Dear readers,
In the current age, the word digitalization is on everyone’s lips and artificial intelligence has also arrived in the translation industry. This change enables a translation concept “made by machine”, which is offered in our translation service portfolio. Machine translation (MT) is an automated translation performed by an engine, a specially trained computer program.
COMLOGOS offers neural MT. You can therefore assume that the output is of a very high quality, even much higher than with statistical or rule-based MT. The engines for NMT are based on neural networks that are modeled on those in the human brain. The input is processed into a numerical equivalent by encoders and decoders and then translated into the target language using several hidden layers (arranged like neurons in the human brain). Due to this nature, NMT systems, like humans, are able to learn. Due to the complex structure of the system, extensive and sustained initial and further training is necessary.
Your benefit: Efficiency!
COMLOGOS has risen to these new challenges and can bring you real benefits with the help of these new technologies. We can deliver machine translations 2-3 times faster than a human translation. In addition, we help you to reduce your costs – all for your success. The cost of a machine translation is only around 50-60% of the cost of a human translation, depending on the project.
If you need a translation particularly quickly or cost-effectively, you should consider whether machine translation is worthwhile for you. We use your existing translation memories and terminology databases in combination with the engine. This increases translation quality and speed enormously!
Important information & limits – Let’s hold on tight.
machine can therefore be a sensible alternative. Exactly! But even that has certain limits. We will take a closer look at these here. First of all, it is always necessary to check whether the text is suitable for MT at all. The purpose of the translation and the quality of the text to be translated must be taken into account.
We advise against MT in the case of:
- Binding to standards & directives (CE, VDE, Machinery Directive, ISO standards, IEC 82079, etc.)
- ISO 17100-compliant translation including revision required,
- Printing and production,
- Safety relevance (legal, personal and machine safety),
- Texts with many names (product lists, product descriptions),
- Master data sheets, parts lists (generally lists without context, record fragments),
- Legal texts,
- Marketing texts, advertising slogans/texts (transcreation),
- Highly specialized texts for which sufficient data is not yet available,
- Texts that contain many errors or are poorly formatted.
After reviewing the files, we will advise you in detail and clarify any queries with you. MT can generally be carried out for suitable texts, provided that full post-editing is carried out afterwards.
The key to success – full post-editing.
Post-editing (PE) refers to the review and correction of machine-translated output. The post-editor should be a specialist translator with the relevant skills who can also demonstrate experience in post-editing. Post-editing is usually carried out bilingually, i.e. the source text and MT output are compared with each other and the translation is adapted accordingly. Here, the post-editor must assess when it is merely necessary to rephrase or when a new translation is required. In principle, however, the aim is to retain as much MT output as possible.
Full post-editing by a qualified post-editor aims to achieve the quality of a human translation. Therefore, the posted translation should not only be complete and comprehensible, but also stylistically appropriate, grammatically correct and terminologically consistent.
Conclusion.
Machine translation can be carried out for both in-house and external texts, provided we classify the text as suitable for MT and a full post-edit is carried out afterwards. Translation projects that are subject to strict budget and time requirements or have very high volumes can achieve remarkable benefits. We at COMLOGOS will be happy to advise you!
If you would like more information about machine translation and full post-editing, you can find our e-book on the subject in the download area of our website.
