Presenting InterpretBank, a new generation of terminology tools for interpreters

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Presenting InterpretBank banner

Today’s post is about the improvements in the field of terminology support for interpreters through computer-assisted interpreting (CAI) tools. InterpretBank is an example of such tools, it was developed as part of a PhD project and it uses IATE as one of its terminology sources. Our guest writer Claudio Fantinuoli (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germersheim) tells us all about it.

Presenting InterpretBank banner1

InterpretBank is a computer-assisted interpreting (CAI) tool originally developed at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz in Germersheim as part of a PhD research project. The objective of this project was to create a computer program to support professional interpreters during all phases of the interpreting workflow, from preparation to the act of interpreting. With the aim of improving interpreting quality especially in the context of specialised events, InterpretBank focuses on the creation and management of specialised glossaries as well as on facilitating terminology memorization and retrieval during interpretation.

InterpretBank implements the results of several years of research and the feedbacks of a growing number of users. The tool integrates automatic translation and high-quality terminology databases, such as IATE, to reduce the effort and the time involved in writing glossaries. During preparation, a memorization utility helps interpreters learning the event-related terms. While interpreting, intelligent algorithms allow the user to access relevant terminology quickly and without distracting the interpreter from his or her primary activity – translating between languages. Several independent studies have confirmed that the tool can contribute to increasing the overall interpreting quality. We have now taken a further step forward integrating Speech Recognition.

Screenshot Interpretbank IATE
Screenshot of the InterpretBank website

The interest for the emerging field of CAI tools is growing: InterpretBank is taught in a large number of universities and in dedicated seminars held by professional associations around the world. InterpretBank is the tool of choice not only of many professionals but also when it comes to empirical research in the field of translation technology. In Germersheim, for example, an ongoing PhD project is investigating cognitive load in simultaneous interpreting with the support of terminology management tools.

More information about the tool at www.interpretbank.com


Written by Claudio Fantinuoli. Claudio Fantinuoli is Senior Lecturer at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germersheim. His research and teaching areas include information management for translators and interpreters as well as corpus-based translation and interpreting studies.

Post prepared by Doris Fernandes del Pozo – Journalist, Translator-Interpreter and Communication Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament.

Disclaimer_External contributions to blog

Sources:

  • Biagini, G. (2016) Glossario cartaceo e glossario elettronico durante l’interpretazione simultanea: uno studio comparativo (Printed Glossary and Electronic Glossary in Simultaneous Interpretation: A Comparative Study). Thesis, Università degli studi di Trieste. Available at: http://bit.ly/2uQon86 (Accessed 12 July 2017)
  • Fantinuoli, C. (2016) “InterpretBank. Redefining computer-assisted interpreting tools”. Proceedings of the Translating and the Computer 38 Conference in London. Geneva: Editions Tradulex, 42-52. Available at: http://bit.ly/2tHbn65 (Accessed 12 July 2017)
  • Fantinuoli, C. (2011) “Computerlinguistik in der Dolmetschpraxis unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Korpusanalyse”. Translation: Corpora, Computation, Cognition. Special Issue on Parallel Corpora: Annotation, Exploitation, Evaluation. TC3, 1(1). Available at: http://bit.ly/2ucKRSP (Accessed 12 July 2017)
  • Fantinuoli, C. (2009) “InterpretBank: Ein Tool zum Wissens- und Terminologiemanagement für Simultandolmetscher”. In: Baur, Wolf & Kalina, Sylvia, & Mayer, Felix & Witzel, Jutta (Eds.) Übersetzen in die Zukunft. Herausforderungen der Globalisierung für Dolmetscher und Übersetzer. Tagungsband der internationalen Fachkonferenz des Bundesverbandes der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer e.V. (BDÜ), 411-417. Berlin: BDÜ. Available at: http://bit.ly/2tHejQ5 (Accessed 12 July 2017)
  • Fantinuoli, C. (2006) ” Specialized Corpora from the Web for Simultaneous Interpreters”. In: Marco Baroni and Silvia Bernardini (eds.) Wacky! Working papers on the Web as Corpus, 173-190. Bologna: GEDIT. Available at: http://bit.ly/2ud0Q3j (Accessed 12 July 2017)
  • Prandi, B. (2015) The use of CAI tools in interpreters’ training: A pilot study. In Proceedings of the 37 Conference Translating and the Computer, London. Available at: http://bit.ly/2tHJhHV (Accessed 12 July 2017)