plug-ins a student’s guide to information literacy
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PLUG-INs A Student’s Guide to Information Literacy . TRANSLATION PROGRAMS. You can find the meaning of a word quickly using them. Online translation programs can be very helpful to students learning a new language. BUT . . . Online translations are done by a machine, not a person with - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
PLUG-INs A Student’s Guide to Information Literacy
TRANSLATION PROGRAMS
Online translation programs can be very helpful to
students learning a new language.
You can find the
meaning of a word quickly using them.
BUT . . .Online
translations are done by a
machine, not a person with
a brain.
Machines cannot think (yet)
and make decisions about complicated
meanings of words.
For example, a translation program might not catch the difference between bank (side of a river)
and bank (for money).
Another problem with machine translation is
word variation between different countries with the
“same” language.
For example, words in Saudi Arabic may not be the same in Tunisia, Lebanon or
the Emirates.
Machine translations may not result in the correct word order
which can affect the meaning.
For example :
I gave her Maryam’s book.
I gave Maryam her book.
If you do not spell all the original words
correctly, a translation program cannot give an
accurate translation.
For example, if you type “red” for
“read,” the translation will not be correct. The machine does not know that you made a typing
mistake.
Lastly, online translation programs
will not correct bad grammar or errors in punctuation.
If your original was not correct, the translation will not be correct
either.
1. http://translate.google.com/translate2. http://www.appliedlanguage.com/free_translation.shtml3. http://free.translated.net/ 4. http://www.omniglot.com/links/translation.htm
These 4 free websites can translate
complete sentences. Some websites only translate
one word at a time like a dictionary.
Let’s look at some examples of English-Arabic translations from these free programs. Are the results accurate?
You be the judge.
We will use this sentence : “The UAE football team won
the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007.”
http://translate.google.com/translate
http://www.appliedlanguage.com/free_translation.shtml
http://free.translated.net/
http://www.omniglot.com/links/translation.htm
What is your opinion? Are these translations
accurate? If not, what are the problems?
Why are there problems?
Also note that websites offering a
“free” product might really want
you to buy an upgrade.
There is a translation feature in Microsoft
WORD. From the Review tab,
click on Translate.
For example, the Britannica
Online School Edition.
Some databases from the HCT Library have a translation feature.
Mouse over a word & the Arabic
will appear. It will not translate complete
sentences.
At the end of an article, you will see an orange
box Turn on Arabic
Translator
The database UAE Interact has all pages in both
English and Arabic.
Do you remember how to access the
HCT Library Databases ?
From the HCT portal,
click on Library.
Then, Databases
and e-Books.
Click on Databases and eBooks
Or, put this URL in your “Favorites”
library.hct.ac.ae
Click on Resources,
then Databases and E-Books
I hope this helps you
understand the correct use and limitations of translation programs.
Ask your teacher or
your friendly librarian if you
have any questions.
If you find any good new sites
for free English-Arabic translation, please inform your friendly
librarian.
Because websites on the Internet come and go,
there may be new sites posted after this presentation
was written.
Thank you for listening.
HAPPY READING
!