Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto
INFORMÁTICA DE TRADUÇÃO
FALL SEMESTER 2008
Lesson 22
16 December 2009
Teacher:
Elena Zagar Galvão
[email protected]
[email protected]
Webpage: web.letras.up.pt/egalvao
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
A quick introduction to
Machine Translation
(MT)
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
MT and computational linguistics
Computational linguistics 
 MT: sub-field of computational
linguistics that investigates the use of
computer software to translate text or
speech from one natural language to
another. (Wikipedia)

FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
Brief history
Arnold et al. Machine Translation, An Introductory Guide,
Manchester & Oxford, NCC Blackwell, 1994, p. 15
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
Intro and overview
See Arnod et alii :
http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/clmt/MT
book/HTML/node3.html
 http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/clmt/MT
book/HTML/node6.html#SECTION003300
00000000000000 (Some popular
misconceptions and Some facts)

FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
Question
Why doesn’t MT work better?
OR
“Why can’t a computer translate more like a
person?” Melby, Alan K. 1995:
http://www.ttt.org/theory/barker.html )
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão
Bibliography


Frank Austermühl’s chapter on MT (in our book)
Arnold, D. et al. Machine Translation – An Introductory Guide.
Blackwell. Oxford.1994
http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/clmt/MTbook/




Austermühl, F. Electronic tools for Translators.
Manchester/Northampton: St Jerome Publishing. 2001 (chapter 10)
(available at FLUP’s Library)
Melby, A. “Why can’t a computer translate more like a person?”
The 1995 Barker Lecture at http://www.ttt.org/theory/barker.html
Melby, A. The Possibility of Language: a Discussion of the Nature
of Language, with implications for Human and Machine
Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub.Co. 1995 (available
at FLUP’s Library)
Wikipedia
FLUP - Elena Zagar Galvão