(Wo)Man versus Machine

Why use a person, not a free online translation site?

Free online machine translators are essentially large databases of words and sentences. Machine translation programs are not infallible when it comes to recognising the context of a word, so they will not always know which meaning of a particular word is the right one for your document. Take the English verb “to get”: it can mean “to obtain”, “to become”, “to stand”, “to be struck down with”, “to understand” – to mention but a few. Only a human can be sure of understanding precisely the right meaning in your particular context.

Machine translators are also unable to understand the finer nuances of language – humour, emotion, cultural references, and so on – which a human is able to pick up on. This can lead not just to the kind of howlers we have all experienced on badly translated websites or restaurant menus, for example, but also to serious mistakes that could make you and your company could lose face.

Your documentation is part of your communication with your customers. Don’t let it let you down. Have it translated by an expert and ensure your translations reflect the high quality your product or service deserves.