Aon-Translations
Anna Onesorková
Machine translation became an indispensable tool for every translator many years ago.
What is machine translation?
Machine translation (MT) is automatic translation by computer software. Machine translation has long been an essential part of any localization tech and has been helping translators process and pre-translate large volumes of text and save time in the initial stages of translation jobs.
What machine translation can't do?
Machine translation is practically instantaneous and continues to improve by leaps and bounds each day thanks to the use of AI. However, it still struggles to translate tech terminiology correctly, is not able to "read" the context correctly, resulting in major errors. It does not know language jokes and puns and cannot modify text "as desirable" based on target audience or purpose. It is a literal, word-for-word tool.
How do we use machine translation?
Since 2021 actively we offer a new service of post-editing. Post-editing (or postediting) is the process whereby humans amend machine-generated translation to achieve an acceptable final product. We use the paid version of the advanced translator DeepL, and fine-tune the output using our knowledge, skills and know-how.
What about Google Translate?
It is true that Google Translate has significantly improved in recent years, but we have given preference to newer and more advanced translation tools.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using machine translation for you?
Post-editing allows to translate large volumes of text at lower prices, but it will not include any creative solutions or stylistic fine-tuning. We will only correct the obvious errors and read through all sentences to check for blatant innacuracies.
Samples of translation: MT vs human
We have included some examples of machine translation below.
Example 1 (marketing), CS to EN:
Original: Digitální animace vyvolá 4x vyšší zapamatování si reklamního sdělení.
MT: Digital animation creates a 4x higher recall of the advertising message.
Translator: Digital animation drives 4x higher ad message recall.
Example 2 (technical), CS to EN:
Kabeláž je ve voze vystavována neustálým pohybům a vibracím. Je tedy bezpečnější a profesionálnější je dávat do husího krku, který je chrání.
MT: The cabling is subjected to constant movement and vibration in the vehicle. It is therefore safer and more professional to put them in a gooseneck that protects them.
Translator: The cables in the vehicle are affected by constant movement and vibration. For this reason, it is safer and more professional to put them in a protective wire hose.
Example 3 (general), EN to CS:
Original: Na produkt byste si správně měli sáhnout.
MT: You should touch the product properly.
Translator: Ideally, you should be able to touch the product.