Subsentential translation memory for computer assisted writing and translation

Abstract

This paper describes a database of translation memory, TotalRecall, developed to encourage authentic and idiomatic use in second language writing. TotalRecall is a bilingual concordancer that support search query in English or Chinese for relevant sentences and translations. Although initially intended for learners of English as Foreign Language (EFL) in Taiwan, it is a gold mine of texts in English or Mandarin Chinese. TotalRecall is particularly useful for those who write in or translate into a foreign language. We exploited and structured existing high-quality translations from bilingual corpora from a Taiwan-based Sinorama Magazine and Official Records of Hong Kong Legislative Council to build a bilingual concordance. Novel approaches were taken to provide high-precision bilingual alignment on the subsentential and lexical levels. A browser-based user interface was developed for ease of access over the Internet. Users can search for word, phrase or expression in English or Mandarin. The Web-based user interface facilitates the recording of the user actions to provide data for further research.