How We Use Technology
The translation industry has made a huge leap in the last 30 years. From this …
to this:
And we are all grateful for it.
Our implementing these innovations ensures that you, our clients, benefit from the translation accuracy, quality and speed you need.
Evolution
As relevant science and technology started expanding a few decades ago at a universal scale, translation was the indispensable ingredient for the success. The translation industry benefited enormously from technological progress and followed right along. When Microsoft, Google, eBay and Twitter – to mention just the biggest ones — are interested in developing and improving language technology, the industry listens and has followed. Technology, far from replacing humans, has become a tool helping them to keep up with growing demand for high quality translation.
How is technology helping language service providers?
Software used in the translation business is of inestimable value, providing: content management systems; project management programs; resource and staff management tools; computer-assisted-translation tools; terminology databases; plus programs for formatting, layout, transmission, storage, instant worldwide communication, etc.
Additional tools for localizing websites, software and mobile apps have opened new branches of business. Machine-assisted translation as well as a machine translation (MT, also known as translation software) are of huge importance paving the future development and new directions of language industry.
Besides basic daily tasks, technology has also opened our door to the huge range of competent translators across the globe with diverse specializations and doing less common languages. And all are vetted before we use them.
The Normal and Modified Processes
To guarantee accuracy, the translation process has three critical steps:
- Draft or initial translation using a subject-specialized, professionally trained translator of each target language;
- Editing (Revising) using a second subject-specialized, professionally trained translator of each target language to review the draft; and
- Proofreading the file for spelling, punctuation, grammar and formatting.
When a text has many repetitions or tight deadlines, Auerbach International often uses MT for Step 1 with human translators for the critical Steps 2 and 3. This combination of machines and people maximizes accuracy and delivers quality quickly.
But MT can still make comical and critical mistakes, and does not work well with complex sentence structures and many Asian languages. In these cases, we use a professional, human translator for the draft (Step 1) and another professional translator (or two) to edit and proofread the text (Steps 2 and 3).
Getting language nuances, expressions and colloquialisms right is also challenging for MT.
Technology usually also cannot acculturate. For example, for an interior design firm that “creates soothing office spaces”, we rewrote the text for the Arabic translation to say that it “makes soothing office spaces.” That’s because for devout Muslims, only God can create and not acculturating would doom the client’s promotion.
When technology reaches its limits, we always use human professionals.
How is this technology helping you?
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, communicating across multiple languages and cultures is essential for:
- launching your product worldwide;
- developing new technologies;
- collaborating with world-renowned scientists for research;
- getting essential information to (minority) populations speaking different languages; and
- making sales in foreign countries.
New technology integrated into language industry ensures:
- faster turnaround times;
- on-time product releases;
- higher levels of accuracy;
- consistency throughout all media and brands;
- improved quality;
- lower prices; and
- services adapted to real needs, whether a machine translation for internal use, over-the-phone interpreting, or easy management of your content for translation.
Our process integrates technology to ensure that you get greater competitiveness and better success on the global market, regardless of your particular industry.