Depending on your needs, you have translation options

Depending on your needs, you have translation options

As a Language Service Provider (LSP), we’ve heard our fair share of machine translations (MT) horror stories and tales of when a trusted colleague left a few too many errors in the deliverable. Either of these scenarios raises the question of the translation accuracy as a whole. Does this mean that machine translations and enlisting assistance from a colleague should be avoided at all costs? On the contrary, there is a time and place for MT or for asking a trusted colleague for help. But, you need to know when to use these resources and for which projects. 

This article explores translation options and which ones to use depending on the translation project. In essence there are five translation options for your consideration:

  • Machine translation (MT)
  • A colleague
  • A specialist translator
  • Edited MT
  • A specialized LSP

MT translates text between two languages at the word level. It accepts only standard text documents and returns a largely word-for-word translation. What this means is that most sentences result in inaccurate translations.

When a colleague is enlisted to translate a document, he or she will typically translate meaning and not words per se. Although this person will have technical language knowledge – typically in just one language – it’s not uncommon for them to rely on dictionaries when necessary.

A specialist translator, in many ways, is comparable to a colleague but has specialized training and knowledge of a particular field in both languages. However, translators typically can only handle standard text documents.

Edited MT or enhanced MT combines MT output with a human editor that has the same skill set as a translator, to produce a “human quality” translation.

A specialized LSP uses a team of specialized translators, editors, translation memory (TM) technology and a perhaps even an ISO process to produce the highest quality translation.

Which approach to use and when

The best approach depends on the level of quality needed for the translation, turnaround time and your budget. Keep in mind that cost is a function of quality and speed.

If we start at the bottom rung of the ladder, the lowest level of quality is MT. It’s best used when the document is a simple text file and the translation is for “gisting” purposes only. What happens if the output is incomprehensible? This is when you should seek assistance from a qualified colleague for clarification.

When your project requires consistency and high quality, both a translator and editor (to review the translator’s work) are needed. This is when you should seek assistance from an LSP. Benefits of partnering with an LSP include: 

  • Eases your burden of finding both a competent translator and editor.
  • Time savings since you aren’t managing the translation team. This benefit magnifies in importance if more than one language translation is needed.
  • You aren’t limited to a file type. LSPs can handle virtually all file types.
  • Turnaround time is significantly reduced since LSPs use both human and technical resources.
  • Your costs will decline with each subsequent project through the use of translation memory technology.

Depending on the project, your translation needs will vary. So when you need translation services, remember you have choices. 

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