A translation invariably reflects the writing style of the translator.

Question

A translation invariably reflects the writing style of the translator. Sometimes when a long document needs to be translated quickly, several translators are put to work on the job, each assigned to translate part of the document. In these cases, the result is usually a translation marked by different and often incompatible writing styles. Certain computer programs for language translation that work without the intervention of human translation can finish the job faster than human translators and produce a stylistically uniform translation with an 80 percent accuracy rate. Therefore, when a long document needs to be translated quickly, it is better to use a computer translation program than human translators.

Which one of the following issues would be LEAST important to resolve in evaluating the argument?

(A) whether the problem of stylistic variety in human translation could be solved by giving stylistic guidelines to human translators
(B) whether numerical comparisons of the accuracy of translations can reasonably be made
(C) whether computer translation programs, like human translators, each have their own distinct writing style
(D) whether the computer translation contains errors of grammar and usage that drastically alter the meaning of the text
(E) how the accuracy rate of computer translation programs compares with that of human translators in relation to the users’ needs

Desertchampion · Accepted Answer

(A) whether the problem of stylistic variety in human translation could be solved by giving stylistic guidelines to human translators
 If the problem of stylistic variety in human translation could be solved would address one of the issues discussed in the prompt.

(B) whether numerical comparisons of the accuracy of translations can reasonably be made
 If numerical comparisons of the accuracy of translations can be made, then we can truly know which translations are or are not good ones. 
 
(C) whether computer translation programs, like human translators, each have their own distinct writing style
 This would be necessary to know if the computer translations programs are going to split translations as humans do. Since they won't be doing that in this scenario, it is not important.

(D) whether the computer translation contains errors of grammar and usage that drastically alter the meaning of the text
 This is important to know because if computer translation may change the meaning of the text, it may be better to give the task to a human translator who would take longer but provide a translation with an unaltered meaning.
 
(E) how the accuracy rate of computer translation programs compares with that of human translators in relation to the users’ needs
 Knowing the accuracy rate is very necessary to make a decision about whether a computer translation program is better than a human translator in each scenario.

The correct answer is answer choice C.

Please give kudos if this was helpful in any way!

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(A) No. If stylistic differences between human translators could be reduced by providing guidelines for writing, there would be fewer reasons to use a computer for translation. This answer-choice provides an alternate solution to the stated problem.

(B) No. To determine the relative accuracy of computer versus human translations, numerical evaluations would be very useful.

(C) Yes.  The issue is the different writing styles  within  a given document. The argument advocates using a  single  computer program to translate a given document—thus, insuring the writing style will be consistent throughout the document.

(D) No. The argument presumes that accurate translation is important. It is certainly relevant to determine whether a translation program makes errors that
change the meaning of the text.

(E) No. Knowing how the translation is used is important for determining whether the style of the translation is more important than its accuracy.

sobby · Answer

its C --- MY reasoning :

C is taking about the style difference among computer programs ...that is irrelevant as one document is converted by only one computer program that will create a consistent doc.....

arvind910619 · Answer

IMO C
As option c talks about the computer's writing style which is irrelevant because a long document is fully translated by a single computer, so the document would not have any difference in the translation .

deveshj21 · Answer

nightblade354   eakabuah 
Well, i am having a bad day.
As per my understanding the problem discussed was that a long document when translated was not uniform in style, but when the same was translated by a computer program it was uniform in style, but the document now has some accuracy issues. So the argument must be assuming that Uniformity matters over Accuracy or that the accuracy of translation is same when translated by either of the two, in order to draw conculsion: "Therefore, when a long document needs to be translated quickly, it is better to use a computer translation program than human translators.". Isn't option E brings into play the assumption which if stated strengthens the argument.

nightblade354 · Answer

deveshj21 , we are trying to find the item that LEAST helps our cause. Your explanation shows that you understand that (E) helps in a tremendous way, so there is no way it can be our answer.

deveshj21 · Answer

nightblade354 
Kill me seriously kill me, I misread the question particularly "LEAST". Thankyou for making me notice.

Posted from my mobile device

pk6969 · Answer

Hi! In this question though I know that C is correct answer, but I wasn't able to eliminate B. Because in the passage it is already mentioned that computers translate with an 80% accuracy rate. So, that would already cover the grammar and meaning error. Please tell what am I missing.

IanStewart · Answer

First, C is clearly irrelevant here, while B talks about something that might be relevant (accuracy), so C will be the right answer -- in a test situation, you wouldn't want to spend any time working out why B is wrong.

Answer B is a bit strange, for the reason you mention. I don't think you'd see a similar answer choice on the GMAT, because B seems to bring a premise into question, and I can't think of any GMAT questions that tread close to that line. It is, however, reasonable to wonder what that "80% accuracy" figure means, since, as the stem says, translation is a very complex task. What is the numerator and what is the denominator? If the author of the argument arrived at the 80% figure by one method (counting spelling mistakes per word, say), but there are many other methods you could use (grammar mistakes per sentence, say, or meaning errors per paragraph), there might not be a reasonable way to measure accuracy numerically. That's how I read answer B -- even reading the stem, the possibility is still open that accuracy can't correctly be numerically compared, and it would be useful to know if that's possible. There might be a better way to think about it, but in any event, if we learned we can't compare translators numerically, the 80% figure in the stem becomes meaningless, so we have less evidence that computer translators are competent. So B certainly matters.

On a side note, I find the argument bizarre: an 80% accuracy rate in translation sounds hopelessly bad to me, but the author of the stem seems to want us to think it's very good.

Pranavsawant · Answer

Therefore, when a long document needs to be translated quickly, it is better to use a computer translation program than human translators.

If they are explicitly saying "quickly", isn't speed a more important factor than style? Even if humans did have uniform style, computers would simply be much faster.

bb · Answer

Pranavsawant  I am not sure what impact this has on the answer. What I think they are saying is that:

1. Human is better than a computer. This is assumed by the argument. If you have time, use a human. 
2. If you need fast, use computer because a fast translation by humans will cause many translators to have incompatible pieces merged together.

I don't feel that the speed is a central argument here (this is likely written 30 years ago when there were no good translation tools) but this is one reason you should not bring outside knowledge to the argument.

Pranavsawant · Answer

Hi bb. I reviewed this question again and I now see C as a clear answer. However I have some things to point out regardless:

I am a bit skeptical of your statement in (1). I don't think the passage is saying a human is better than a computer. A computer takes less time but compromises on accuracy. So it totally depends on speed vs accuracy. Also the passage never says if humans have an accuracy of translation greater than that of computers. So saying that humans are better is a bit of a strectch I feel. In fact, I feel the author is siding more with the use of computers. But again, I don't think we can make any such direct inferences. Also the passage does say computers are faster than human translators (prural), so I assume that means one computer is faster than a group of translators. Or maybe it doesn't, I feel that's a bit of an assumption from me.

Now, the passage says that when a long document needs to be translated "quickly", speed is a factor here. Computers are faster and given speed is a criterion, doesn't matter if human translators follow a set of guidelines or not. They will be slower than a computer. Also, it might be the case that in following those guidleines, the translators are now slower in translation and end up taking more time. So this again favors the use of computers cause we need the translation to be done "quickly".

C is a good answer but I'm not entirely convinced that we can eliminate A so easily

I feel I'm trying to advocate too much for answer A whereas choice C is advocating for itself. I sometimes use that to make the distinction xd. If I have to over-advocate for an answer, in all likelihood, it is the incorrect choice.

bb

Pranavsawant I am not sure what impact this has on the answer. What I think they are saying is that:

1. Human is better than a computer. This is assumed by the argument. If you have time, use a human.
2. If you need fast, use computer because a fast translation by humans will cause many translators to have incompatible pieces merged together.

I don't feel that the speed is a central argument here (this is likely written 30 years ago when there were no good translation tools) but this is one reason you should not bring outside knowledge to the argument.

I feel I'm trying to advocate too much for answer A whereas choice C is advocating for itself. I sometimes use that to make the distinction xd. If I have to over-advocate for an answer, in all likelihood, it is the incorrect choice.

bb · Answer

I don't think it is an argument relevant to the question. You are correct that the passage does not say a human is better than a computer but you I feel you can strongly INFER that from the passage that a human translator is better than a computer in MOST cases because the passage emphasizes that a computer software is to be used only in a specific scenario. If the computer was better, why not use it always? The passage says "Therefore, when a long document needs to be translated quickly, it is better to use a computer translation program than human translators." and that is what the inference is based on. The condition to use a computer is: 1) long document and 2) quickly. If these 2 conditions are met, then use a computer. While the passage does not specify and it does not mean that in all other cases do NOT use a computer but it can ben heavily/strongly inferred that the author likely implying that human translators are to be used in all other cases, because why be so specific in arguing when to use a computer? Again, this is not what the argument is based on but this is the implication of the passage.

Pranavsawant · Answer

That's a fair point, thank you!! 
And thank you so much for creating GMAT Club, it's an incredible resource!

A translation invariably reflects the writing style of the translator.

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A translation invariably reflects the writing style of the translator.

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