machine translation

In the past few years, companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have been changing the world with their advances in technology. Lately, translation has become a common technology used to bridge the gap between cultures and create a better understanding of non-native languages. Even apps such as Duolingo are teaching people to broaden their horizons and to become the best linguists that they possibly can on a tight schedule.

However, these translation apps have the fault of being completely machine oriented. With these apps, there is no one to correct you if the app doesn’t give you the right conjugation or verb. There is no margin for human error when it comes to using these apps. Professional translation services, however, have that margin.

Professional translation services are just that – professional. Apps can have many mistakes and still be somewhat successful, albeit with a bad rating. If you take an app like Google translate and compare it to the translation given by a human who actually understands the language and uses it for a living, ten out of ten times the human will be a better resource.

It’s really all about feedback and context. Google translate will not give you the type of feedback that a linguistic translator would. Translation apps are designed to translate words and phrases literally using a database, rather than to reading and understand the context and structure of the sentence.

This isn’t to knock translation apps, though. Translation apps can be very useful. Duolingo is more of a language learning app than a translation app, but it is extremely useful in helping a person to learn another language. If you took Spanish in your high school years and you want to come back to it in or after college, Duolingo is there to refresh your memory. It even reads the translations back to you.

Google translate, while faulty, is good to use as a dictionary in a pinch. If you don’t have an English to Spanish dictionary on you and you want to quickly translate a word or short phrase, then by all means, use Google translate. Both Duolingo and Google translate are great apps that help widen the understanding of a language learner.

If you want to translate a document or interpret spoken information, then speak with a professional translator or interpreter. It is worth the peace of mind that you have everything completely accurate than to input something into a translation app and have everything wrong. It’s not just about getting the gist of something – it’s about making sure that you and other people can fully understand what you’ve translated. Think about that the next time you translate a document or a sentence and you’ll be better off in the end.

Niki’s Int’l Ltd. provides expertly trained and highly experienced interpreters and translators.  Their strict quality control processes assure that your needs are matched with the most qualified interpreter.  With full Errors & Omissions and 20 years in the industry, Niki’s Int’l Ltd. is sure to have the quality linguists you need!  Call Niki’s Int’l Ltd. 24/7/365 at 877-567-8449 or contact them via email at [email protected]

 

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