Edit distances do not describe editing, but they can be useful for translation process research

摘要

Translation process research (TPR) aims at describing what translators do, and one of the technical dimensions of translators' work is editing (applying detailed changes to text). In this presentation, we will analyze how different methods for process data collection describe editing. We will review keyloggers used in typical TPR applications, track changes used by word processors, and edit rates based on estimation of edit distances. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the limitations of these methods when describing editing behavior, and to incentivize researchers in looking for ways to present process data in simplified formats, closer to those that describe product data.