Thanks in great part to developments in artificial intelligence and neural networks, machine translation (MT) technology has advanced dramatically recently. For some language pairings, services like Google Translate can provide translations that sound remarkably human-like today. However, while MT works well enough for casual translation, it still cannot replace professional human document translators. Here’s why:
The Limitations of Machine Translation
- MT lacks nuanced language understanding. Machines translate text literally without true comprehension of meaning or context. Subtleties like irony, cultural references, idioms, and connotations are often lost in translation if the system doesn’t have enough data to interpret them correctly. Professional translation services, provided by human experts, innately capture nuances in meaning and grammar to convey intent accurately.
- MT struggles with complex, specialized content. General MT systems are designed for casual content and conversations. Technical, legal, medical and other complex documents with industry-specific terminology are major challenges. The system would need extensive data and customization for each niche, even to come close to specialized human translation.
- MT misses the mark on accuracy. Even with continued improvements, MT still produces awkward or downright inaccurate translations at times. Errors tend to compound for longer content. Professional translators have far superior translation quality and accuracy thanks to their subject expertise, research skills and language command.
- MT lacks localization finesse. Simply swapping words from one language to another does not guarantee resonance in the target market. Professional translators adapt the tone, style and cultural references to resonate with the target audience. This localization finesse – all but absent in MT – is crucial for effective documentation.
Why Human Document Translation Remains Necessary
- Legal and regulated content requires precision. For critical documents like user manuals, medical instructions, financial statements, patents, contracts etc., that carry legal or compliance implications, the translation has to be highly precise and unambiguous. Human professional translators are still the only reliable choice for such regulated content.
- Poor translations affect the company’s reputation. As a public-facing asset, documentation quality affects customer opinions about a company’s credibility and professionalism. Mediocre MT output reflecting poorly on a global brand could far outweigh any savings from using it over human translation.
- Specific terminology requires specialized translators. Subject matter experts best understand documentation that relies on niche concepts and terminology. For areas like IT, manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, etc., human translators immersed in the domain provide the greatest accuracy.
- Cultural nuances necessitate a human touch. From etiquette to humor to references, cultural context informs so much communication. Human translators intimately understand the cultures associated with each language to adapt messages appropriately. Localization is crucial for global brands.
- Reader comprehension should be a top priority. At its core, a translation must empower readers to comprehend the content easily. Professional human translation centered on the audience consistently produces output optimized for readability and purpose. MT still lags too far behind.
- Human judgment leads to better document flow. Document flow requires understanding that the audience needs to structure information logically, transition smoothly between ideas, adjust tone if needed, etc. Machines cannot strategize and refine a document the way experienced human translators do.
Addressing Concerns About Cost
A significant advantage often touted for machine translation versus professional human translation is lower cost. With free services like Google Translate available, it can indeed seem very cost-effective on the surface.
Decades ago, the EU implemented machine translation to handle the growing volume of law, which decreased the number of translators employed.
EU estimates show that despite an increase in workload from about 2 million pages in 2013 to 2.5 million in 2022, this change reduced the size of the Commission’s specialized translation unit by 17% over the previous ten years.
However, this view ignores the significant long-term costs companies incur from potential errors, compliance issues, offended customers, damage to brand reputation, etc. caused by low-quality MT output. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
When used properly, though, machine translation can still lower translation costs without necessarily compromising quality:
MT Works Best For Internal Use
Machine translation may be reasonably accurate for internal documents that employees use casually within the company. The risks from any errors or miscommunication are much lower before documents reach customers. Using MT for knowledge transfer between global company divisions can offer some cost savings.
Blend MT With Professional Translation
Having professional human translators edit and finalize raw MT output combines cost benefits with quality assurance. Humans still do the heavy lifting for discerning nuanced language, but MT accelerates the volume of content they can handle.
Assign MT For Simple Content
Short, casual product descriptions, basic support articles, straightforward emails and similar customer-facing but non-critical content could utilize MT post-edited by professionals. This focused MT application minimizes risk for public content.
So, while machine translation does lower costs compared to 100% professional translation, the tradeoffs in quality, risks and negative downstream costs rarely make fully automated MT prudent for companies and institutions. Blending machine speed with human discernment by assigning each to suitable types of content offers a balanced solution.
Looking Ahead: MT + Human Collaboration
While MT technology is not yet available, there is still a lot to go before it can do an autonomous, nuanced, and specialized document translation. While some leading translation firms still rely on MT output for publication, they have started to integrate MT into their workflows by having human translators post-edit raw MT output and fine-tuning it for publication.
The same applies to the MT benefits of translation memory and localization tools for human translators. Like most disruptive technologies, the solution is neither all nor nothing but a combination of the strengths human and artificial intelligence bring to the table.
MT will continue to improve, but professional human translation skills based on language, culture, and subject expertise are indispensable to getting it right. This is important for conveying the right meaning and impact, especially for high-stakes business, legal and regulated documentation. Human translation is necessary for any content that directly informs or represents a brand to global customers.
Conclusion
Despite this, MT technology is already starting to be used to support document translation workflows, and it can’t replace professional human translators. Of course, humans are already at least that far ahead of technology in properly understanding language and cultural contexts, at least until technology progresses far enough. Professional translation services are still the best way for global companies to protect their international interests and the brand equity that they have invested in.
