Assessing post-editing efficiency in a realistic translation environment

In many experimental studies on assessing post-editing efficiency, idiosyncratic user interfaces isolate translators from translation aids that are available to them in their daily work. In contrast, our experimental design allows translators to use a well-known translator workbench for both conventional translation and post-editing. We find that post-editing reduces translation time significantly, although considerably less than reported in isolated experiments, and argue that overall assessments of post-editing efficiency should be based on a realistic translation environment.