Google Translate continues to improve, but how accurate is it?

As the quality of Google Translate continues to improve, one has to ask – is it accurate enough to take on all of my translation needs in 2021? The short answer to this question is… absolutely not! While it made some impressive strides in 2020, there’s no guarantee that at a click of the mouse you’ll always receive a perfect translation. To illustrate, let’s assume that a company uses the slogan ‘On time delivery, or you don’t pay’. Using Google Translate, the Spanish translation is ‘Delivery on time, or you don’t pay’ and the German translation is ‘On time delivery, or you won’t pay’. A little variance between the translations, but they definitely get the point across. What happens if the tagline needs to be translated into a low-resource language like Zulu? When we entered the tagline into Google Translate, it returned – ‘At the time of delivery, or no payment’. You have to admit, the translation is a bit confusing and somewhat nonsensical.

High-resource languages versus low-resource languages aside, there are some types of content that should steer clear of Google Translate. For example, websites require high Google rankings for you to get the clicks you desire, not to mention Google Translate’s inability to handle search engine optimization (SEO). For these reasons, website translations should always be done by professional translators. Does this mean that – given the imperfections of Google Translate – you shouldn’t use it at all? On the contrary, there’s good news and not so good news when it comes to Google Translate. The good news is the enhancements Google has made, and the services it provides for certain niches and situations.

Improvements to Google Translate

One of the most publicized enhancements was the introduction of Google Transcribe. This artificial intelligence (AI)-powered feature transcribes audio into translated text for a limited number of languages. While it has its place in the translation world, it’s not a tool that should be widely used for business translations. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, let’s assume you’re having a business conversation with someone that speaks one of the supported languages. You can tap the conversation icon, which will enable you to continue the conversation. Alternatively, if you’re at a conference or event where the presentations are in a foreign language, Google Transcribe enables you to translate the speeches. A word of caution, if there’s background noise you may only get the gist of what is being spoken.

In addition to Google Transcribe, Google Translate upped the bar on their translation capabilities with progress made in the support of some of their low-resource languages, as well as quality enhancements for some high-resource languages. Another advancement made in 2020 is in its ability to collect an increased number of sentences for 14 language pairs. Although Google Translate continues to evolve and improve, machine translation quality isn’t perfect. This sentiment was echoed in a Google blog, “These models still fall prey to typical machine translation errors, including poor performance on particular genres of subject matter (“domains”), conflating different dialects of a language, producing overly literal translations, and poor performance on informal and spoken language.”

When to use Google Translate

Although Google Translate can help you communicate with colleagues around the world, it’s better for some situations than others. Let’s take a look at the top five advantages of Google Translate, and when it should be used.

Turnaround time is critical: When compared with a human translator, Google Translate outperforms professionals when it comes to speed. This works well if you need to quickly get the gist of a document.
Content is a work in progress: Depending on the document, you may go through numerous iterations before it’s ready for a professional translator. To save time and money, Google Translate can quickly provide the translated text. Remember, the accuracy will depend on the length of text you’re translating, so it’s best to use Google Translate for small amounts of copy. Also, the translated text will need to be reviewed and edited by someone that is a native speaker of the target language.
Internal native speaking translators are readily available: While not every business has multilingual employees that are capable of translating documents into the target language, those that do can save money by using their internal resources in conjunction with Google Translate. Remember that the translated version will need to be closely reviewed and edited to fix awkward phrasing, missing words, undertones, cultural nuances, etc. This, of course, will take time and there’s no guarantee that the final product will be perfect.
International travel: When you’re traveling abroad you may encounter language barriers that can impede your ability to conduct business. Since Google Translate and Google Transcribe are readily available wherever you have an internet connection, you’re able to stay on track and get the job done.
Budgets are limited: You may encounter situations when your budget doesn’t allow for professional translation services. One of the biggest advantages of Google Translate is that it’s free. While this may work in a pinch, it’s important to keep in mind that the tool can’t handle linguistic irregularities, and you may be left with a document that contains errors.

To be sure, machine translation has come a long way and improvements are constantly being made. However, language is complicated, ambiguous and constantly changing, which makes it difficult for machines to consistently match the quality of professional translators.

When to use professional translators

Although professional language translators can be costly, there’s certain industries and situations that require this level of accuracy and professionalism. Let’s take a look at the five industries that should always use a language service provider (LSP).

Life Sciences: A highly-specialized industry with countless branches, life sciences is one of the most regulated industries across the globe. Whether translation is needed for medical devices or documentation, the medical industry has some of the strictest requirements known, and this includes regulations that govern what you’re allowed to put on your packaging. While some countries only require packaging translation, to avoid costly consequences it’s recommended that you partner with an LSP that specializes in life sciences translation.
Legal: In addition to legal terminology, adhering to deadlines are critical in the legal field. When you think about it, there’s probably no other industry that handles this level of document diversity, as well as the sensitivity found in legal documentation. As each country has its own legal terminology and legal system, translating legal documents is filled with complexities and nuances that require professional industry-specific translation expertise.
Manufacturers: Frequently working on a global scale, manufacturers often need product information, contracts, licenses, trademarks, patents, and other manufacturing documents translated to multiple languages. As these documents must adhere to strict legal standards, one minor error could cost the business serious money. An ISO-certified LSP understands what’s at risk, and can accurately translate technical and legal documents that will ensure compliance.
Finance: Another intensely regulated industry, financial companies must maintain compliance measures when handling their clients’s money, as well as perform transactions without violating market or company regulations. To do this consistently, smart finance companies use professional translators to ensure contracts, correspondence, and other documents are always in compliance across all languages.
Insurance: With a unique set of needs, standards and terminology, insurance companies provide a wide range of insurance services such as auto, property, medical, etc., using a range of documents like insurance forms, accident reports, property loss, policies, employee benefits and so on. Translating such a vast array of documents for a variety of insurance types can be a challenge. And when done in house, prone to errors, inefficiencies, and customer dissatisfaction.

Summary

Bridging the language barrier gap isn’t an easy feat, and while Google Translate is making progress, it’s not ready to handle the intricacies found in business translations nor is it intended to replace professional translators. While machine translation has a place in the translation arena, it lacks the human versatility to understand industry-specific terms, the meaning behind the text, the culture of the target language, writing style requirements, and many of the other nuances that make accurate translations an artform.

If you’d like to learn more about how BURG Translations helps you ensure high quality translations, contact us today.