The Pros and Cons of Machine Translation and Human Translation
The Internet is full of software, apps and websites that readily offer all kinds of translations fast and free; we call them machine translators, or for simplicity’s sake: MT. They are the very definition of convenience and more and more individuals and businesses are taking to them like moths to flame.
The question, though, is in regards to whether they are reliable, and whether or not they can replace human translators now or in the long run. Are they essentially no better than glorified dictionaries? This answer is actually a little more difficult to come by than it may at first seem, and it’s not a totally black and white issue, so let’s take a look at some numbers and facts and try to shed light on this question, shall we? In order to throw some fun facts your way, I’ve got this lovely infographic about how these things actually work, provided by the generous folks over at Day Translations.
Content, etymology and idiomatic knowledge are absolute essentials when it comes to accurate translations. Human translators have these skills; they know exactly whether they should paraphrase the text or translate it literally – that is to say metaphrase. That’s a serious point to humanity!
The world’s most used online translator, Google Translate, has a database of 103 languages, as well as video support for 37 of those.1 That’s impressive, and that covers the vast majority of speakers around the world, but for those who love percentages, it’s only 1.5% of all living languages.
The point is that human translators do not have as many language limits, whereas machines currently do – though that very well may change. Not everything in the garden is rosy, though, and human translation is time-consuming, and can cost a lot of money.
On average, the translation of 1 word equals to $0.11 USD, which means that the translation of a short 600-word article will cost you $66. Machine translations, on the other hand, are free and immediate. Furthermore, you can access them 24/7.
Human translators can usually only translate one language at a time, while machines can translate multiple languages at once.
This is especially applicable for expats and travelers getting around in a foreign country with a language they don’t necessarily speak very well, or at all.
In fact, Google Translate has been included on this list of Smartphone Apps for Travelers.
When talking about machine translations, we all think of Google Translate first. For one thing, it is the most famous with more than 500 million users worldwide. However, the dilemma of whether machine translation or human translation is superior is basically a matter of quality vs. quantity. You no longer need to hire an interpreter while traveling to Italy, Spain or France. All you need is an internet connection and a translation app.
Be that as it may, using an online website to translate an important formal letter or your medical records is not a good idea, and many businesses and large enterprises have been met with grisly circumstances while employing machine translation software for things they really should have thought twice about.
What are your thoughts? Do you think that machine translation will one day overcome human translators due to advances in AI?
Leave a comment with your experiences and opinions of machine translation!
This graphic originally appeared on daytranslations.com and has been used with express permission from its owners.
Apex-editor of Languages Around the Globe, collector of linguists, regaler of history, accidental emmigrant, serial dork and English language mercenary and solutions fabricator. Potentially a necromancer. All typos are my own.
