Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
upon previous efforts
French translation:
qui marquent une avancée significative par rapport aux tentatives précédentes
English term
upon previous efforts
Il est ici question des techniques de traduction voix-à-voix (traduction simultanée à l'oral d'une langue A vers une langue B). Le passage évoque l'inexactitude des ces techniques très récentes.
"The latest speech-to-speech tools combine numerous technologies, including new neural-network learning methods patterned after human brain behavior that significantly improves upon previous efforts. Accurate, real-time speech-to-speech translation remains a work in progress, however."
"....basées sur le comportement du cerveau humain qui s’améliore de manière significative... (on parle bien du cerveau ici comme il y a le "improves" à la 3e personne...?)"
Comment comprenez-vous ce "upon previous efforts" ici ?
Merci
Non-PRO (2): GILLES MEUNIER, mchd
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Proposed translations
France
Translator/author of poems and tales
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, Spanish to French, French
qui marquent une avancée significative par rapport aux tentatives précédentes
une avancée par rapport aux tentatives antérieures
eur-lex.europa.eu › EUROPA › EU law and publications › EUR-Lex
... représente une avancée par rapport aux tentatives antérieures d'élaborer au niveau ...
| agree |
Ph_B (X)
5 hrs
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Merci
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| agree |
FX Fraipont (X)
6 hrs
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Merci FX
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| neutral |
GILLES MEUNIER
: traduire effort par tentative ne me semble pas très heureux, ce n'est pas le problème, c'est le rendu en français
7 hrs
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"Efforts", in this context, means attempts that were less than successful, so translating it as "tentatives" is absolutely appropriate. It's a question of understanding the nuance of a colloquial English expression.
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France
ACSERV SAS - Les Ingénieurs du Verbe®
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, Spanish to French
qui apportent une amélioration certaine "comparativement aux efforts précédents"
| agree |
GILLES MEUNIER
: par rapport aux efforts précédents
4 hrs
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Merci Gilou
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| agree |
mchd
7 hrs
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Merci mchd
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| neutral |
B D Finch
: The subject is "tools", not "human brain behavior"; see Tony's explanation in the Discussion.
11 hrs
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You’re right, my own ’brain’ is definitely a too lazy ’tool’ at 1:00 am to make real efforts.
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Graduate engineer
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France)
Works in: English to French, French to English
Discussion
The subject for the verb is EITHER 'the latest tools' OR 'new learning methods' — BUT both of those are plural, yet have been incorrectly followed here by the singular verb 'improves upon'!
The first time I read it, I read across this error, as I understood the overall gist of the meaning; but now looking at it again, I realize the problem.
I don't really see how 'human brain behaviour' really works as the subject of the verb — and there we discover another problem with the source text: the writer has used 'that', when strictly speaking, they should have used 'which'.
The way I originally read it, it would have meant:
"The latest speech-to-speech tools combine numerous technologies, including new neural-network learning methods patterned after human brain behavior, which significantly improve upon previous efforts."
Corrected in that way, 'latest tools' makes a logical subject for 'improve upon', and I believe this is probably what the author was trying to say!
"le comportement du cerveau humain qui s’améliore de manière significative à la lumière des travaux déjà effectués" ?
Comprenez-vous que ce "improves" s'applique donc bien au cerveau ici ?
So the new techniques are building upon and developing, improving on the foundations of the work that has already been done in the past.