Machine translation vs. Human Translation
Professional Translation Services – Machine vs. Human Translation
By: L. Amado – 01/25/2010
If you are in the market for a translation, there are basically two ways to go. You could either opt for what is known as “machine translation” (sometimes abbreviated as “MT”) or for human translation. Call me a conservative, but I can tell you right away that there is no contest here. Good old-fashioned human translation is simply the only option if you are looking for high quality (correct and accurate) professional translation services.
What does “machine translation” mean? You have probably seen it before. In its more popular versions, it takes the form of online translation engines or computer programs which can be installed on a PC. In either case the result is an automated translation created exclusively with some sort of computer software, with no intervention from a human translator, professional certified or otherwise. Translation software uses algorithms and relies mainly on language usage statistics and word substitution. At its core, automated translation is an attempt to simplify human language and it very seldom, if ever, produces a viable and usable translation.
The main issue with this type of approach is that human languages are very sophisticated and complex constructs. They cannot be reduced to their bare bones without significantly hindering communication. It would take considerable advances in artificial intelligence to develop a software program able to grasp the extremely complex subtleties of human languages. Therefore, for the conceivable future, my favorite Star Trek gadget, the “universal translator”, will remain exclusively in the realm of science fiction.
Professional human translations, on the other hand, are created exclusively by professional certified human translators. They rely on extensive knowledge of both the source and target languages and the ability to naturally recognize and incorporate all the subtleties of human languages, taking into account such considerations as the cultural context, intended market, domain, target audience, etc.
Nowadays, it is common for professional certified human translators to use professional translation tools, such as translation memory management tools, to aid them with their work. They are known as “computer-assisted translation” (sometimes abbreviated as “CAT”) tools.
Just as using a word processor was a huge leap forward in productivity from using a typewriter, the use of computer tools can have a very positive impact on the quality of professional human translations.
“Computer-assisted translation” tools are used by professional human translators in order to have quick access to more accurate glossaries and terminology lists. They also allow professional certified human translators to develop their own glossaries and lexicons according to the requirements of the professional translation process. They are not suitable for all types of professional translation projects, but can have a considerable impact on productivity and consistency, especially in complex professional translation projects with higher word counts.
Truly professional translation services providers such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) offer exclusively human translations done by professional certified human translators, assisted by the latest and most productivity-enhancing tools of the trade.
Hiring Professional Certified Translators
Professional Translation Services: Hiring and Retaining the Best Professional Certified Human Translators
By: L. Amado – 01/22/2010
As is the case with any business the most valuable resource in any professional translation service company is its people.
A professional translation service company can spend a fortune in the latest computers, professional translation software and translation memory management tools and it all would go to waste if those tools are not manned by professional translators.
Much in the same way, a professional translation service company can have in place professional translation and language quality assurance processes which look great on paper and they will still have little or no impact in the professional translation process if the people in charge of putting them into practice are not up to the task.
Professional translation services companies must strive to hire and retain highly qualified certified professional translators and reviewers with experience in the field and who are highly motivated. It is also important to point out that ideally, in order to assure the highest quality of professional translations, professional certified translators and reviewers/proofreaders should be native speakers of the target language and highly proficient in the source language in question.
Some professional translation service companies choose to work with the linguistics and related departments of universities, colleges and other higher education organizations in the places where they conduct their business for a better chance at catching the best talents.
Most professional translation service companies develop and maintain professional translator networks and databases to have in hand a readily available pool of highly motivated and professional language translation specialists. Professional certified translators and linguists may then be categorized by field of expertise, level of experience and internal professional translation Quality Assurance results.
Emphasis should be on hiring and retaining professional certified translators but also on providing and encouraging training and specialization whenever possible. Languages are living, breathing organisms and terminology changes very rapidly, particularly in highly specialized technical domains.
Professional translation service companies such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) understand that the single most important factor for success is their human resources and that it is impossible to consistently provide high quality professional translation services without a readily available pool of highly motivated professional certified translators and linguistic experts.
Professional Translation Service Company
Why Use a Multilingual Professional Translation Service Company?
By: L. Amado 01/21/2010
If you are in the market for professional translations, a multilingual professional translation service company is the way to go, regardless of the size and complexity of the professional translation project.
Here are some thoughts on why the best option is to work with a multilingual professional translation services company instead of independent translators or smaller single-language vendors.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company who consistently hires and retains the most qualified and certified professional translators can systematically assure not only high quality professional translations but consistent high quality professional translations.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company with a large pool of professional certified translators is able to comply with tight deadlines for professional translations and systematically deliver according to schedule.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company has the ability to deal with simultaneous professional translations to several different languages and dialects and still produce consistent high quality professional translations.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company can guarantee that the customer will receive the professionally translated material according to schedule even if one of the translators is ill, the city suffers a blackout or the building is damaged by a fire.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company can assure scalability, the ability to deal with professional translation projects regardless of considerations of size (word count) or number of target languages involved.
Only a multilingual professional translation service company is able to add value to the professional translation process. Whether you are looking for professional language localization, to outsource your in-house translation department, or for somebody who understand the linguistic subtleties of your markets, a multilingual professional translation service company offers the best value for the money.
Only multilingual professional translation services providers such as ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) can consistently assure customers the highest quality of professional translations, independently of professional translation project size or the number and complexity of the target languages involved.
The Cost of Professional Translation Services
How much importance should be placed on the cost of translating your important documents?
By C. Coffee 01/20/2010
Several factors will influence the cost for document translation services and a trustworthy translation services provider will never cut corners on quality and accuracy in order to win a bidding process against its competitors – simply because quality cannot be produced and delivered for bread crumbs – unless, of course, the individual or entity requesting a translation project does not care about quality, correct interpretation, and accuracy.
Let’s first address the various factors to affect translation services pricing and then we can compare the “good trustworthy” translation services provider vs. the “let’s make a quick profit” type translation services provider.
Translation Services Cost Factor #1: Language Pairs
Language pairs will be the first and most obvious factor. This is true all across the language translation service industry. Latin languages such as Spanish, French and Italian are typically less expensive than Asian languages such as Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese.
Translation Services Cost Factor #2: Subject Matter
How complex or technical is the content of the materials to be translated will play an important role in translation service costs. A general business letter will likely cost less to translate than a scientific research paper. The two most obvious reasons for the cost difference rest with the level of education and expertise the translator must possess – meaning a non-accredited translator with basic knowledge of the source and target languages may translate a general business letter adequately – while a certified/professional translator with the applicable scientific background will be needed to translate the scientific research paper. Obviously, a certified translator with a science background will be compensated at a higher rate than a non-accredited translator with a basic education level. The other obvious reason for the cost difference for translating a general business letter vs. a scientific research paper is the time required to perform the translation. Needless to say, the more complex the content and subject matter, the more research and critical attention will be required to complete the translation correctly and accurately.
Translation Services Cost Factor #3: Quantity
The total number of words contained in the source material and documentation will directly influence the cost. Most translation providers price their translation services on a per-word basis. Some base their prices on the number of source words while others (the vast majority) base pricing on the target/final word count. One can expect a minimum fee for small documents containing less than 500 words and one can also expect a volume discount for large projects.
Translation Services Cost Factor #4: Deadlines
Standard turnaround time, Rush and Rush/Critical requests, will likely affect the overall cost of a translation services project. Will the rush request force the translation team to work overtime? Will it force the translation team to work during the weekend or on a holiday? Will the translation services provider be forced to add more translators to the project in order to meet the client’s critical deadline? Overtime, weekends, holidays and an increase in the number of translators required to perform and complete a translation project “correctly” and “on time” will inevitably add to the overall cost. If a translation service provider does not increase the cost for rush projects – you can certainly expect the translation work to be incomplete and/or filled with inaccuracies… Now consider the added costs and time delays that will be required to make it right!
Translation Services Cost Factor #5: Quality and Clarity
One of the most frustrating issues that a professional translator will face is being asked to provide accurate translation work when given unclear third-generation fax copies of the source document. A translator’s responsibility is to translate what can be read and recognized clearly not speculating on what word(s) were supposed to be on the page. Unclear materials will result in the translation service team having to conduct research and endless back-and-forth communication with the client to discuss the missing or unclear portions of the document. Most professional translation service companies will refuse the assignment if the source material is unclear or illegible. Others will translate what can be translated and fill the unclear portions with [illegible] notations and leave it to the client to make sense of the actual content.
Translation Services Cost Factor #6: Formatting Requirements
Will the translation assignment require additional production work such as formatting, desktop publishing, graphics, formulas, tables and publishing the translated work using a non-universal software program requiring special skills? In such cases, the translation service agency may likely tag on additional charges (per hour usually) for the additional formatting and DTP work required to complete the project.
The above translation services cost factors are presented here as the most obvious and primary factors influencing the cost of a translation project. Naturally, each case has its own differences and particularities and as such, other factors may influence the cost of a translation project. But one aspect that has often resulted in increased and unexpected additional expenses for a translation project is when a translation client falls for the “let’s make a quick profit” type translation provider. This type of translation service provider hires and assigns translation work to non-accredited, inexperienced translators and they often use software translation tools to expedite the process and produces a translated document filled with inaccuracies and linguistic mistakes. These mistakes and inaccuracies may not be found until it’s too late and the client faces professional embarrassment and potentially costly legal fallouts. To make things right, the client is now forced to have the work performed again – this time, hopefully, using a “good and trustworthy” translation services provider.
Low-cost translation services, more often than not, generate a series of complications and eventually turn to higher-than-needed translation cost. Would you trust a non-accredited inexperienced surgeon offering low-cost services to perform a critical surgery for you or a member of your family? Do not yield to the temptation of cheap and fast document translations whether for legal, financial, scientific, technical, governmental or other professional work. Sure, you can use free online translation devices or translation software to save a few pennies. Or, press your translation company for a 24-hour turnaround. Just remember that the least expensive and fastest document translations usually mean huge problems later.
You can trust ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) to provide you with translation quality and accuracy on a timely basis all with at very competitive prices.
Professional Translation Service for Top Corporations
Why Top Corporations Use a Professional Translation Service Company
By: C. Coffee 01/19/2010
In today’s complex international business environment (when foreign languages are involved) written communication and binding agreements must be clear, accurate, and covey your true intent in order to protect you from professional embarrassment, legal complications and disastrous transactional outcomes. That is why all successful international business executives use a professional translation service company to assist in the translation of all important written communication, and more importantly, all legal materials.
Proper international and intercultural communication is increasingly important for all corporations. From general business letters, marketing materials, all the way to the most complex legal, technical, marketing, and financial documentation, there is an on-going need to make sense of the foreign communications that is constantly being presented at any level of any given organization. Large multi-national companies also need internal and external documents translated for subsidiary offices, and many medium and even small-sized companies have expanded to outside markets and require most of their documentation to be translated. Not every company has the luxury of having competent translation professionals as part of their organization and that is why they must resort to a professional translation service company to satisfy this important part of the international business operations.
Don’t be fooled by the everyday bilingual staff member who tells you that he or she can translate the company’s internal documents very easily or that a free translation software program is available online…. Translation is a complex process involving a variety of crucial steps and specific capabilities. Poorly translated documents or inaccurate interpretation can significantly alter a document’s meaning, which will injure a company’s international reputation or elicit lawsuits. Your company’s reputation is literally in your foreign language translator’s hands — and an unqualified foreign language translator can bring disastrous results. Not all document translators are capable of providing accurate document translations. For instance, a translator not familiar with finance and accounting may translate the term “écart d’acquisition” literally as “acquisition difference” rather than the correct term “goodwill”, or the term “résultat” literally as “result” instead of the correct technical term of “income” or “earnings”. An inexperienced translator may translate “résultat courant” as “current income” instead of “income before exceptional items and tax.”
That is why you should use a Professional Translation Service Company that only recruits the best and most experienced translators. In fact, you should also look for a professional translation service company that can provide accredited professional translators with experience in your specific industry and expertise in the subject matter of the materials to be translated. Remember, there are many ways to get your business communications and materials translated but getting it done without the use of a professional translation service company will expose you and your company to potential embarrassment, legal complications and disastrous transactional outcomes.
A professional translation service company like ASTA-USA Translation Services (www.asta-usa.com) and its legal division Legal Translation Solutions (www.legaltranslationsolutions.com) can assist companies with international operations in improving their overall foreign language communications and document translation needs.
