Those in the translation industry saw it coming. The rapid globalization in the world thanks to the Internet pushed the demand for translation services to unprecedented levels. As you can expect, people started asking for easy and quick ways to achieve translation without using humans. This led to the emergence of machine translation. Machine translation is a rapidly growing field in the translation industry that entails carrying out translation assignments using machines. The question is; is machine translation superior to human translation?
Advantages Of Machine Translation
Machine translation Let us start by taking a peek at the benefits of machine translation. The following are some of the commonly cited advantages of machine translation:-
It saves time- Machine translation is reputed for its high speed. With machines, you can instantly upload and download multilingual content.
It is emerging and evolving- At the outset, machine translation was characterized by its abundance of mistakes. People resorting to the use of machine translation were risking exposing themselves to social gaffes. Nowadays, machine translation has features such as translation memories and glossaries that make it much more effective.
It saves money- Human translators do not come cheap. With machine translation however, you stand to save a lot of money especially when your translation assignment entails a ton of work.
Disadvantages Of Machine Translation
Machine translation works by breaking the source language into different structural components and then synthesizing the same components in the target language to deliver the same message. As straightforward as that sounds, machine translation is not without its disadvantages. The following are some of the shortcomings of machine translation:-
It rarely works when it comes to marketing. The huge demand for translation services in this day and age is related to the need for marketing in different geographical regions. Unfortunately, machine translation works on logic as opposed to creative thinking which underscores most marketing campaigns. As a result, using machine translation for marketing is a recipe to failure of the entire marketing campaign.
It doesn’t help either in search engine optimization. The success of most SEO campaigns is driven by keyword success. Keyword success is hinged on using the right keywords that are actually being searched by people out there. While machine translation will give you an accurate translation, it may not necessarily deliver the words that are actually being used by your target audience.
It may not get the whole point. Machine translation surpasses other forms of translation in terms of speed and cost effectiveness. Unfortunately, it might not get the whole point that you are trying to pass across as it focuses on specific parts of your document/website rather than the underlying concept.
It cannot be used independently all the time. You cannot use machine translation all the time and be satisfied with what you see. In most cases, you will need human intervention to review the output of machine translation and make the necessary changes.
For Human Translation
Human translation will continue to outdo machine translation for one simple truth: machines, unlike humans, are yet to develop interpretation skills necessary in any translation assignment. Human translators are able to develop carefully crafted, innovative and effective translation solutions as they are able to interpret unique cultural subtexts and understand subtle semantic factors.
Future Trans is an ISO9001:2008 certified language service provider, based in Egypt, with more than 17 years in successfully handling major translation projects. Its success is hinged on, among other things, its team of highly qualified and motivated human translators with a deep understanding of client needs. To know more about Future Trans
