A professional company in the industry explains the differences between human and automated translation, underscoring the importance of human sensitivity for achieving a high standard of quality
According to Common Sense Advisory, leader in research and independent analysis of the translation industry, the worldwide language services market has grown at an annual rate of 5.52%. And that’s no accident: in the globalized world we live in, the need to communicate with people of different nationalities, especially for business purposes, has demanded increasingly accurate translations, which go beyond merely exchanging one language for another by considering the culture, political, economic and legal aspects of the country where communication will be transmitted.
Keeping pace with this growth, the technologies used in this market segment have also evolved quickly. All of this novelty can lead to doubts when hiring a translation service. “Currently, the market offers both human and automated translation options. However, these solutions serve different purposes and needs, and these differences are precisely the reason for the lingering doubts,” says Aleksander Honma, director of Netwire, a company specialized in translation and localization.
He explains that professional-level automated translation uses a technology called Statistical Machine Translation, or SMT. To perform this kind of translation, the machine runs statistical analyses of the material to be translated through an engine created from the client’s own memory bank. “What happens is that not all companies have this historical database. That’s why this kind of translation is usually done by major corporations, which already have such a database and which need to process a high volume of more technical materials at lower cost and quicker turnaround time,” he explains.
When dealing with messages that demand creativity, such as advertising content, Honma defends the need for human intervention. “Although automated translation keeps evolving, only a human translator will have the sensitivity needed to identify the best way to translate a given message, considering different contexts and cultures of the target language,” he says.
Attuned to the technological innovations in the industry, professional agencies like Netwire have bet on cutting-edge technologies and on native translators specialized in different market segments. Even when automated translation is provided upon request from a client, the text is usually edited by a human translator who will make the necessary adjustments to improve its quality.
“In short, technology has come as an ally to the human factor, and although Netwire offers both kinds of service, it warrants reminder that no project is translated automatically unless the client specifically requests it in advance,” says Honma.
Finally, the executive emphasizes that automated translation is different from the translation systems available free of charge on the internet. “In this case, information is translated through a generic database on the web. What’s more, they aren’t recommended for corporate use because there is no project confidentiality clause, given that all information entered into such tools is saved in the cloud,” he concludes.
About Netwire
Created in 2000, Netwire is the Latin American market leader, offering translations into any language. With offices in Brazil and Argentina, the company caters to approximately 25 market segments and has a network of hundreds of tested native translators, residing all over the planet. In the past five years alone, Netwire processed over 110 million words, delivering an average of 400 projects per month.
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