Machine translation is free now – should my company use it?
You know what machine translation is – no offense, but even a child does. This novel, powerful tool is available for free now. The question is, “Should I use it?” Well, actually, there is a better question: “Who should use it?” As you would guess, the answer is “Well, it depends.” Spray paint guns are available for almost free, too. Knowing that, would you paint your car, or have it painted by a professional? Of course, however, you might want to paint that toolshed door yourself. So, when should we rely on professional translation services?
There are, indeed, some instances when you can resort to machine translation such as Google Translator, ChatGPT, Microsoft and even other, more specialized translation services. Automated translation has significantly improved in the last 10 years, and you can use it to translate news, articles, emails etc. with reasonable quality. And the word “reasonable” is the point here. Are you or your company going to publish the translation? Can you adapt it to the target public with the right tone and nuances and, especially, using consistent terminology? Will the style conform to the company style guide? Who is going to proofread it after you made adjustments?
IBISWorld, a global research think tank that provides industry forecasts and analyses expects the translation market to continue growing. After AI, the growth rate is expected to somewhat drop from the typical 9-10% per year seen until 2023 – but we’ll always have positive growth, at least until the end of the forecast, which is 2029. (Oh, and interestingly, auto paint is still a $9.9bn market in the USA!) So, what is going to change in the translation industry, this $60bn market? The simple answer is, “Not much.”
Translation companies, as you would expect, are always early adopters of any technology that can improve productivity and reduce turnaround time without sacrificing quality. Actually, quality has improved so much as a result of translation tools that clients nowadays consider that quality is a given – not a differentiator. Now, some jargon with the tools that we use: translation memories, termbases, style guides, QA tools, translation management systems, etc. And, of course, machine translation when they can be used – always followed by thorough human review and editing.
We still see, however, machine translation as an additional tool in our “utility belt”. Precision, nuance, context, and terminology consistency are skills mastered by humans only. The vast wealth of knowledge and “translation wisdom” is what you would want to have when you need to translate critical documentation in order to reduce your risks.
