EC launches new translation system

Maltese members of the civil service now have the opportunity to use a so-called eTranslation system, which consists of a cutting-edge machine translation tool developed and used by the European Commission (EC), according to a press release the EC sent to Business Malta.

The EC, which has a Maltese department, developed this tool to enable its translators to work more efficiently. The new system uses neural artificial intelligence and yields more improved results than the previous one based on statistical models, as the press release says.

This eTranslation is now available to all public administration workers, who can access the service by sending an email with an official request from their management. The service is also available to everyone with a gov.mt email address, as well as similar addresses related to ministries, departments and other governmental entities in Malta.

“Thanks to its excellent results, eTranslation has proven to be an invaluable addition to our translators’ toolbox. Even though high-quality translation at our level requires skilled professionals, this tool could be of great use for anyone wishing to get the gist of a text in a language they do not speak, or to create a draft translation of a language they do speak,” said Helga Zahra, head of the Maltese language department in the EC’s Directorate-General for Translation.

In order to learn more about this innovative system, a dossier is available on l-aċċent, the Maltese language department’s publication. All issues of l-aċċent, including the latest one, are available on their website.

Furthermore, people interested in subscribing to the physical issue of the magazine can do so in an email.