8 Feb /18

The future of human translation and why EVS Translations is sticking with its in-house concept

The future of human translation – and why EVS Translations is sticking with its in-house concept
The future of human translation – and why EVS Translations is sticking with its in-house concept

Competition for translation by “real” – human – translators appears to be fierce. Providers of machine translation are springing up everywhere at increasingly frequent intervals – including online giant Amazon in November 2017. Machine translation might seem cheaper and faster. And it is – at first glance. If you want to quickly sift through a 10,000-page document for certain key words and topics, a rough translation will certainly suffice. However, if it is a case of translating a business report or a contract, the highest level of precision and specialist knowledge is what is important. The same applies for documents and texts involving liability, which are intended to convey a message and have an effect on the recipient. And it is precisely for this that people are sought after as translators.

Six benefits of human translation:

1) Natural feel for language

2) Highly specialised knowledge of terminology in individual specialist areas

3) Creation of translations that you would not recognise as being translations

4) Mastery of idiomatic expressions and creative thinking

5) Critical analysis of the source text

6) Ability to produce texts in different styles

7) Consideration of cultural characteristics

No statistical or neural machine translation system can deliver as high-quality specialist translations as a person can.

CAT tool technology supports human translation – a collaborative effort

An alternative solution that makes human translation more efficient and accurate is the use of computer-supported translation software known as CAT tools (Computer-Assisted Translation). The benefit: Individual company glossaries are used consistently even in large volumes of text, ensuring that the respective corporate identity is also conveyed successfully in the translations – taking into account the corporate language and industry-specific terminology.

The translator receives the text to be translated with notes on company terminology and reference material and can then focus solely on the linguistic aspects of the job. Graphics and DTP experts then package the finished translation again in the original format so customers receive a document that is ready for press in the language of their choice. CAT tools are both intuitive and complicated but are always an asset for everyone involved in the project.

The future of human translation at EVS Translations

Even after more than 25 years on the translation market, our in-house translators at our eight locations worldwide are still our greatest asset. We don’t ask “man or machine” but work according to the concept of “man with machine”. This is not a question of machine translation, but of CAT tools as a resource for the entire translation team that allows us to deliver professional specialist translations to our customers on a daily basis in one or several languages, tailored and extendable on short notice. EVS Translations is positive that people are still the better translators. This is why we set the bar high for ourselves and exceed international requirements for translation services (ISO 17100). All translators who work at EVS Translations have gone through a challenging application process and won out over several other competitors – only 3 in every 1,000 translator applications are successful.

Over the following months, our readers will enjoy three guest contributions from Across, creator of the Across Language Server, one of the leading software platforms for language resources and translation processes. Together, we are going to discuss the topics of terminology, translation processes and systems, and information security and data protection.