Abstract

In this paper we present a method for term extraction that can be used in classroom with translation students. The terms are extracted from a multilingual parallel corpus with the aid of a parallel concordancer, AntPConc. Our work is focused on English-Greek medical terminology translation, but the method can be transferred to other language pairs and other fields of terminology.

For more information on the parallel concordancer: http://www.laurenceanthony.net

Introduction

In this paper we present an alternative source of translated terms, as well as the method that can be used to extract it. Although this project is focused on medical terminology for the English-Greek direction, the proposed technique can be exploited both for other terminology areas and for other language pairs. The language resource we use is the parallel EMEA corpus and the tool used for its processing is AntPConc, a parallel concordancer.

Parallel corpora and their advantages in translation training  

Although terminology regarding parallel coprora is quite blurry in that various terms have been used to express the same or similar concepts, such as comparable or translation coprora, in this project, by “parallel corpus” we mean a corpus comprised of original texts in one language and one or more translations of these texts in one or more other languages1.

Parallel corpora can provide important information about language structures and translation equivalents (Lawson, 2001), which is not usually encountered in a traditional bilingual dictionary due to lack of context or information about the use in context. According to Teubert (1996), a large parallel corpus includes more information about translation equivalents than any bilingual dictionary.

Parallel corpora can also help translation students focus on solutions for typical translation problems that have already been handled by experienced translators, as well as achieve more natural and precise translations. Even building a corpus has a positive impact on learners: they get to identify problems concerning text selection as well as other technical problems, thus becoming better corpora users and analysing texts in a more careful manner (Bernardini, 2004). I. Saridakis (Saridakis, 2011) supports including in translation studies modules that would iniciate students in Corpus Linguistics techniques. Moreover, parallel corpora can also be of great help in teaching terminology management, as previous successful translations are considered the best source for a translator (Lawson, 2001).

In this project, we focus on a parallel corpus and its processing is performed in the concordance table format, which, despite its disadvantages, does contribute to the translator's work in an efficient way.