ERIC Number: EJ1077919
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0125-2488
EISSN: N/A
Investigating the Use of Google Translate in "Terms and Conditions" in an Airline's Official Website: Errors and Implications
Vidhayasai, Tya; Keyuravong, Sonthida; Bunsom, Thanis
PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, v49 p137-169 Jan-Jun 2015
In the era of globalization, the Internet is regarded as one of the most popular sources of information given the number of on-line browsers who have access to websites. The tourism industry, be it hotels or airlines, in the 21st century relies heavily on the provision of information via its official websites. Thus, it is crucial that the information be accurate so as not to cause misunderstanding, or legal and financial damage. However, when information in several foreign languages involves a complicated process of translation conducted with a translation machine, serious problems can occur. According to Newmark (1998), human translation occurs at two levels: semantic equivalence and communicative equivalence. The reliance on a translation tool such as Google Translate is therefore worth our attention to find out whether such a tool is efficient and practical. In this study, we investigate a low-cost airline's official website deploying Google Translate to translate its official, legal documents. Our particular focus lies in "Terms and Conditions" because of its crucial impact on the airline and its passengers. Findings suggest that errors occur at three major levels: lexical, syntactical and discursive. The errors inevitably cause unintelligibility, to which we provide explanations and also offer some practical implications for future use.
Descriptors: Web Sites, Translation, Air Transportation, Search Engines, Legal Responsibility, Legal Problems, Second Languages, Computational Linguistics, Error Analysis (Language), English, Thai, Contrastive Linguistics, Phrase Structure, Semantics, Vocabulary, Language Usage
Chulalongkorn University Language Institute. Prem Purachatra Building, Chulalongkom University, Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Tel: +66-2-218-6092; Fax: +66-2-218-6104; e-mail: pasaa.editor@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Publicationsonline/home_p1.php
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A