Language Translation, Inc.

Posted by Betty Carlson on July 22nd, 2008 in Translation

I’ve said it plenty of times before: machine language translation is definitely no substitute for human linguistic knowledge and writing ability. But it’s always encouraging to hear others with the same point of view, especially when they know the translation business.

In a recent article entitled No substitute for human touch in translating, professional translator Ry Beville points out the shortcomings of machine translation. His language pair — Japanese/English — is particularly poorly served by automatic translation systems. While Beville recognizes the usefulness of online dictionaries and other computerized linguistic assistance, he is convinced that human translators are here to stay:

“Such [machine translation] programs, while convenient in a casual setting, still have a long way to go before they become truly viable. The fact that their translations need to be heavily edited isn’t the problem. It’s all the meaning that is lost, especially between Japanese and English,” writes Beville. “Linguistic science tells us these languages are worlds apart. For a native-English speaker, Japanese is a level-five language, meaning the hardest to master (a distinction it shares with Arabic).”

As Beville says, “People use translation programs for their own convenience but also at their own risk.” And this risk is definitely increased when translating to and from languages with little structural resemblance to English.

Betty Carlson

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