On translating verb+noun combinations and computer treatments
Uxoa Iñurrieta, Itziar Aduriz, Arantza Diaz de Ilarraza, Gorka Labaka, Kepa Sarasola

Abstract

Phraseological Units are combinations that vary greatly from one language to another, and are therefore problematic for disciplines such as translation and second language learning, as well as for natural language processing. This article starts by clarifying several phraseology-related concepts, then introduces statistical data on the morphological changes that occur when verb+noun combinations are translated from Spanish into Basque and vice versa. Additionally, it explains why phraseological units pose problems for the automatic translator Matxin, and presents the linguistic study we are conducting in order to solve those problems. Finally, it introduces the Konbitzul database, which makes all the information gathered from this analysis available to users.