Why you should choose a professional language translation service over machine translation

Automation is becoming a growing part of everyday life, from voice-activated personal assistants to self-parking cars, technology is helping to remove some of life’s more mundane tasks. But it’s also making inroads into more complex fields, such as accounting and translation services.

But while there’s a time and a place for automated translation services, it’s often better to choose a professional language translation service, such as Dialogue. Here are some reasons why a translation service is better than machine translation.

For greater accuracy

Although machine translation offers the fastest service – sometimes providing instant translations – there’s no substitute for a professional service when it comes to accuracy. While machine translation is advanced, it can’t take into account the subtleties and nuances of certain phrases, sometimes finds technical terms difficult to deal with and can struggle with sentence construction.

If you need 100% accuracy, whether for professional or legal reasons, it’s worth investing in a professional translator, rather than leaving it to a machine.

To maintain tone of voice

When creating any marketing materials or content for a specific brand, whether an above-the-line advert or a website landing page, maintaining the correct tone of voice is vitally important, no matter what language you’re working in.

The trouble is, certain words and phrases simply won’t have the same impact when they’re translated, or might not make any sense at all, and the only way to make sure your content hits the right note when translated to another language is to use a human translation service – machines simply can’t make the distinction.

For better quality control

Although machine translation can be an effective way to get an initial draft out of the door quickly, you should always use a professional translation service to proofread copy and review for quality control.

Once a professional has finished the initial translation, they will check their work to make sure everything is correct and it meets the standards agreed at the beginning of the project. If there are any amendments to be made, a translation professional can go back and make them.

If you use machine translation, the first draft is the only draft and any reviews will have to be made by you, or you’ll have to pay extra for a professional to conduct the review – not a very time or cost-effective way of doing things.

To pick up on regional variations

Languages not only vary from country to country, but also sometimes from region to region, and if you’re looking to localise your content in a specific country, you’ll need to be aware of regional differences. Translating your materials for use in Spain, for instance, might need to reflect the linguistic differences across the country and need separate translations for Spanish, Basque and Catalan audiences.

The best way to make sure these variations aren’t overlooked is to employ the services of a professional translation service and preferably a native speaker who understands those subtle differences. Although advanced, machine translation simply isn’t up to dealing with such nuances.