Human and machine translation: what are the differences, advantages, and disadvantages?
Need a translation, but can't decide whether to use a human translation by a professional translator or a machine translation using an online tool? Learn the key differences and pros and cons of these two options .
What are the main differences between human and machine translation?
Machine translation (MT) is generated by a computer without the intervention of a human translator. In the digital age, a wide range of automatic translation tools are available, allowing anyone to translate text into hundreds of different languages in seconds. Google Translate is certainly the most well-known machine translation tool among the general public.
There are different methods of machine translation: neural MT, statistical MT, and RBMT (rule-based MT).
As the name suggests, human translation is performed by human translators who have undergone relevant professional training, have perfect control over their respective language combinations, and are familiar with the translation process.
Therefore, human translation and machine translation are completely different processes.
Machine translation and human translation differ in many ways in terms of price, quality, and functionality… To give you an overview of the two options, here we list the pros and cons of both types of translation. did.
Advantages and disadvantages of human translation
Human translation has the advantage of not only translating into your native language, but also because it is performed by a translator who has perfect command of the source language.
Translators also have skills that computers cannot provide (such as creativity, language acumen, and interpretive ability), which allow translators to consider the context of their translation. At the same time, translators are usually familiar with the country they are translating into. This allows translators to take into account cultural nuances and adapt the text to the culture and characteristics of the country in question.
The result will be natural, fluent, and ideally unrecognizable as a translation (provided, of course, that a certified and qualified translator is employed).
These services naturally come with a fee, so they are more expensive than using machine translation. Also, unlike machine translation, the results of human translation are not immediate.
Advantages and disadvantages of machine translation
Machine translation is very popular because it is cheap, or in most cases free. Another advantage is speed. It can translate fairly long texts within seconds, and this is possible for a wide range of language combinations.
But machine translation is not only useful. This is primarily a literal translation and cannot take into account the particularities of the cultural background or people to whom the text is intended.
Results are often unreliable, inaccurate, and inconsistent. This is even more true for languages that are less commonly used.
Human or machine translation: which one should you choose?
The choice between human and machine translation depends on a variety of criteria, including the type of translation, language combination, and the budget available for translation.
When should you choose machine translation?
Machine translation may be useful for texts for personal use that are not intended to be published. For example, if you want to quickly capture the content of an email you receive in a foreign language.
However, avoid this if the text is intended to be published or distributed to customers, business partners, or other recipients, as an incorrect text could damage your company's reputation. Should.
When should I choose human translation?
If your document is intended for distribution, it is important to hire a professional translator to maintain your company's image.
Therefore, manual translation is suitable for advertising and marketing documents, business documents, and websites. The same applies to documents that require special professional qualifications (financial translation, legal translation, medical translation, etc.). Professional translation is essential, especially for culturally sensitive marketing and advertising content.
In both cases, it is important to recognize that the quality of human translation depends on the translator and their experience and competence in their field. Therefore, it is important to choose your service provider carefully.
Frequently asked questions about human and machine translation
The best free translation tools are Google Translate and DeepL. Reverso and Linguee are also worth mentioning in this context.
Machine translation tools are not suitable for certain translations. This is especially true for legal and medical translations, as well as financial and marketing documents. Additionally, certified translations are not automatically created.
This is a translation that is first done using translation software (usually neural machine translation) and then edited (i.e. read and revised) by a professional human translator. This is a very practical solution, which is particularly attractive due to its low cost and reliable quality.
