Machine Translation - Good or Bad?

Often people hear the words “machine translation” and react in dismay. Certainly, this is well founded. If you possess a rudimentary understanding of another language, and enter text into Google Translate, the results can be comical. If you do not know the language at all, the results can be disastrous. It is similar to saying “I don’t need to know how to add, I can use a calculator.” If you do not understand the mechanics, and what the expected outcome should be, then there is no way to know if the answer is correct. Correct information in, can equal garbage out if you cannot understand the answer.

The Globalization and Localization Association defines machine translation (MT) as “…fully automated software that can translate source content into target languages. Humans may use MT to help them render text and speech into another language, or the MT software may operate without human intervention.”

How does this differ from Google Translate? Mechanically, it doesn’t, but when employed by a translation service with a translation team, the benefits of machine translation are many. This is because the service centralizes linguistic assets.

A glossary and translation memory (TM) are vital to ensuring consistency and repeatability in translations. When you work within industries with specialized terminology, you cannot leave translation to the whims of the translator. You must define specific terms at the beginning of the project. It could be quite costly to fix them after the project is complete.

For example, the term “Security” has a very specific meaning to both the financial sector and the home protection sector. “Security” depending on its use could translate very differently.

Identifying specific industry terminology at the beginning of a project and having a subject matter expert (SME) with industry experience and knowledge of the culture for which the term is being translated, is vital to the success of a project. These terms constitute the glossary that you and the translation service collaborate to create. The TM is where this glossary is stored. Every time the word “Security” appears, you know it will be translated correctly.

Having a centralized a translation memory (TM), terminology, and glossary ensures consistency and accuracy across all your translations.