I have been using Google Translation for several years since I was a senior high school student. Most of the time, I use it to translate words that I don’t understand.

I think the GT training session was enough since it was simple and we were so used to using it.

When I used GT for subtitle translation, I used it to translate the whole paragraph first. After that, I would double check the accuracy of the language so I divided the paragraph into many sentences, and translate them one by one respectively.

When I used GT for Bantaoyao translation, I used it when I didn’t understand the specific terms or terms seldom appeared. Then, we made a word list that could be use during the interpretation.

I think it is convenience for me to use GT to translation the whole long paragraph first. It cuts down on the time that I have to spend on translating them one word by one word. Then, I refine the paragraph based on my translation knowledge. I read every sentence that translated by GT, and see if there is something weird, for example, the same Chinese word represents different meanings. If this happens, I have to judge which translation word is proper. Then, I think peer discussions and teacher feedback are helpful since people are all subjective. We cannot see what others see, so it is important that we listen to others’ opinions and then revise again.

I met problems like those GT can only translate “meaningful words” into English. Like some Chinese names or specific terms, if there are not that word in English, then GT would use the “pronunciation” to translate the word. For instance, ‘偶的家” should be “Puppet’s home”, but instead, GT provided “Ou de home” or “ou de jia” for me.

I think when I translated text for Bantaoyao, I didn’t meet big problems. There was only a term that had controversy. The story was talking about a bird tribute by other birds, so I used “Hundred Birds Tribute To Phoenix”. But GT could only read words but not story so it showed “Bai Niaw Choau Fong” to me.

I think that GT is especially helpful when I don’t understand the meaning of the word. GT would provide many alternatives for me to choose from, which means I can use a different word in different passage. Second, GT is helpful when the paragraph is too long, or includes too many specific terms. I can use GT to translate first, then I refine and correct the language.

I think that GT is not helpful when the language cannot be represented in target language. For example, Chinese words cannot always be translated into English words by words, so I don’t want to use GT if there are too many culture meaning-contained words.

I really appreciate for GT in this class. It cut down the time I have to spend on reading, thinking, producing and typing. Instead, it gives me a broad sight and a frame that I can follow. It will be easier for me to translate other parts if I have a outline and understand the big structure of the text.

To conclude, using GT for the “first” translation is good. I think I will use this method to help me translate better. For me, I am not lazy, I am not cheating, and I understand how tools can help me. I think I can translate more effectively with the help of GT.