There are four basic types of translation, three of which are types of machine translation or machine-assisted (-aided) translation:
Human translation. A human translator performs all the steps in the translation process, using a computer only as a word processor, if at all.
Computer-assisted human translation (CAT). The translation is performed by a human translator, but he/she uses the computer as a tool to improve or speed up the translation process. This is called machine-assisted (-aided) human translation (MAHT) by people in the field of machine translation as opposed to the field of human translation.
Human-assisted (-aided) machine translation (HAMT). The source language (SL) text is modified by a human translator either before, during, or after it is translated by the computer.
Fully automatic (automated) machine translation (FAMT). The source language text is fed into the computer as a file, and the computer produces a translation automatically without any human intervention. This is sometimes referred to as batch mode. There are two types of fully automatic machine translation. There is fully automatic high-quality machine translation (FAHQMT) and there is low-quality machine translation.
Click here for an introduction to machine translation which gives a more detailed discussion of the different kinds of translation and their differences.
Click here for a list of books about computer-assisted translation.
Click here for links to other interesting sites relating to language technology.
This page is continually (albeit slowly) being expanded, and more information is appearing about computer-assisted translation, etc., so keep checking back!
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