human-computer interaction

Like many other knowledge workers, translators spend much of their day making decisions at computers. If information flow or concentration is impaired due to non-optimal ergonomics, the efficiency of the process and the quality of the final product can suffer. This interdisciplinary project combines perspectives from translation studies, occupational health, usability testing, and language technology to investigate ergonomic issues at the translation workplace.

The CASMACAT project will build the next generation translator's workbench to improve productivity, quality, and work practices in the translation industry.

We will carry out cognitive studies of actual unaltered translator behaviour based on key logging and eye tracking. The acquired data will be examined for how interfaces with enriched information are used, to determine translator types and styles, and to build a cognitive model of the translation process.

Based on insights gained in the cognitive studies, we will develop novel types of assistance to human translators and integrate them into a new workbench, consisting of an editor, a server, and analysis and visualisation tools. The workbench will be designed in a modular fashion and can be combined with existing computer aided translation tools.