Technology in the Translation Workflow: A Survey on Professional Translators' Use of and Opinion about Computer-Assisted and Machine Translation

In the last few decades, the introduction of technology into the translation industry has revolutionised the traditional translation workflow. As a result of the invention and the implementation of specific translation technologies, a new and different approach has been adopted by the professional translators, who have integrated new tools in their workflow. This allowed translators to speed up the translation process and improve the quality of the translated text, which shows the inherent value associated with such applications. For these reasons, most translators and translation service providers choose to use them on a daily basis and the benefits they produce are now considered fundamental. In this dissertation, data concerning the use of computer-assisted and machine-translation technology by professional translators is investigated through a survey, with special reference to the performance of such tools, translator’s opinion about them and their preferences for one or the other system. In addition, the data are analysed with particular focus on legal translation, so as to highlight any specific attitudes and needs expressed by legal translators.