When you conduct business internationally, language translation is important to your work, and accurate translation is essential to avoid disastrous miscommunications during conversations. After all, if you can’t understand one another, how can you make deals and form partnerships, or accurately communicate with colleagues and clients at all for that matter.
Professional translation services, such as those offered by Espresso Translations Agency London, are the best choice for anyone needing translation, but they can be expensive.
For this reason, many people will opt to use Google Translate, a tool which is readily available, but is it reliable enough for your needs? We have put together a list of the pros and cons of Google Translate to help you determine the best choice for your business.
Pros
It Is Free
One of the primary advantages of using Google Translate is that it is free. There is no initial or ongoing cost, and no need to purchase after a certain amount of time. If you are managing a tight budget, or only need a few words translated, this is an appealing choice.
It Is Fast
Google Translate also offers almost instant results. A human translator simply can’t compete with the speed of a computer. On average, a human translator can translate around 200 to 300 words per hour, or 2,000 words a day, depending on how complicated the text is. This means that results can be slow, especially if you are looking to translate large, technical or complex documents. Google Translate, on the other hand, can offer fast results right when you need them.
Large Choice Of Languages
Google Translate also offers access to a vast array of languages immediately, and this can be invaluable if you are jumping from language to language, or working with many different clients.
Cons
It Lacks Context
There is no way to incorporate context with Google Translate, and this means that the meaning has the potential to be lost in translation, causing readability and understanding issues. This lack of context also increases the likelihood of errors, as the resulting text is usually a direct translation, with none of the nuances which make up language, speech, and conversation.
The Quality Of The Translation Is Dependent On The Language Pair
The web-based translation database is mainly built from existing translations, which means it is reliant on the accuracy of these for its results. Translations for common languages such as English or Spanish tend to be reasonably accurate most of the time, while more obscure languages or words may be harder to source resulting in inaccuracies.
It Can Contain Grammatical Errors
The translation system used by Google is based on language pair frequency, and this does not take into account grammar rules. Any document translated by this method will need to be checked thoroughly for grammatical errors, particularly for documents which are to used in a professional capacity. To this end, hiring a professional translator from the start is likely to be a better use of resources.
