Improving the Translation of Idioms by Google Translate

Abstract

One of the most challenging and difficult aspects of translation is related to the translation of idioms by both machine systems and human translators. The problem arises from the recognition of the idioms on the one hand and translating them on the other hand. Idiom recognition is not easy since an idiom may change its form based on the context in which it is used. Using systematic idiom collections and special rules to recognize idioms, the problem can be solved to a great extent. Moreover, the inclusion of a morphological as well as syntactic parser can greatly enhance the idiom recognition and translation process. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we want to test Google Translate to see how well it is capable of translating idioms and next to provide means to improve the quality of translation of idioms by Google Translate.