Human or machine translation?

What are the advantages of human translation over machine translation?

The development of automation and artificial intelligence has also revolutionised the translation process. Machine translation enables fast and cost-effective translation, but it is also important to know its limitations. So you must have already wondered what advantages human translation has over machine translation. Why does BeneDictum Kft. always work with human translators?

Below we will answer this question and explain what precisely these advantages are, why professional translation is essential and the disadvantages of machine translation.

First, let’s look at the benefits of human translation:

1. Accuracy and linguistic sensitivity: Human translators can translate the exact meaning of the original text into the target language. Human translation takes into account the nuances of language, the context of expressions and the nuances of the text to ensure an accurate and meaningful translation. Human translators speak the target language at a native level.
2. Cultural understanding and transfer: Human translation takes into account the cultural context of the text and the particularities of the given culture. Therefore, they are able to translate local jargons and idiomatic expressions into the target language so that the message reaches the target audience accurately. This is essential for effective communication and proper message delivery.
3. Linguistic diversity and style: Human translation can reproduce the linguistic diversity and style of the original text. Human translators take into account the expectations of the target audience and the particularities of the given language so that the message is understandable and effective. Human translation is adaptable and allows you to preserve the style of the text, whether it is an artistic, literary or creative translation.
4. Professional texts: Human translators are familiar with the specific language and terminology of the fields. This is especially important when translating a text that requires professional knowledge.
5. Quality control and proofreading: Quality control and proofreading are possible in human translation. Human translators are able to proofread and correct errors or inaccuracies in the translation. This ensures that the final translation is of high quality and accurate.

BeneDictum Kft. has direct contact with human translators, so we have the opportunity to consult with them and ask each other questions. Human translators are able to adapt to individual needs and deadlines, which enables personalized translation solutions.

Now a few words about the disadvantages resulting from errors in machine translation:

As mentioned earlier, machine translation offers the opportunity to translate texts quickly and cost-effectively. However, it should also be remembered that machine translation has limitations and errors that can lead to disadvantages. Machine translators are based on algorithms and cannot understand the full context of a text.

One of the main disadvantages of machine translation is the possibility of making mistakes in the text, and the fact that the machine is not aware of certain professional knowledge: this lack of knowledge can cause serious problems when translating texts that require expertise, for example, the incorrect translation of legal and medical texts can have particularly serious consequences.

We would like to illustrate the limitations and errors of machine translation with a few examples:

• Elmentem a gépemre.

The machine translator's suggestion: "I went to my computer."

The human translator's suggestion: "I save it to my computer."

• Feltöltési idő

The machine translator's suggestion: uploading time

The human translator's suggestion: filling time

It can also be seen from the examples that the machine translator did not take into account that this is not an IT translation, but a translation related to firefighting, and thus produced an incorrect translation.

• Oltóanyag

The machine translator's suggestion: vaccine

The human translator's suggestion: extinguishing medium

The machine translation assumed that the word above appears in a text related to Covid, it did not take into account the context, since the entire text is about firefighting.

• Ken can can a can.

The machine translator's suggestion: „Ken tud egy konzervdobozt.” ("Ken knows a can.")

The human translator's suggestion: „Ken tud eltenni befőttet.” ("Ken can put away a jar.")

Here again, you can see that machine translation gives a literal translation that is meaningless.

• Töltőüzem

The machine translator's suggestion: charging station

The human translator's suggestion: filling plant

The machine translation translates the phrase as an electric car charging station, in the text we can read about filling beverage cans, so this error again shows that the machine does not consider the context.

If you want to have something translated from a foreign language, you probably have often been confronted with ridiculous, at worst mistranslated, incorrect and incomplete Hungarian texts, full of foreign, sometimes completely meaningless expressions. So the machine translation from and into Hungarian is still working with quite a lot of errors. The possibility of making errors is quite large, as it is easy for the machine to choose not the correct word, but a more commonly used meaning that is not relevant in the given context. In addition, all spelling errors and stylistic errors, which only the human eye and ear can detect, must be addressed.

You can regularly come across funny and impossible translation errors on social media, such as this one: "Don't hold on to the gas pipe!" – "Gastube - don't be Tarzan."

In addition, imaginative and pun-filled or just very catchy slogans, for example, are simply translated by the machine without looking for a similar phrase with a similar message in the target language. Thus, the reader cannot get close to the target language text. It loses its original value and message and becomes impersonal. Machine translators are often unable to properly reproduce the linguistic structure and style of the target language. The translations may be quite robotic, therefore it loses the linguistic diversity and elegance of the source language text. This can be especially problematic for texts that require creative or artistic wording.

Human translation eliminates the disadvantages of machine translation errors, because the human translator is able to translate the full meaning and context of the original text into the target language, taking into account linguistic nuances and cultural factors. Human translation provides personalized, flexible and high-quality translation in all linguistic and professional fields.

In conclusion, machine translation offers the possibility of fast and cost-effective translation, but it does not guarantee accuracy, adequate reproduction of the language structure, and consideration of cultural differences. Human translation is the most reliable solution that ensures accurate, meaningful and culturally appropriate translation. If the accurate and efficient delivery of your message is important to you and you need quality translation, hire a professional! Have your texts translated by BeneDictum Translation Agency and you are guaranteed to receive high quality and reliable translations.