Analysing Translators' Language Problems (and Solutions) Through User-generated Content

This paper focuses on dictionary use among translators and presents the results of a pilot study into translators' use of language resources when solving language problems. The paper first provides an overview of related work in this field and continues by presenting the results of a pilot study into translators' use of language resources when solving language problems. By analysing a number of discussions in Prevajalci, na pomoc!, a dedicated, self-managed Facebook group for Slovene translators aimed at solving translation problems, a taxonomy of typical language problem scenarios is developed. Through an analysis of the problems encountered by translators and their suggested solutions, two aspects are established: the areas in which problems occur and the ways the solutions are reached. This analysis is followed by the final segment, which discusses the suitability of the proposed method and the degree to which this approach yields results that are of use for the compilation of monolingual dictionaries, as well as for lexicographical user research.