Human Translation VS Machine Translation
So, your organisation has uncovered a need for translation services, and you’re wondering if you should opt for either a professional human or machine translation service from a trusted agency like Andiamo!
In this blog we explore the topic of human translation vs machine translation, how each service is different, and the ideal applications of both, to help you understand which service you need.
What are Human Translation and Machine Translation services?
Human Translation
Human translation services like ours are deployed by professional translators who have either studied the art of translation and secured a recognised relevant graduate qualification, or have over 5 years’ experience working in translation, and are members of a professional association such as the ITI or CIoL.
We use professional translators who are native speakers of the language they are translating into, to ensure we provide you with high-quality, accurate, idiomatic translations you can trust.
Human translators are capable of interpreting nuance more easily than software, which is why Andiamo! recommend our clients use our human translation service for more stylistic and creative texts.
Though the name may suggest otherwise, both human translation and machine translation services lean on technology. Our human translators use a range of tools, including glossaries, and translation memory software, which helps to support the consistency of your translations over time, by identifying “matches” of phrases/sentences that we have previously translated for you, and are therefore stored in the software, for which we offer you discounts.
Machine Translation
There are three types of machine translation: rule-based, statistical, and neural translation.
At Andiamo, we use neural machine translation within our CAT tool environment, alongside the same translation memory software used in our human service. NMT is considered the most advanced and accurate approach to machine translation, and mimics the human brain to support the accuracy of translations.
We use our NMT engine to translate only words and phrases our TM identifies as “no match” and are therefore not stored in the software’s memory, rather than the full piece, to support the consistency of your translation, and to help lower your cost.
At Andiamo, choosing between a human translation vs machine translation service, isn’t about opting for a human service, or an entirely automated one. Our machine translation service is actually a hybrid service and not only because we use the same TM software used in our human translation service.
When our machine translation process has translated the “no match” terms, they are post-edited by a human, professional, mother tongue translator who also translates terms and phrases the TM software identifies as “fuzzy matches”, which are terms that have been partially translated previously.
The same human translator then conducts a final verification of the finalised translated text, before we run our own in-house QA checks. This human post-editing process guarantees the quality and accuracy of machine generated translations.
How are Human Translation and Machine Translation different?
The key differences between human translation vs machine translation services are:
- The human brain has endless possibilities to convey something in an original way, using language, tone and idioms to create a text that makes sense to the target audience. The machine translation engine can only use what it has been programmed with, and what it has been told is appropriate in certain contexts, and as a result can miss nuances in language and sound unnatural and automated.
- Machine translation engines are not always able to accurately convey what is written in the source text, without the human post-editing we include in our MT service. Professional human translators are more accurate as they can make decisions based on their experience, knowledge of both the source and target languages, and the relevant associated cultures. Our human translators also use automated QA tools to further guarantee accuracy.
- Similarly, human translation is a more time consuming process, while machine translation is far quicker, as our skilled, qualified, professional translators only need to post edit the machine generated translation. Due to the longer time frames and skilled work involved, human translation services are best suited to projects with higher available budgets, while machine translation is well suited to lower budget projects.
- Human translation is ideal for critical documents such as medical or legal texts, or more creative translation projects which require more adaptation/localisation, such as tourism projects, advertising campaigns, branding projects, or printed packaging for toys and games etc. Machine translation is ideal for large volume, short turnaround projects, where the translation is used for informative purposes, for example technical manuals.
As you can see, both human translation and machine translation have a ton of benefits, and can be highly effective in the right context, for the right project.
The right service for your specific project
At Andiamo, we offer both human translation and machine translation services to provide you with flexible solutions tailored to your needs and available budgets.
We often provide two quotes for each project, one for human and one for machine translation services, enabling you to compare like-for-like quotations, and make the decision based on your deadline, budget and whether the piece is to be published, or used internally for the purposes of information only. We only provide the machine translation quotation if we believe it is right for you.
Of course, your Andiamo! project manager will not only help you to understand your options, but help you to identify whether human translation or machine translation is right for your particular project.
Contact our team today to discuss your unique translation requirements, and to see how Andiamo! can support your business.
