Fun Facts: Machine Translation Vs Human Translation

As of March 2021, there are more than 1 billion users of Google Translate. The number will surely increase in the following period.

The reason why more and more people prefer Machine translation to Human one is that it is free of charge. People use it to translate short and simple texts for real-time communication.

The question is: Will Machine translation replace Human translation in the future?

To answer this question, let’s learn about the differentiation of Machine translation and Human translation performance.

• Machine Translation is the instant transformation of text from one language to another using artificial intelligence (AI). AI has tremendously continued to develop lately and it seems to have become more useful and smarter in translating some particular languages. It is very popular for individuals to translate the basic phrases and can be a valuable tool for professional translators and businesses alike to take advantage of. But, it is still limited, it is unable to understand a people’s culture who use a particular language, neither other nuances including anecdotes and dialect, and cannot best express a sentence’s meaning the way a human can. All of these combined reduce the accuracy of Machine translation.

• Human Translation involves real brainpower, in the form of one or more translators translating the text manually. Human has the insights that can translate critical contexts with accuracy and in terms of grammar, human is more ethical and reliable. The ability to convert the texts to sound organic made human translators become a priority in the translation industry for serious business whether it is for individuals or companies.

To sum up, the answer to the above question is that Machine translation cannot fully take over Human translation in the future, even though future technology can make AI more reliable. Humans are still playing the most important role to turn the translation to be truthful with a full meaning.

Here are some fun facts about what machine translation does:

English – Khmer Translation

Culturally speaking here means "the natural manner of speaking", but the Machine translates as “speak culture” . The words sound the same but are completely different in meaning leading to misunderstanding.

In this sentence, the phrase "equipped with industry-specific skills" means ‘’having various knowledge and skills in different fields or industries’’ but the Machine translates as "wearing skills" in the industry.

The word “industry” here involves fields of business, but the machine translates as economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.

The word “nature” here means the way or concept, features, character of the business, but the machine just translates it straight as the features and products of the earth opposed to human creations.

Khmer – English Translation:

The whole appropriate meaning in this sentence would be “But the question is what these five items are and how much quantity?”

Finally, Machine Translation is intellectual and very helpful for those who are using it with less serious intent, but for those who are intending on their translation seriously cannot rely on Machines at all. Only human translators can make their translation become real and sound natural in a professional scenario.

At khmertrans

We have numerous certified translators with various target languages (mostly Asian languages) with a skilled-specific industry to ensure you receive 100% accuracy of the translation. We welcome individuals and collaboration with other agencies, please get in touch with us if you need our help.

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