It’s 2021 and technology keeps getting better. More and more translation apps are flooding the market. So, will you still consider using a human translator? Why should you? Humans are not dictionaries, so they won’t know all vocabulary, and machines know exactly what that a word is in another language but that is an advantage of a human translator! We’ll be going through 5 reasons why you should still use a human to translate your project.
1. Machines don’t understand the context, humans do!
Machines are very accurate with translating word-for-word but translation is not that simple. If you have a paragraph to translate, you wouldn’t want to rely on just a machine to translate that for you because it doesn’t understand the context. For example, if you throw something like “Catch you later!”. How do you think a machine will translate that? The word “Catch” here doesn’t mean literally catch but machines won’t know that right? True, nothing can beat machines with word-for-word translation but to translate a project or even a sentence, human translators are definitely more reliable.
2. Humans are culturally sensitive
Humans are complex. We respect other cultures, traditions, and feelings and we put that consideration into our translation work. Machines won’t be considerate and might translate something that sounds offensive or funny to other cultures. The word “pants” for example. In the UK, ‘pants’ means underwear but, in the US, it’s actually what they call ‘trousers’ in the UK. I don’t think machines will be considerate enough to choose a proper word for your translation. Do you?
3. Slangs, idioms, metaphors, etc.
Machines WILL NOT translate idioms, slang, etc. the way you want it. Only humans can understand the meaning and carefully choose an idiom or slang that has the same meaning in another language. Machines won’t understand metaphors either. If you say ‘time is money’, a machine won’t understand the meaning of that and probably directly translate it into something that makes no sense. A human, on the other hand, will explain that time is a very precious thing that we should value.
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4. Quality
With everything mentioned above, it all comes down to this. Human translators are more accurate when it comes to projects. We understand exactly what you want and can interpret our words to match your needs. Humans can also add words or phrases to make your business, blog, or advertisement sounds more interesting. Your content won’t sound robotic because it’s translated by dedicated human translators who put time and effort into doing their job. You’ll get absolute accuracy and quality by using human translators.
5. Cost
I know it sounds weird but yes, using a human translator can be cheaper even though there are so many free translation applications out there. If you’re translating a contract or a legal document, the wrong choice of words can get you sued. Then, you don’t want to imagine how much does it cost to go to court. The easier way is to invest in a human translator to avoid costing more money and time going to court.
Human translators are more accurate, cheaper, and understand exactly what you need. So, why not consider hiring one instead of taking risks on machines? If you have a project that you want to translate, Sawadee Translations will translate your project with dedication, absolute accuracy, and reasonable cost. Contact us for a free quote or more information and get your 10% welcome discount!
Narisara Senavinin
Sara is a Thai national who has spent many years working in various locations around the world. She has a passion for language - both Thai and English - and works as a certified translator for Sawadee Translations.