Automated translation for large-volume projects

Advanced Language offers machine translation services (translation done by computer) for technical content. But, don’t confuse our service with the use of free tools such as Google Translate or Bing Translator; Advanced Language uses state-of-the-art, customized translation software in combination with trained human editors who ensure that high quality translation is delivered. We refer to this as a machine-human hybrid translation process.

Machine-Human translation: The best of both worlds

Here’s a common problem, your company has a large technical product manual that needs to ship with the machine it describes. Unfortunately, the English documentation is not ready until weeks before the product ships—if that. How can 600 pages of technical content be translated in a matter of a few weeks without risking poor quality and errors in the translation? Typically, the answer was to throw as many translators as possible at the problem and hope that the final product would still read well. This is highly unlikely with five or six translators all working in parallel.

To solve this problem, Advanced Language uses industry leading machine translation tools that enable the translation of hundreds of thousands of words in a matter of hours. We then have specialized native-speaker editors who review all the machine-produced translation. Along the way, they correct any errors that the computer translator may have made. This process can reduce turnaround times as much as 50%!

Quality and savings can be achieved with machine-human translation

The key to providing high-quality translation generated by a machine translation (MT) engine is in preparation. We take the time and effort up-front to build customized translation engines specifically for the languages and subject matter your company needs. The MT engine is also trained specifically for your company’s content, utilizing technical terminology translated by human specialists. In the end Advanced Language doesn’t just provide you with a translation, but with a method for translating more content, maintaining high quality and controlling costs.

Automated translation: Which content is best?

Advanced Language’s machine-human translation process yields excellent results. However, this process may not be the right one for all your company’s translation needs. Keep in mind that our machine translation engines are specific to a particular language pair, such as English<>Spanish, and subject matter area (e.g. engineering). So, while a customized engine for your company may produce good results for an operator’s manual, the same engine will not be very good for translation of a marketing brochure. The difference is in the stylistic difference in the writing. Documents that have simple, direct sentences like those found in most technical documents are good candidates for machine translation. Below is a quick checklist of content types that can be handled by MT and which should be done solely by professional human translators.

To learn more about machine translation, read an article from our Education Center.