In recent years the development of automated language has moved forward in leaps and bounds. Technology companies have created an almost seamless connection between machines and humans. However, even if these may be seen as advances, when it comes to the end product of translation automation it’s clear that there is no technology yet available that fully replaces a human translator.
Automatic Translation:
A good example of the errors that could occur when it comes to automatic translation is illustrated by the disclaimers that online tools such as Google Translate provide on its website. Google, and Google’s distributors and suppliers are not prepared to accept any responsibility for any loss in profits or data when users use its online translation tool.
If you are looking for a quick and easy translate of some text you don’t understand, what Google Translate has to offer is probably enough and will do you no harm. However, if you are seeking a translation of a legal or medical document you should think twice about using any online translating tools. This is because you can’t be certain the automated translator will be able to translate the text into appropriate language that will ensure the right understanding.
Many online translation tools typically just do a word for word translation and aren’t able to adapt the language to suit the readership of the source document or even understand any technical words that might be found in a source document. Many translations undertaken by machine translation tools could be dangerous if the detail is required like for a drug that has just been released on the open market. All the information regarding dosages and drug usage need to be 100 percent accurate otherwise the user will end up taking too little or too much of the drug with serious consequences.
Difficult for Automatic Translation
No doubt machine translation will end up improving its accuracy but because human language is changing too it makes it more difficult for automatic translation to keep up at the same pace. There are a language’s nuances and idiosyncrasies and its syntax that it might always be impossible for an automatic language translator.
There is a particular example in Spanish and that’s the word intoxicado, which can easily be mistranslated. Many people translate the word intoxicado to mean when a person is extremely drunk, but it can also mean someone is suffering from food poisoning. An automatic translation tool may get this translation completely wrong which could create a bad situation for the person who asked for the translation.
The best thing for you if you are seeking an accurate translation is to avoid automatic translation and send your work to a human translator.
