Machine Translation: The New Great Thing?
Over the years, there has been a great deal of hope that a computer would be able to take over the job of a human translator. With the power that we’ve been able to unleash using computers, it would seem natural for a computer to actually translate documents.
Fortunately for us, it’s not that simple! While much progress has been made in the development of machine translation, human intervention is still required. Since computers do not think like humans, their ability to understand the way that we write may be somewhat limited. This is what causes translations that are sometimes disjointed and word for word.
In the appropriate cases (where your text doesn’t require significant polishing), the use of machine translation can be an option. With significant editing of the English and the ongoing use of glossaries, a good machine translation tool can get your translation to about 85% accuracy. Then an editor steps in to complete the work. Still, there is no substitute for a quality process if you’re working with marketing material or any documents that have liability implications.
If you are interested in more information about how machine translation might help you meet your translation needs, contact us. We’ll be happy to share what we know.