Most translation in the world is not of texts which have high literary and cultural status. The great majority of professional translators are employed to satisfy the huge and growing demand for translations of scientific and technical documents, commercial and business transactions, administrative memoranda, legal documentation, instruction manuals, agricultural and medical text books, industrial patents, publicity leaflets, newspaper reports, etc. Some of this work is challenging and difficult. But much of it is tedious and repetitive, while at the same time requiring accuracy and consistency. The demand for such translations is increasing at a rate far beyond the capacity of the translation profession. The assistance of a computer has clear and immediate attractions. The practical usefulness of an MT system is determined ultimately by the quality of its output. But what counts as a ‘good’ translation, whether produced by human or machine, is an extremely difficult concept to define precisely. Much depends on the particular circumstances in which it is made and the particular recipient for whom it is intended. Fidelity, accuracy, intelligibility, appropriate style and register are all criteria which can be applied, but they remain subjective judgments. What matters in practice, as far as MT is concerned, is how much has to be changed in order to bring output up to a standard acceptable to a human translator or reader. With such a slippery concept as translation, researchers... [to full text]