If you need to translate any text or document from one language to another, you have two popular options, one being the traditional human translation services, and the other the one being Google Translate
But do you know which one is better for translating professional business documents? Especially if you’re conducting business internationally, contacting foreign suppliers, or planning to initiate an international expansion of your business, you need accurate document translation services.
You can obtain document translation services done by professional human translators to accurately translate your essential business documents.
In this article, we compare AI-enabled translation offered by Google Translate with the traditional human translators, to see which one is best for you.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
Comparison of Google Translate vs. Human Translator
We have evaluated the necessary factors for determining translation quality by comparing Google translator with human translator.
Accuracy
When it comes to accuracy, human translators have the upper hand in accurately translating text from one language to another. On the other hand, Google Translate is known for its amusing translation fails that often end up on the internet by users who tried using it. Google Translate’s translation fails are not only hilarious, but they can risk your professional reputation.
According to a survey conducted by Google, its translator is accurate around 85% of the time. It might not seem much for someone just trying to figure out the meaning of a sentence or two, but when it comes to business documents having several pages of text, contextual meanings, and phrases, it can get quite troublesome to face errors in translation.
Speed
When discussing speed, Google Translate is definitely faster than human translators by a mile. It is an AI-operated translating software that instantly translates text from one language to another. While human translators are slower in translating documents, the result is often accurate, making the process worth the wait.
Human translators take time to understand the context of the document and interpret metaphors, slogans, phrases, idioms, and other complex language nuances that an AI-software cannot interpret. They complete a translation project after comprehending the document’s purpose, and audience as well, making it essential that business documents need to be translated by humans.
Quality Control
Translation providing services have a quality control team on board, that checks whether the content translated accurately captures the context, meaning, and purpose of any document. Humans are bound to make errors, but those can be minimized by having a proper quality control team in place that identifies any errors and rectifies them before submitting the translated text to their clients.
Meanwhile, Google Translate is just an AI-based software that translates text most often verbatim and is not capable of interpreting the context, and purpose of the document accurately. While it is a convenient option, that offers translated text in the blink of an eye, it is not recommended for translating professional documents where there is no place for errors and misunderstandings.
Cost
Google Translate is a free-to-use tool that you can access just by searching for “Google Translate” on your search bar. You can even translate documents using Google Chrome’s built-in extension that translates websites, documents, and other content online.
On the other hand, human translators are costly as they offer a service and help you translate documents using their years of experience, qualifications, and time. Those with a limited budget might opt for Google Translate, but it is certainly not recommended for people who need document translation for business purposes.
Security
Human translation services have accreditations such as that ISO 27001 which certifies that the client’s data will remain confidential. They are committed to keeping your content, business documents, and other forms of text secure and will not leak any sensitive information to any third party.
On the contrary, Google Translate offers no security, they hold no confidentiality terms, and also, they store and analyze the content to determine if it is in accordance with its services and terms of use. There have also been instances where companies who used Google Translate for document translation had their data leaked. So, to save a few bucks, you wouldn’t want to risk your business’s confidential information, would you?
Transcreation
Transcreation refers to the process of translating documents so it captures the intent, true meaning, context, style, purpose, and tone of the text accurately in another language. It is not an easy job translating text non-verbatim to capture the correct meaning of text rather than translating word by word.
Languages are complex and different languages interpret their phrases and words differently which Google Translate is unable to comprehend most of the time. Therefore, human translators are better at the transcreation of text. Human translators are familiar with cultures and are able to reflect the true meaning in their translation making it more accessible to their audience.
Which one is Better for Business Document Translation?
While both choices have pros, it all comes down to the purpose of translation to decide which is better. In the case of business document translation, human translators are much better because they contextually capture the meaning of the text and convey the message in the right tone, and choice of words.
While Google Translate can be convenient for translating small texts for non-business use, it is not recommended for translating professional business documents.
An error in document translation is risky and could result in miscommunication, and would portray unprofessional behavior, resulting in rejection of business deals and professional project proposals.
Human translators are familiar with the tone of the native citizens and can professionally translate documents, diminishing chances or errors, and helping you achieve success in international business.
Conclusion
While AI-machine translation is a magnificent technology helping people communicate with people of other languages, it is nowhere near as accurate as human translations. Humans use different tones, emotions, contexts, and phrases to convey messages in different scenarios. While Google Translate might translate the document word by word (verbatim), it is not always accurate.
We hope this article helped you figure out the benefits of human translation over Google Translate and why you should always opt for human translation services when conducting business.