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  • Are computer-assisted tools replacing traditional (print) dictionaries in translation?
    Majcenovič Kline, Barbara
    Becoming a competent translator is a very long and complex process which begins at the very beginning of college studies, though it does not end when an individual has a diploma certificate in his or ... her hands. It is like driving a car - students are provided with the most basic and important instructions and guidelines by the department professors, yet "real" life and work experience gives them the necessary "know-how" of the "trade". These later experiences can only be complemented successfully if the whole college-level teaching process provides an adequate basis on which the career of a competent translator is built further. One of the primary bases is the use of dictionaries, which should not be taken for granted. During the course of my work I have noticed how students come to college with different levels of knowledge and working habits. This is also reflected in the use of different dictionaries. Recognizing a good dictionary and being able to use dictionaries to their fullest potential (be they classical or electronic dictionaries) is one of the prerequisites (or the first steps) towards becoming a professional translator. The way my students have dealt with the tasks given to them within the courses of Jezikovne vaje I, II, and III gave me the idea for this paper. As it turns out, younger students tend to use traditional dictionaries while working on translation tasks during the first two years of their studies. By traditional I mean print versions, but I should also mention online dictionaries and dictionaries on CDs, where the latter offer the same approach to explaining unknown words as the print dictionaries students are used to consulting from primary and high school on. What was interesting to me was the fact that the above mentioned students were only just beginning to discover the "additional bonuses" of online dictionaries and dictionaries on CDs (more examples, exercises, a thesaurus, etc.) with the help of college teachers. More experienced and competent students, on the other hand, start using electronic tools for translators fairly early on, as the tasks become more and more demanding. Does this mean that "classical" dictionaries are just not enough? Do students in general prefer computer-assisted tools to "classical" dictionaries? This paper is an attempt to compare both sources from a translator's point of view, and to illuminate the teachers' as well as the students' awareness and role in the process of the student becoming a competent translator. In the second part of the paper I present the results of my research into which dictionaries are used by our students and why. The research is based on the responses to a questionnaire given to all four years of translation students in our department. The results supported my belief that students in the first two years of study seem to be quite content with the use of print dictionaries or their simpler electronic versions, whereas later on they are more "open" to experimenting with different and more modern dictionaries. Having said that and being familiar with the versatile nature of the translation process, I have also come to the conclusion that good classical dictionaries will not become entirely obsolete for quite some time.
    Source: English language, literature and culture in a global context (Str. 87-99)
    Type of material - article, component part ; adult, serious
    Publish date - 2008
    Language - english
    COBISS.SI-ID - 16257800

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