
consistency in technical translation. Repetitions can be transferred to the TL
documents consistently due to segment pairs in both SL and TL that are stored in the
database.

Automation as much as possible from using CAT tools is advised among the five
methods of translating technical documents proposed by Byrne (2006) namely: the
length of the text, the localization-proof, the utilizing of CAT tools, the documents
should be well-prepared and well-organized, the sample of a technical translation

should be prepared. However, he only advises CAT tools in case the same rule of
terminology management occurs in the technical document. Actually, as CAT tools
develop and become better due to better computer hardware and information
technology, CAT tools can be used to support technical translators in most technical
documents.

Terminology management softwares and electronic dictionaries can help the
translators to easily manage and search for terms appear in the translation process
Wikipedia (“Computer-assisted translation”, 2015). As analyzed in 2.1.5, terminology
is one of the main problems in technical translation. With the help of this type of CAT
tool, the translators can search for, store previously used terms for future use, or even
check for errors in using these terms.

In the Translation Memories Survey in 2006 of the Imperial College London, among
the translators who used/are using Translation Memory tools, 61% reported to have
their area of specialization in technical translation. This clearly indicates that most
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professional technical translator utilize this type of CAT tools in their translation
process. However, this study only focused on translation memory but not on all types
of CAT tools.
While there are posts on CAT topic in Vietnam such as Các phần mềm hỗ trợ dịch
(CAT) có trên thị trường thế giới (Retrieved May 2nd, 2015) which was not conducted
in a systematic research methods, in Can Tho University, previous study by Nguyen
(2014) only focused on challenges in translating manuals – one typical type of
technical documents. According to Nguyen (2014), terminology is the most difficult
challenge facing English translation-majored students in translating technical
documents. Moreover, due to the newly emergence of CAT tools, research studies on
CAT tools in Can Tho University has not been found. These are the motivating

reasons for conducting this research study on the implementation of CAT tools when
translating technical documents in senior English translation and interpreting students
at Can Tho University.

2.4 Research questions
To fulfill the two research aims: (1) to describe the implementation of CAT tools
among students, and (2) to explore student’s perception on the benefits of CAT tools
application in technical translation, this thesis tries to answer the following questions:
1/ How popular are CAT tools among students when translating technical documents?
2/ How often do students use CAT tools to translate technical documents?
3/ What types of technical documents do students use CAT tools to translate?
4/ What benefits do students think CAT tools provide them?

2.5 Expected outcomes
From the research aims, there are three expected outcomes for the research questions:
1/ CAT tools would be very popular among the students.
2/ Google translate would be the most frequently used CAT tools.
3/ Manuals would be the most frequent type of technical document that students apply
CAT tools to translate.
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4/ Students would consider CAT tools as highly effective, fast and convenient tools
when translating technical documents.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS
This chapter describes (1) the research design, (2) the research participants, (3)

materials, (4) data collection, and (5) data analysis in detail.

3.1 Research design
In order to describe (1) how popular CAT tools are among students when translating
technical documents, (2) how often students use CAT tools to translate technical
documents, (3) what types of technical documents students use CAT tools to translate,
and (4) what benefits students think CAT tools provide them, descriptive quantitative
and qualitative research design were applied in this thesis. Descriptive design was
chosen because the purpose of descriptive research is to describe in a natural way a
phenomenon without any intervention (Seliger & Shohamy, 1989, as cited in Nguyen,
2013).

Quantitative research was chosen because quantitative research can provide a measure
of what people think from a statistical and numerical perception and can gather a large
amount of data for analyzing and organizing purposes (British Library, 2012).
Moreover, quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and generalizes
the data among a group of people (Babbie, 2003). Quantitative research largely used
methods are questionnaires or surveys with set questions and a selection of answers for
the participants to tick (British Library, 2012).

Qualitative research was chosen because qualitative research emphasizes the nature of
reality (Babbie, 2003). In addition, qualitative research focuses on how people feel,
what people think or why people make their choices, and is usually conducted in the
form of group or one-to-one interviews with open questions (British Library, 2012).
3.2 Participants
There were two main reasons for choosing participants. Firstly, the participants were
expected to have the same level of English competence in order to completely
understand the instructions, questions and the answers in the questionnaire and the
interview. Secondly, the participants were chosen to survey because they had taken
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