Description
Book SynopsisFrom tech giants to plucky startups, the world is full of companies boasting that they are on their way to replacing human interpreters, but are they right? Interpreters vs Machines offers a solid introduction to recent theory and research on human and machine interpreting, and then invites the reader to explore the future of interpreting. With a foreword by Dr Henry Liu, the 13th International Federation of Translators (FIT) President, and written by consultant interpreter and researcher Jonathan Downie, this book offers a unique combination of research and practical insight into the field of interpreting.
Written in an innovative, accessible style with humorous touches and real-life case studies, this book is structured around the metaphor of playing and winning a computer game. It takes interpreters of all experience levels on a journey to better understand their own work, learn how computers attempt to interpret and explore possible futures for human interpreters. <
Trade Review
Jonathan Downie continues his mission to bring interpreting research to the people. Outspokenly, he tackles fundamental questions for interpreters in the 21st Century. Firmly grounded in Interpreting Studies, Downie interlaces research with anecdotes well-founded in any interpreter’s daily life. It is an equally trailblazing and sulphurous book on the aspirations of machine interpreting, and the fatal mistake of not making a difference. The book is a welcome addition both to the debate on the future of interpreting and to my students’ literature list.
Elisabet Tiselius, Stockholm University, Sweden
A deep exploration of the limits of language, technology and the enabling power of human mediation in promoting understanding. This book puts interpreters back in the driver's seat, where they belong.
Ewandro Magalhaes, Technology Advocate and Former Chief Interpreter in the UN System, USA
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Level One – The fundamentals
Chapter 1: What is interpreting?
Chapter 2: How humans interpret
Chapter 3: How computers "interpret"
Level Two – How machines gained the upper hand
Chapter 4: How we wrecked our own PR
Chapter 5: Speech translation's marvellous (but misleading) marketing
Level Three – Choose your interpreting future
Chapter 6: Human interpreting as a stopgap
Chapter 7: Hanging on with legal help
Chapter 8: Mastering niches
Chapter 9: Making interpreting matter again
Level Four – Interpreting that beats the bots
Chapter 10: Beating the bots Stage One: taking back interpreting PR
Chapter 11: Marketing interpreting that matters
Chapter 12: Deliver more than words
Chapter 13: Coaching and supervision
Level Five – One last thought
Chapter 14: It's time to call a truce
Bibliography
Index
