Translation Assessment at University – the Creation of a Computer Interface
Abstract
Between September 2004 and January 2006, I analysed assessments of five hundred and forty five translation assignments produced by French native speaker students from English into French. The analysis revealed that the students’ translation errors could be divided into four main categories – those of comprehension, expression, research, and revision – which correspond to the major steps a professional translator has to perform in his/her work. The objective of this article is to present an ‘error tree’, which takes into consideration the analysed, and other potential
errors; and it’s aim is both to facilitate assessments by teachers, and to help students to adopt a pro-active approach in their work. The error tree is intended to reflect French norms concerning translation assessment at University but some elements can be considered as a transgression of the norms. As of this date, the tree has already been tested and a further category has been added. The ongoing research also led to the creation of an interface for an e-learning platform in 2007, and this is continuing to be tested in conjunction with students.