How Can Artificial Intelligence Help Translators?

20 or 25 years ago, many translators were reluctant to use CAT tools such as translation memory... Nowadays, most of them use these. This attitude of rejection was the same in the past for computers, with some translators refusing to switch from typewriters to personal computers.

In the year 2020, a new automatic translation program, based on AI was launched on the market.

It is a state-of-the-art machine translation service that has been the subject of a lot of positive reviews for its accuracy and efficiency. However, like all machine translation tools, it has limitations and may not always produce perfect translations, especially when dealing with complex or idiomatic language. It's still recommended to have a human translator review and edit the output of any automated translation tool.

In the past, a few other machine translation applications were available, however, their quality was questionable, to say the least. This new program was a game changer and, despite its limitations, it provided good translations. Of course, these still needed to be proofread and edited, but the difference it brought was incomparable. Translators were able to integrate it with their CAT tools and use it in combination with their own translation memories. This has resulted in a huge increase in productivity for the translation of many different types of content. Of course, machine translation is not suitable for certain types of text, and, for example, its use for the translation of poetry would not be the best idea.

The software is based on artificial intelligence and learns from bilingual text. Whether you are translating a legal document or a technical user manual, the same sentences have most likely been written and translated before... So, no need to reinvent the wheel! You can, of course, always add your own personal touch to the translation proposal and improve it!

When this program first appeared on the market, some translators had concerns and criticisms, including these points:

1. The quality of translations: some translators expressed concern that the quality of machine translations was not as high as that of human translators.

2. This program was a threat to their job: there were fears among translators that AI powered tools could automate their jobs and make them redundant.

3. The loss of nuance and context: translators often must deal with complex and nuanced language, and there was a feeling among some that AI-powered tools would not be able to capture these subtleties.

4. The dependance towards technology: some translators were concerned that their work would become too dependent on technology, and that they would lose some of the skills and creativity that make human translation so unique.

The translation industry has continued to evolve at a fast pace and AI-powered tools are now widely accepted and used by many translators. The technology has also been through a lot of development, and many of the initial concerns have been addressed. However, as with any new technology, it is important to evaluate using it on a case-by-case basis, weighing the benefits against the limitations.

How can AI help translators?

1. Automated translation: AI-powered tools can generate initial translations, which can save translators time and effort. This can be particularly useful for tasks that are repetitive or routine in nature.

2. Terminology management: AI can help reduce research time and increase consistency by managing and standardizing terminology across multiple languages.

3. Quality assurance: By checking for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and other inaccuracies, AI can help translators ensure the quality of their translations.

4. Translation Memory: AI can help translators leverage content that has been translated in the past to speed up the translation process and ensure consistency across multiple projects.

5. Predictive typing: AI can assist translators by predicting and suggesting words and phrases based on what they have translated in the past.

It is important to emphasize that AI is not a replacement for translators, but rather a tool that can assist them in their work and improve ther efficiency and productivity. As is so often the case with new technologies, there is an outcry before people get used to using them. The point is to be smart about it, and to understand the limitations of these techniques.

Tradlation's translators and project managers are familiar with these techniques and put them at your service. If you want to know what we can do for you, please contact us.