Translation technology has undergone a lot of transformations. Here are the crucial facts in machine translation you need.
Businesses have morphed over the years. The way to attain prosperity in the field is to access a wider market. The result is that they have to deal with people who speak different languages. The businesses need translation services to reach out to these audiences. There are various options that the business owners have as far as translation is concerned. The choice depends on individual preferences, amount of content to be translated, availability of the method, and the budget available for the task.
The first option is the use of a human translator. They are referred because that has the experience to translate content in a manner that the readers can identify with. Translation memory is another option. The most affordable of them is the use of machine translation.
With the advancement in the level of technology, the use of machine translation has also increased. When used exclusively, you only enter the text you want translated into a machine and get the final results. The quality of the content you receive from the machine may vary. Does machine translation have benefits and downsides? Here is what you should know:
The Benefits of Machine Translations
The first test of the functionality of machine translation was done more than 60 years ago. Over the years, its uses have changed with technological advancements. It has several benefits to the users:
Faster translation
Machine translation takes a shorter time compared to what humans can do. For example, it can take humans with average translation experience a day to translate 2,000 words. If there is bulky content that needs to be translated, the company may have to seek the services of more translators. Otherwise, one translator may not deliver the content needed within the set deadline.
On the other hand, thousands of words can be generated from a machine translator in minutes. However, it is important to note that what is produced may not be used immediately. It needs to be edited. Either way, the efficiency of machine translation makes it easy for the company to meet its translation deadlines without straining. This is good for businesses since most operations that take place in business ventures are time-sensitive. Therefore, it becomes a good option in a scenario where the business has time constraints.
Cost-effective
When a company offloads its translation tasks from the employees to the machines, they can turn their attention to more productive activities such as improving the quality of the products. Time is also saved and allocated to more business-oriented activities. This is good for a business that needs to prosper.
Moreover, the cost of using machine translation is also lower than using human translators. Besides, there exists that do a free translation. When you use the free ones, you should be cautious as some can keep your information and make the content accessible to unauthorized people.
Humans are trained and experienced and may demand higher compensations for translation work. A business that intends to reduce its operational cost should consider using machine translation. Cost-saving quality is important.
Enhanced confidentiality
Not all human translators can be trusted with sensitive business information. With premium machine translators, you are sure your information is safe. This is an aspect that is important for a business that handles sensitive information. Protection of data and strategies is a crucial aspect of the business world.
Many languages
Human translators may only know a few languages. Therefore, you may have to hire a different translator for every task available. The rates charged by these translators also vary. Eventually, a business ends up using much money and wasting time in a bid to hire the translation professionals. Machine translation is advantageous in this front, given that they have the machines master different languages. Therefore, it is easy to use them for different translation tasks which are of great advantage. A business that has clients from countries with many languages should take machine translation seriously.
Disadvantages of Machine Translation
In machine translation, words are substituted from the source to the target language. There are some issues that the machine does not consider. Here are the disadvantages:
Inaccuracy in translation
For messages to get to the audience intended, it has to be correct. For example, the customers should have the correct product guide, and the legal documents also have to be translated accurately. Machine translation cannot consistently give out correct content. The information has to be proofread and edited before being released to the final readers. Sometimes, there may be loads of mistakes making the editor spend much time with the work.
Lack of touch with cultural issues
Machines do not understand human culture. Therefore, the information obtained may not be in touch with the culture of the people using the target language. There has often been an embarrassing translation from machines. Therefore, they cannot be used in all the scenarios because they can lead to a business tarnishing its image among the clients.
May not know Industry-specific words
Some words only sound good when used in a particular way. Unfortunately, machine translation only picks simple synonyms. Therefore, it may not take the industry keywords into consideration. The result may be a translated piece that does not add any value to your business.
These are the primary merits and demerits of machine translation. It still has a long way to go. There are various improvements that it needs to make it more efficient. As a business, you have to weigh them and make a decision depending on your needs and the content you need to be translated. Most companies that use MT in their tasks also have professional linguists to help them refine the content from the machines. Overall, the combined both machine and human translation are advantageous for a business.
