Is ChatGPT good at translation? What can it do – and not do – for professional translators, and how should effective ChatGPT prompts be written?
In the blog article below I will explain how to get started with
ChatGPT and provide tips for effective ChatGPT prompt engineering, including examples of how it could be used by translators in their work.
First, though, I will share a few personal thoughts about ChatGPT in a video. Watch it here:
If you're receiving this blog post via email, you can watch the video on my blog here or on YouTube here.
Here is the link to the blog post "Why translators don't fear the machines" of 1 February 2020, which I'm referring to in the video above.
Getting started with ChatGPT
Getting started with ChatGPT is easy. Visit https://chat.openai.com/chat, click "Sign up," create an account, and use the "Send a message" field to interact with ChatGPT. (For $20 a month, you can upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, which offers access to GPT-4, larger data sets, priority access, and faster response times.)
Effective ChatGPT prompt engineering for translators
- Place instructions at the beginning of the prompt and use ### or """ to separate the instructions and context, as recommended by OpenAI.
Prompt example:
Fix all OCR errors in the following text and list any words you have corrected.
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- Create simple and clear prompts, and avoid jargon. Keep in mind that ChatGPT tends to ignore anything it doesn’t understand.
- Set the context by starting your prompt with a brief statement that clearly outlines what you’re doing or aiming to achieve.
Prompt example:
I'm a technical translator. I'm translating a text from English into German in the context of artificial intelligence and machine learning for the first time. Can you provide a list of 20 frequent German technical terms in this field and a definition for each term?
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- Start a new chat as often as necessary. The model will retain information within a single chat and will not propagate your input across different chats.
- Add one or more examples if ChatGPT doesn’t understand the instruction (but avoid overloading the engine with too many examples).
Prompt example:
Change all numbers in UK format to numbers in German format based on the following example, but do not list the numbers in UK format.
0.2291 = 0,2291
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- Break down complicated instructions into multiple parts so as not to weigh down the engine with too many instructions all at once.
- Use the "Regenerate response" button, where appropriate, for more options, a differently worded response, etc.
- Whenever possible, avoid negative instructions. It is often more effective to instruct ChatGPT on what to do (rather than what not to do).
What ChatGPT is NOT
ChatGPT is not a search engine, knowledge base or encyclopedia. Keep in mind that ChatGPT will confidently provide responses, even when they are blatantly wrong, and it cannot distinguish between “facts” and made-up information. While ChatGPT typically produces coherent text, its output can be nonsensical, inconsistent, or inaccurate upon closer examination.
ChatGPT is also not a translation engine. Many texts are not suitable for machine translation; however, for any texts that are clearly suitable for machine translation, it is advisable to stick to traditional MT tools, such as DeepL, as they are generally more reliable and faster.
However, ChatGPT excels at carrying out certain administrative tasks on your behalf.
ChatGPT as your virtual assistant
Remember the 80/20 rule which I discussed in a previous blog post? ChatGPT can sometimes complete 80 per cent of a task, leaving just 20 per cent for you to do. Often you just need to customise its output. For example, you can seek quick answers to general IT-related queries from ChatGPT or instruct it to draft (possibly awkward) emails for you.
Prompt example:
Please write a 500-word email to a client, in which you point out that the text which I've been sent for revision will need to be retranslated as it appears that it's been machine-translated and is therefore unusable. Use a polite and formal tone. Point out that while machine translation has improved in recent years, it is still unable to match the level of precision and nuance achieved by humans translators.
ChatGPT also excels at extracting data or terminology from sources that have been chosen for use in translations. This feature can save you from the tedious task of sifting through lengthy documents and manually compiling glossaries yourself. Here the "Act as..." ChatGPT hack can prove useful.
Prompt example:
I want you to act as a text-based Excel sheet. Please extract 10 keywords from the English text below and list them in table format, with a column with the English terminology on the left and a column with the corresponding in-context German translations of those keywords on the right.
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The quality of the ChatGPT output varies: sometimes it's good, sometimes it’s not. Therefore any ChatGPT response should always be carefully reviewed before it is used. It is therefore advisable to rely on conventional approaches for terminology
research in translation, such as consulting specialised dictionaries,
blogs or other online resources, using Google search operators, or
discussing terminology with humans.
This blog article provides an introduction to ChatGPT for translators and includes tips for effective ChatGPT prompt engineering, along with a short video in which I share personal thoughts about ChatGPT.
