POST SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Fast Translations – A Case for Use of Machine Translation and Post-Editing

It’s no secret that machine translation as developed by a knowledgeable translation company or properly used if acquired from a 3rd party vendor, is now becoming an established feature in the business world to obtain fast translations. It’s no surprise either.

For those businesses needing to communicate with millions of consumers who speak with other mother tongues, counting on a translation company that can offer fast translation services can increased revenue, improved brand image, bigger global footprint and more. Translating into other languages also makes it possible to communicate with employees and business partners in their native tongue.

First used in the 1950s, machine translation is sometimes also known as automatic translation, instant, automatic or automated translation. It is used as a means to obtain fast translation and to discern what a text says, which is then reviewed by a human to provide fully-finished Spanish translation services,French translation services, German translation services, etc., for further final accuracy and refinement.

How does machine translation work?

There several types of machine translation and machine translation works in different ways. One uses rules-based translation and the other is statistical. Combinations of the two methods create what is known as a “hybrid” machine translation.

The rules based approach relies on dictionaries in addition to grammar and language rules for common words and phrases. In addition specialist databases and dictionaries are created in order to cater for the needs of terminology and language translation for different industries and disciplines.

When it comes to statistical systems in machine translation, they are built by ‘learning’ as they go. They rely on massive amounts of data, which is carefully segmented, priorising some terminology. Statistical methods are responsible for the advent and popularity of most online engines we know of nowadays. They can be boosted by adding extra data that is relevant to the area required, either re-training the engines or with online learning. The results deliver more fluent-sounding translations but with slightly less consistency.

What are the benefits of using machine translation?

Compared to 100% human translation these are the main benefits of using a machine translation approach:

Fast translation and increased productivity.

Translate segments prior to proof-reading and human post-editing.

Publish machine-translated content when you only need to inform users about certain non-critical aspects of your product, service.

Customer support: in the 20th-century, many companies used phone support to guide users about their services. However, nowadays, smartphones and tablets and all types of mobile devices make it possible to divert phone support to machine-translated online content. Many companies use this kind of fast translation to provide information and support.

How does Machine Translation Help Business?

Being able to rapidly translate today’s content into a local language can greatly reduce the time it takes to reach the market. Publishing more into more languages and offering fast translation services, sometimes thanks to an automated service or translation API puts your services and messages at the reach of the rest of the world. You can create more content, quicker and at more economical prices. The translation cycle can be speeded up to enable access to documents in the native language of potential consumers, partners and employees. This can increase staff effectiveness and enhance customer experience.