You might have heard about translating your entire content automatically using Google Translate. It sounds like a good idea, but there are some things that you need to know before adopting the process. Overall, your main concern should be the quality of the outcomes.
So, what do you need to know?
What is Google Translate?
Google Translate is a free online tool that you can use to translate your text. All you need to do is to search for it online. Afterwards, select your preferred language, and copy and paste the text that you want to translate. Last, you can copy and paste the translated text you want to print or save.
How does Google Translate work?
Translate crawls, mines, and saves texts from trillions of web pages. It has its way of identifying human-translated texts. Ideally, Translate looks for pages that match in translation. In other words, pages that translate each other. Such pages have similar domains or identical numbers.
Translate has to employ a bridging language. Mostly, the language is English. So, it translates any language into English and then into one’s preferred language.
You can translate a conversation (calls and chats), menu, or dictation from one language to another. Additionally, Translate works in real-time. So, you can have a meeting with your international clients and discuss your business one-on-one.
Also, you can take a picture of text and translate it using Google Translate. Such a feature is convenient to travelers. They can take a picture of a signboard or menu and use Translate to search for its meaning.
You can translate typed text in over 100 languages using Google translate. Also, the software can translate images in over 90 languages and conversations in over 43 languages. Last, you can also download offline languages for translation.
Facts about Google Translate
How much do you know about Google Translate? Let us explore the facts below:
- Google Translate has over 500 million users. The number of users almost equals the number of the European Union population, which is around 508 million people. After its launch in 2006, its users were in the hundreds. So, the software continues to become Famous.
- Translate processes over 100 billion for translation daily.
- Ninety-two percent of Translate users are not in the US. The statistics denote that the software is more popular outside the US than within the country.
- You can give feedback on inaccurate translations when using Google Translate. All you need is to report the error to the Google Translate Community.
- The commonly used pair of languages on Translate is English to Arabic, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Russian.
- Google does not employ Google Translate in its business translations. According to David Bellos, a famous translator, Google uses human translators for its publicity literature.
How to auto-generate content using Google Translate
You can pick an entire source document and auto-generate its translated version using Google Translate. The following are the steps that you should follow:
- Open your browser and go to translate.google.com. To do so, you do not require to register for an account. The Translate software portal is open to anyone in need of translation services.
- Open the source document on your internet-enabled device. You require to have downloaded the file or opened a web page with the information that requires translation. Copy the text that you want to translate.
- In the box on the left-hand side of the Translate portal, paste the information you had copied. If you want to translate the whole web page, you can copy and paste the URL to the source on the box.
- On the top of the box, you will see a drop-down option to select your preferred language. Notably, your text will translate into the language that you have chosen.
- After selecting the language, your text will automatically translate.
- Use the view option to toggle between the source and the translation outcomes. The option will help you to confirm the accuracy of the translation process. Also, it will help you understand the text on the source page.
If you see some untranslated text, it was the text that appeared as an image. Google Translate only picks texts during the translation process.
Pros and Cons of using Google Translate
Everything has a positive side and a downside. Similarly, Google Translate has its pros and cons as listed below:
pros
- You do not pay anything to use the software to translate your text. Contrary, you have to pay a professional translator whenever you engage them.
- Translate has a fast turnaround time. The speed of the software during a translation process cannot match the speed of a human translator during a translation process. For this reason, Google Translate has a large output volume than human translators. In other words, the software can do more work than humans.
- Translate uses a statistical method that pairs languages to form an online translation database. Such a character does not exist in human translators. So, human translation varies in nature, unlike the one for Google Translate.
cons
- Google Translate does not consider context during a translation process. Such an aspect makes Translate lack the knowledge of the target language. Additionally, there is a high probability of errors in the translated text. Regarding the direct translation, some of it becomes nonsensical after using Translate.
- The language pair determines the quality of translation when using Translate. Given that Translate depends on the existing online translations, translating uncommon languages gives rise to several errors. So, Translate has a bias on the languages that it has translated in the past.
- Google Translate outcomes often contain grammatical errors. The reason behind the downside is that Google Translate focuses more on language pairs than on grammatical rules.
- Translate does not correct its errors. In other words, the software does not fine-tune the outcomes. Contrary, human translators undertake the last important step in translation, which is fine-tuning the outcomes. The step helps to make any adjustments that improve the overall quality of the translation outcomes.
- Google Translate outcomes are not fit for official purposes. In the past, some entities have used Translate only to get erroneous translations. The entities, including governments, have to rework their published information to remove the errors. So, they revert to human translators for help.
Types of translation errors
Now that you know about the errors that can arise from using Google Translate, what are the common mistakes to watch out for on a translated text?
Grammar and syntax mistakes
The grammar and syntax errors refer to misspellings, subject-object-verb agreement, and sentence structure errors. Also, the errors include the regional syntax and grammar differences. For example, there are grammar and syntax differences in US and UK English. So, you may find words with more or fewer letters even though they look similar.
mistranslations
Mistranslation refers to giving an inappropriate meaning to a word. Also, it stands for using incorrect words even though they have a similar meaning. For example, using the word tram instead of train. Such an error calls for a translator to research the regions that use each word.
Inconsistent translation
A translated text may contain improper jargon, tones, and misplaced words. Such errors make the translated text to become inconsistent. The error also covers the use of informal language instead of formal language.
Localization of language
Some words stood as strange in some regions. If a translated text contains such an error, the target audience will not understand the message. For this reason, you should ensure that all words that appear in your translated documents match with the ones that your target audience understands.
How to reduce translation errors
If you use your translated text formally, it will represent your professionalism. Presenting a text with translation errors shows that you are not as expert as you claim. According to Future Trans, you should eliminate translation errors using the following ways:
1. Mind the language nuances
You should master the language differences and apply them accordingly. The move will enable you to avoid spelling and grammar errors.
2. Research
Ensure to carry out extensive research on what different words mean. You can opt to use online sources, read books, or watch a video on the usage of different target words. Afterwards, you will manage to reduce misuse and mistranslation of words.
3. Proofreading
Always create time to proofread your translated text. Alternatively, you can outsource proofreading services from professionals. For example, you can engage the Tigrinya translation services to proofread your text.
4. Use quality assurance tools
Computer-aided translation tools and a spellchecker are some tools you can use to spot a translation mistake and correct it. The tools highlight the parts of the translated text that is below the acceptable levels. Also, you can engage a team of professional translators to provide a second lens and confirm that the quality of your translated text is up to the standard.
After reading this information, you can now choose whether to use Google Translate or not. Also, you know what to expect after using the software and how to correct any error that may arise.
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