Fren/Eng Trnsltn in Age of AI

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Translation is an obvious but often implicit component in language learning, whose ultimate goal—theoretically—is for learners to avoid translating altogether, and function independently in two (or more) languages, as true bilinguals and polyglots do. Yet learners frequently find themselves in a position to translate from one language to another, without having been taught how to perform translation in a reasoned, systematic manner. As a result, they tend to proceed with a hit-or-miss approach that rests on a fundamentally flawed procedure that favors a word-for-word equivalency system. Effective translation, on the other hand, requires applying a variety of strategies that need to be understood and mastered, leaving very little to guessing. Moreover, at this point, the ability of humans to perform a "simple" translation is far exceeded by that of AI software, at least quantitatively (it operates much faster). That has redefined the purpose of learning how to translate, shifting the focus on qualitative rather than quantitative issues, and on the heuristic value of translation in understanding how language works. Ultimately, students will realize that each language is a self-contained system, so that translation produces something that may never be completely equivalent to the source (the famous "lost in translation" effect). This course involves both theoretical elements on the nature of language and of the translation process, and guided practice on a range of text types, from the technical (the least figurative and ambiguous) to the creative. Sources will be drawn from several francophone cultural settings (Québec, West Africa, North Africa), in addition to standard French. Although French-to-English translation will remain dominant, students will also practice English-to-French translation, so as to gain a better sense of the different challenges involved. In September 2023 a new AI app was launched, HeyGen (https://app.heygen.com), which makes it possible to dub a video in a variety of languages, even creating avatars of original speakers whose lip movements synch with each language version. In 2024, Antoine Ménager, a 23-year old French engineer released a Beta version of Lipitt (https://www.lipitt.com/fr/), an even more powerful and less expensive app ("Un simple clic suffit pour traduire tes vidéos avec des sous-titres, des voix clonées et une synchronisation labiale."). In light of such developments, the purpose and objectives of teaching human beings how to translate have radically changed—a situation which powerfully affects how this course was conceived and designed. Translation, now more than ever, appears as a humanistic (rather than purely practical) endeavor, which increases students' awareness of irreducible linguistic and cultural differences that must be negotiated in order to make mutual understanding possible.