Companies that want to grow internationally may find it difficult to figure out which machine translation provider best fits their needs since their number keeps growing while their results get better.
Do you have to try every piece of MT software available on the market to find which one best meets your requirements? Or is there a quicker way to do so? Is the combination of various evaluation methods possible? This article will walk you through several techniques for figuring out which machine translation software will produce the greatest results for your specific translation project and be the most useful to you in the long run.
Consider the quality and kind of content you want to translate
You must first understand the kind of information you are translating and the standard of excellence you aim for. If these documents are typically manuals or instructions or occasionally internal papers or files where performance is not as important, translation only serves as a way to convey a basic understanding of these texts.
In reality, these documents simply need to be machine-translated without needing any post-editing after the translation process, so almost every machine translation software on the market can get the job done.
However, using basic machine translation software may not be the most excellent choice for projects involving highly creative materials like literary writings, artistic works, or commercial concepts. Since these texts call for the intelligence and originality that only human translation can offer, it’s best to go with a professional machine translation software that is developed with the help of the latest trends in Deep and Machine Learning to get the desired result. Ultimately, it really all comes down to the complexity of your translation needs and the quality you aim to achieve.
The subject of your writing also plays a huge part
The most outstanding MT quality is reportedly offered for computer software, legal services, and telecommunications, with documentation and software strings, support material, policies, processes, and procedures, as well as these content kinds’ policies, being the most accessible.
On the other hand, writings from the professional and business services industry and sales and marketing content were the most challenging for machine translation engines. As you can tell, the benefits of neural machine translation (NMT) engines vary depending on the text complexity.
Therefore, based on the subject matter of your source text, read online reviews and check with industry professionals before deciding which translation software is best equipped to determine the subject of your text and correctly forecast what words and expressions to use in the translation output.
The language pair
Naturally, the languages themselves are the most significant factors in translation. Google Translate and DeepL are both well-known, but are they sufficient? In Intento’s analysis, DeepL did seem to be in the lead for numerous languages partnered with English among the fifteen MT engines that were assessed (as opposed to German or Spanish). However, other software should be your first option if you translate between English and Finnish or English and Japanese.
Combining the MT engines that perform well with certain language combinations is your best option if you’re translating from one source language into many destination languages. You can also use the same text to test multiple engines if you want to find out which one is closest to the quality you want or needs the least editing.
Examining legal obligations
Which MT software to select might also depend on any regulatory constraints that may apply to its use. You should establish whether there are any restrictions on the localization, storage, and transfer of data in your project, for instance in light of GDPR.
In cases where privacy must be ensured, certain data-handling regulations may also be in place. In fact, some businesses with very strong data-handling policies would outright reject MT due to ignorance of the technology and the ensuing concern that their data may be compromised. Verify that the translation software you’re using provides safe data processing and uploading. If so, you can be confident that the proper use and selection of the appropriate MT software prevents data leakage.
Budget and turnaround time
The turnaround time for your project might be greatly shortened by using MT, especially if it contains a lot of text or data.
Post-editing, however, probably plays a significant part in the translation process when considering this component of translation. Human involvement is essential if you want the best accurate translation of a big amount of material in a short amount of time.
To identify the MT engine that offers a target text that needs the least modification, it is best to take into account the topic matter and language pair initially. As usual, some people prefer to depend on best practices while others like to explore.
Final thoughts
A translation job can be significantly improved by using machine translation. It may shorten turnaround times, speed up work, and save you money. To get the quality you want, you will often need a hybrid approach that combines machine translation (MT) and human translation. Always choose the appropriate machine translation methodology and software for your project.
