Today, the word digitalisation is on everyone’s lips and artificial intelligence has also arrived in the translation industry. This change enables a “made by machine” translation concept, which we offer as part of our translation service portfolio. Machine translation (MT) is an automated translation by a so-called engine, a specially trained computer program.
COMLOGOS offers neural machine translation (NMT). You can therefore expect the output to be of very high quality, sometimes significantly higher than with statistical or rule-based MT. The engines for NMT are based on neural networks that are modelled on those found in the human brain. The input is processed by encoders and decoders into a numerical equivalent and then translated into the target language using multiple hidden layers (arranged like neurons in the human brain). This means NMT systems, just like humans, are able to learn. Due to the complex structure of the system, extensive and sustained initial and further training is necessary.
Your benefits: Efficiency!
COMLOGOS has risen to these new challenges and can bring real benefits to you with the help of these new technologies. We can deliver machine translations two to three times more quickly than is the case with a human translation. We also help you to reduce your costs – all for your success. The costs for machine translation are up to 50% lower than human translation costs.
If you need a translation particularly quickly or cost-effectively, consider whether machine translation is worthwhile for you. We use your existing translation memories and terminology databases in combination with the engine. This increases the translation quality and speed enormously!
Important info & limitations – things to know.
Machine translation can be a meaningful alternative. That’s right! But it too has certain limitations. We get to the bottom of these in more detail here. You should always check in advance to see whether the text in question is at all suitable for MT. In doing so, 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
- Printing and production
- Safety-related (legal, personal, machine safety)
- Texts with many names (product lists, product descriptions)
- Master data sheets, parts lists (generally lists without context, sentence fragments)
- Legal texts
- Marketing texts, advertising slogans/texts (transcreation)
- Highly specialised texts for which sufficient data material 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 on suitable texts, provided that full post-editing is carried out afterwards.
The key to success – full post-editing.
Post-editing (PE) is the process of checking and correcting the machine-translated output. The post-editor should be a professional translator with appropriate skills who can also demonstrate experience in post-editing. As a rule, post-editing is done bilingually, i.e. source text and MT output are compared and the translation is adapted accordingly. Here, the post-editor has to assess whether only rewording is needed or if a new translation is necessary. In principle, however, it is important 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. The posted translation should therefore not only be complete and understandable, but also stylistically appropriate and grammatically correct with the use of consistent terminology.
Conclusion.
Machine translation can be carried out for both internal and external texts, provided that we deem the text to be suitable for MT and that full post-editing 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 on this! Contact us at mail@comlogos.com for more information.
