新加坡捷运名称于中英呈现之特色－谷歌、百度和微软翻译的对比研究 = The English to Chinese Translation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Station Names in Singapore – A Comparative Study of Google Translate, Baidu Translate and Microsoft Translator

Abstract

In the 21st century, online translation tools have played a huge role in removing the barrier to human communication. In this day and age of technology, translation tools are becoming increasingly advanced and producing more accurate and fluent translation. With the wide variety of translation tools available online, there is still a lingering question of which translation tool is the preferred one. This thesis aims to do a comparative study of the three translation tools based on the English to Chinese translation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station names in Singapore to find out which translation tool is preferably used for the English to Chinese translation of the MRT station names in Singapore and evaluate reasons behind it. The official Chinese MRT station names selected by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore will allow a benchmark for comparison. Limitations of each translation tool in translating MRT station names will also be explored. Next, using analysis to come up with a possible theory in how MRT stations were named offically by LTA and by the three machine translation tools. Lastly, using a survey to find out Singaporeans’ preference Chinese’s station names. From a social linguistic point of view, data analysis and evaluatation will be done to find out if first language impacts their choice of names. Research data includes the offical translation of the MRT station names in English and Chinese. This two resources are obtained from the Land Transport Authority’s website. The various machine translations are obtained by using Google Translate, Baidu Translate and Microsoft translate respectively. Information in past research papers about the limitations and benefits each translation tool will be used to support the thesis.

In the 21st century, online translation tools have played a huge role in removing the barrier to human communication. In this day and age of technology, translation tools are becoming increasingly advanced and producing more accurate and fluent translation. With the wide variety of translation tools available online, there is still a lingering question of which translation tool is the preferred one. This thesis aims to do a comparative study of the three translation tools based on the English to Chinese translation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station names in Singapore to find out which translation tool is preferably used for the English to Chinese translation of the MRT station names in Singapore and evaluate reasons behind it. The official Chinese MRT station names selected by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore will allow a benchmark for comparison. Limitations of each translation tool in translating MRT station names will also be explored. Next, using analysis to come up with a possible theory in how MRT stations were named offically by LTA and by the three machine translation tools. Lastly, using a survey to find out Singaporeans’ preference Chinese’s station names. From a social linguistic point of view, data analysis and evaluatation will be done to find out if first language impacts their choice of names. Research data includes the offical translation of the MRT station names in English and Chinese. This two resources are obtained from the Land Transport Authority’s website. The various machine translations are obtained by using Google Translate, Baidu Translate and Microsoft translate respectively. Information in past research papers about the limitations and benefits each translation tool will be used to support the thesis.