| Popis: |
The widespread application of word processors entails the use of grammar checkers. These tools are frequently employed by professional as well as unskilled language users. Some of the unskilled users, including pupils and students, tend to use such tools as an aid for their poor grammar knowledge. Therefore, questions are to be addressed concerning the efficiency and practical usefulness of such tools. The paper focuses on the analysis of the existing grammar checkers for Slovenian, namely Besana and LanguageTool, in terms of their precision, reliability, and practical usefulness. Firstly, both grammar checkers are briefly introduced emphasizing the crucial differences between them in terms of duration in their development as well as with regard to their financial and technical support. This is followed by a detailed description of the methods and materials used to design a practical experiment. In the experiment, the tools are examined from the point of view of the listed parameters when translating from Slovenian into English and from English into Slovenian. In addition, a hypothesis is also assessed claiming that the users of these tools trust the suggested error corrections more often when translating into a foreign language compared to translating into their mother tongue The findings are analysed using a typology of individual error categories developed specifically for this purpose. The results confirm the hypothesis tested and indicate a relatively high level of precision and reliability of both Besana and Languagetool, thus justifying the use of both grammar checkers for Slovenian. Nevertheless, they also suggest some possible upgrades to the tools discussed concerning their approach to error detection and their ability to suggest errors for users with varying levels of language competence. |
