Machine Translation-Friendly Language for Improved Machine Translation Output in Academic Writing

Year 2024, Issue: 54, 1269 - 1287, 30.09.2024

Arif Bakla , Ahmet Çekiç

https://doi.org/10.37697/eskiyeni.1468068

Abstract

Academic writing aims to disseminate scholarly knowledge to a target audience in concise language. During this process, translators sometimes translate academic texts into foreign languages, so that the output of scholarly research can be read by speakers of different languages. In such cases, translators are to translate the source text into the target language in a clear and comprehensible language. This paper discusses how the authors of scholarly texts can structure their writing properly, so that they can help translators compose clear and concise translation output. Although the knowledge and skills of the translator are a key consideration in ensuring the quality of translated texts, the source text itself is highly influential in the quality of the output. Furthermore, although they might partially differ from one language to another, academic writing has some well-established conventions. Therefore, translators might experience some problems when they translate scholarly texts. This study aims to pinpoint such issues and to offer viable strategies that could be used for solving them before the translation process. Commonly encountered problems that impair the quality of the translation output are as follows: wordiness, ambiguous expressions, failing to consider the discourse structure of the target language while organising the source text, using conjunctions carelessly, using the passive voice unnecessarily, using indirect language to express ideas, using synonymous words sequentially, typos, and other similar problems. Though experience in academic translation can help solve some of these issues, it might not be possible to produce good translation output if the source text is poorly written. Success in academic translation can be achieved through collaboration between the author of an academic text and its translator. For this reason, it is necessary to raise the awareness of writers and translators on this issue.

Keywords

Translation and Interpretation, Academic Translation, Academic Writing, Social Sciences, Translation Friendly Language, Strategies, Readability

Akademik Yazmada Daha İyi Makine Çevirisi Çıktısı için Çeviri Dostu Akademik Dil

Abstract

Akademik yazım, bilimsel bilginin özlü bir dille hedef kitleye yayılmasını amaçlamaktadır. Bu süreçte çevirmenler bazen akademik metinleri yabancı dillere çevirirler. Böylece akademik araştırmaların çıktıları farklı dilleri konuşanlar tarafından okunabilir. Bu tür durumlarda çevirmenler kaynak metni açık ve anlaşılır bir dille hedef dile çevirmelidir. Bu makale çevirmenlerin açık ve öz çeviri çıktıları oluşturmalarına yardımcı olabilmeleri için bilimsel metin yazarlarının yazılarını düzgün bir şekilde nasıl yapılandırabileceklerini ele almaktadır. Çevirmenin bilgi ve becerileri çeviri metinlerin kalitesinin sağlanmasında önemli bir husus olmakla birlikte, bizzat kaynak metin de çevirinin kalitesi üzerinde oldukça etkilidir. Ayrıca, bir dilden diğerine kısmen farklılık gösterse de akademik yazmanın bazı yerleşik kuralları vardır. Bu nedenle, çevirmenler akademik metinleri çevirirken bazı sorunlarla karşılaşabilirler. Bu çalışma bu tür sorunları tespit etmeyi ve çeviri sürecinden önce bunları çözmek için kullanılabilecek uygulanabilir stratejiler ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Yaygın olarak karşılaşılan ve çeviri çıktısının kalitesini düşüren sorunlar şunlardır: lafı dolandırmak, muğlak ifadeler, kaynak metni düzenlerken erek dilin söylem yapısını dikkate almamak, bağlaçları gelişigüzel kullanmak, gereksiz yere edilgen çatı kullanmak, fikirleri ifade etmek için dolaylı bir dil kullanmak, eşanlamlı kelimeleri ardışık olarak kullanmak, yazım hataları vb. Akademik çeviride deneyim sahibi olmak bu sorunların bazılarının çözümüne yardımcı olsa da kaynak metin kötü yazılmışsa iyi bir çeviri çıktısı üretmek mümkün olmayabilir. Akademik çeviride başarı akademik metnin yazarı ve çevirmeni arasındaki iş birliği ile sağlanabilir. Bu nedenle yazarların ve çevirmenlerin bu konuda bilinçlendirilmesi gerekmektedir.

Keywords

Mütercim ve Tercümanlık, Akademik Çeviri, Akademik Yazma, Sosyal Bilimler, Çeviri Dostu Dil, Stratejiler, Okunabilirlik

Ethical Statement

Bu makale, 2. Türkiye Sosyal Bilimler Sempozyumu’nda birinci yazar tarafından sözlü olarak sunulan ve özet bildiri olarak TSBS Bildiriler Dergisi 2'de yayımlanan ancak tam metni yayımlanmayan “Sosyal Bilimlerde Çeviri Dostu Akademik Yazma: Uygulamaya Dönük Stratejiler” adlı tebliğin içeriği geliştirilerek ve kısmen değiştirilerek üretilmiş hâlidir. This article is a revised and improved version of an oral presentattion titled "Translation-Friendly Academic Writing in Social Sciences: Practical Strategies", which was delivered by the first author at the 2nd Turkish Social Sciences Symposium and published as an abstract in TSBS Proceedings Journal 2, but the full text was not published. *Bu not yayımlanmadan önce eklenmelidir.

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