(Yoneoka, Saito and Tomei 2015, Jacet)

The multi-site translation function of the HIGOSIGN website allows for instantaneous translation of a single source text by multiple websites. It also provides a back translation for each translation, allowing the user to immediately judge whether the sign has been appropriately translated or not. With this function, the user can perform cyclical translations by "tweaking" the source text until the back translation is appropriate and reflects what the user wants to express.

Back-translation refers to the process of translating a target text back into the source language in order to check for correctness and appropriateness of expression. It is a useful tool to aid translators who are not native speakers of the target language. However, back translation does not always indicate an error in translation, as the problem may be with the back translation itself.

 Tomei, J. and J. Yoneoka, 　(2015) Online Translation Sites: Problems and Possibilities The 2014 Pan SIG Proceedings Sustainability: Making Teaching and Learning Last, JALT, p. 234-239.
 Yoneoka, J. 2015/8/30 Online Translation Sites: Is there a Baby in the Bathwater? JACET ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 鹿児島大学
 Yoneoka, J., J. Tomei and C. Saito 2015/7/17 Blending Online Translation Technology with Offline Translation Methodology (共同） The 21st International Conference of IAICS, Hong Kong Polytechnic, HK

The multi-site translation function of the HIGOSIGN website allows for instantaneous translation of a single source text by multiple websites. It also provides a back translation for each translation, allowing the user to immediately judge whether the sign has been appropriately translated or not (but see back translation for caveats to this). With this function, the user can perform cyclical translations by "tweaking" the source text until the back translation is appropriate and reflects what the user wants to express.

It goes without saying that not all automatic translation websites are equal. Some translation engines work better for some language pairs than others, and some translation sites work better for short, pithy sentences while others prefer longer text. The multi-translation function of the PCDA process is tailored to provide the best choices for the short phrases typically used in signage into specific languages based on research by Yoneoka, Tomei and Saito (201x).

Specifically, these were found to be:

Sources: Tomei, J. and J. Yoneoka, 　(2015) Online Translation Sites: Problems and Possibilities The 2014 Pan SIG Proceedings Sustainability: Making Teaching and Learning Last, JALT, p. 234-239. Yoneoka, J. 2015/8/30 Online Translation Sites: Is there a Baby in the Bathwater? JACET ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 鹿児島大学 Yoneoka, J., J. Tomei and C. Saito 2015/7/17 Blending Online Translation Technology with Offline Translation Methodology (共同） The 21st International Conference of IAICS, Hong Kong Polytechnic, HK