Machine translators have threatened to replace human translators. But is this possible? Despite AI-driven leaps and bounds in machine translation, machine translation may never catch up to the ancient art of human translation traduzioni giurate online. Unlike machine translation, it relies on pure human intelligence to convert content from one language to another.
The goal of translation is to communicate the same message in a different language. But if the translation is done word-for-word as initial machine translators would do, the translated document often communicates a different message from the source document. Therefore, human translation begins with the understanding and interpretation of the original text.
What is human translation and why is it important?
Human translation refers to the conversion of documents from one language to another by a human translator instead of a machine. However, human translation is still superior to machine translation, whether it is translating books, websites, magazines, letters, personal documents or advertisements.
Machine translators cannot perform at the level of human translators in some aspects of translation . For example, machines may not consider the context, grammar, conventions, and idioms in the source language when translating a text into the target language.
Understanding the human language translation process
Human translation involves interpretation that helps maintain the message of the source document. Translation is a complex process that requires the input of a professional linguist with command of the target language either through extensive study or by birth. The linguist translates the source document into the target language in a way that captures the meaning and spirit of the original text using the appropriate tone and style.
The second stage of human translation uses a professional editor who reviews and refines the linguist’s work to ensure that it correctly uses the technical expressions of the subject.
Why trust human translation?
- Quality of content
Machines still do not understand the context and cannot give the perfect meaning of the content in the target language. In contrast, humans understand the essence of languages and know when to use specific tones or styles to convey certain messages in the target language. - Language skills
Unlike humans with natural language skills, machines cannot grasp the connotation of documents. Therefore, machines are likely not meeting audience needs when translating content. Human translators are still superior as they have a natural ability to draft and conceptualize content. Human translation work is smooth, clear, and easy to understand compared to machine-translated content. - Cultural sensitivity
Machines will translate content without taking into account the cultural connotations and suggestions that humans usually follow. This can result in culturally inappropriate content as each culture has norms and values woven into its language. - Demand for human translation
Translation is not simply providing the meaning of a word in another language. That’s why machine translators are unlikely to outperform human translators despite tremendous advances in machine translation.
As demand for translation services increases around the world, there is a need to avoid relying solely on machines. An incorrect translation can damage a company’s reputation and even cause large financial losses. In some industries, the need for accuracy and precision requires human translation, not the use of machines.