Translate This: Do Professional Translators Use Google Translate?

About 1.5 billion people speak Chinese or Spanish. So if you translated your website into these languages, you would massively increase your appeal. That exciting prospect is enough to motivate you to think about the best and most cost-effective way to get translation services.

Do you need to use professional translators, or could you use Google translate? In this article, we’re going to discuss whether professional translators use Google Translate. The answer to that question will help you think more creatively as to how you can translate your website.

Advantages of Google Translate

How far machine-driven translation has come, is a real marvel. You can use the camera on your mobile phone to capture the text from a sign or piece of paper, identify the language, and then automatically translate it into your language. That is nothing less than incredible.

Algorithm-based translation that translates single words or short blocks of text is convenient. When you add context to the situation, some limited understanding in the language, then Google translate can be a really helpful tool. However, even though Google Translate is clever, it has a lot of limitations.

Limitations of Google Translate

The clarity breaks down when translating more than a well-known phrase. This includes whole paragraphs in technical, scientific, or professional documents.

Complex vocabulary and sentence structures are difficult to predict using an algorithm. Further, accurate document translation is not as simple as substituting words in one language with words in another language.

It involves understanding how the meanings of words are context-dependent. A professional translation company will take unique aspects of the target language into consideration that no predictive algorithm can do.

Every language has its own personality that’s reflected in the local culture. Languages and cultures are constantly developing. Google translate can’t be expected to keep pace with those organic developments.

Professional Translators and Google Translate

Does that mean that professional translators aren’t interested in Google Translate? Not at all. Translation is a business, and one of the key parameters that affect cost is time.

Depending on the paired languages and the subject matter, clever computer-driven translation can be an excellent starting point. However, for an article to reach professional standards, it must be edited by a professional translator. That means that you should be able to make the best use of all the translation resources available at a cost that meets your budget.

Cost-Effective Translation

In this article, you’ve read about whether professional translators use Google Translate. The simple answer is yes. Many choose to use this tool in the way it was designed and in full recognition of its significant limitations.

If you want to translate your website, then that’s good news because it means translators are able to be more time-efficient in their work. This means more cost-effective translation services.

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