Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we collect, interpret and analyze data and, in the process, the way we conduct business. This includes the global translation industry.
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With increasing global access to technology, there has never been more content in the world. Recent research estimates that more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day. Combined with globalization and international eCommerce, this means businesses have a surplus of content—marketing materials, product descriptions and internal documents—that need to be translated.
Advances in machine translation (MT) via artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning offer the potential for an efficient, cost-effective solution to this growing need.
In the past MT was primarily a culling tool to get the “gist” of meaning from a large volume of documents, typically part of the discovery process in large cross border litigation. Relevant documents would then be professionally translated “from scratch” by humans.
Until recently there was little value for MT in a corporate environment where you often see the translation of English source documents into upwards of 40 languages for product documentation, training or sales and marketing collateral. Now, with the improved output from “smart machines”, we are starting to see MT used for the initial translation with the human professionals taking on the role of “post MT” editors.
These developments portend big changes both for companies that buy translation services and for language service providers (LSPs). For the former, it offers the potential for translating a higher volume of content faster and for less money. For the LSPs it means transforming their database of professional translators into professional “post editors” which is a much different skill set.
And then there is the role of MT engines from industry giants like Google and Microsoft. In what circumstances it is OK to use a free, public source translation machine? What is the impact on the protection of confidential information? What are the alternatives to Google Translate?
Click for a quote. We will be in touch to discuss your requirements and solution options. To set up a call to further discuss your needs or additional information, please send an email to info@translate.one
Click for a quote. We will be in touch to discuss your requirements and solution options. To set up a call to further discuss your needs or additional information, please send an email to info@translate.one
Trying to be creative when writing copy that will also need to be translated? When in doubt, leave it out.
We often receive English content that cannot be easily rendered in other languages. For example, the copy may contain phrasing or imagery that, even when translated, may not make sense in another culture. Not all languages use the same manner of speaking.
Below are some examples of creative content that can be challenging:
Often, upon following up on a quote sent to a prospective client, we find out they went with the lowest bidder. This often does not turn out well. One prospect confided in us that he selected a competitor who came in with a much lower quote only to have received a bad translation. The prospect was embarrassed when a native speaking colleague had to fix what should have been a high quality translation. He even used the phrase that he “got what he paid for.”
What could this prospect have done differently? He could have asked about the disparity among the quotes, since the lowest quote was less than half the price of the others. In cases like this, it is important to compare apples to apples. Each quote should demonstrate that the bidder fully understands the scope of the project and should include the same services. Some companies may not include editing, desktop publishing or proofreading in the initial quote, but then add this later on to the final invoice. Most translation services like to hear feedback regarding their quotes. If it is reasonable, they may work with you to align their quote with others if cost is the only deciding factor.
Another way to gauge a translation service’s quality is by asking about the linguists who would work on the project. Quality translation services use educated and experienced linguists, and with that comes a price. Some services rely on low cost translation software or unqualified linguists. They are able to quote dramatically low prices, but are unable to ensure the translation quality is on par with the English original.
The best advice is to get all of the information you can from the prospective translation services. Make sure the quote lists all the services that will be included and ask for references. An ISO-certified translation service will have a well-defined process that ensures quality, starting with the selection of experienced, highly trained linguists.
Make sure that you are getting what you pay for. Because we’ve all heard the saying that if that extraordinarily low price seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Translation is often not seen as a priority for many U.S. companies with global reach. English is the lingua franca of business, so why incur the unnecessary expense of translating content into all the languages of your company’s global employees and customers? This article will discuss three risk factors that can result from not translating your materials: lost sales opportunities, reduced employee safety and costly legal ramifications.
