Limitations of Using Computer For Translation Services

We all know that translation service is a tricky job to do. Translation agencies, providing translation services keep all the parameters of every language in their record before delivering the service. These parameters could only monitored effectively by manual monitoring. Any machine providing the translation service can not maintain all the essential parameters of different language.

The most important parameter in the translation service is of maintaining the sense of the original text in the translated one, and any machine can not do this. So adapting computers for the translation services is not that too beneficial for the translation agencies. Computers have certain limitations in the field of translation and those limitations are described below.

There are six major parameters on which computers are evaluated in the translation field, these are: knowledge of subject matter, level of accuracy in the translations, consistency in the translation, speed of the translations, vocabulary for the text to be translated, and expense of translations. These six parameters must be monitored for every single translations made. Though the presence of every single parameter is not possible for every single translation, but some time they need to be there depending on the client demand. So let’s discuss these six in brief.

1.) Speed of the translations: -

As far as the speed of the translation is considered the computers are far ahead than the manual translation services. They can deliver much more than the humans, but the translations made by the computers are not sensible and they are just the translations of the words. Therefore a lot of editing is required in that, this makes the work more complicated.

2.) Knowledge of Subject Matter: -

In this field also computer has an added advantage over the humans that is of having a great vocabulary if a lot of work has been done in a same language. Like if the major translations are made from English to Chinese then the computer will have a great database of words for Chinese language and it will help the translators a lot. But if a new language is introduced then first you need to increase the data base of the computer for that specific language, and again this makes the work laborious.

3.) Accuracy in Translations: -

Some translations need more of the latest information to be taken into account rather than just making the words translated. Here again the computer lags, because it doesn’t have any source of updating himself unless it is being updated. Hence, the accuracy in the translations could not be attained as desired.

4.) Vocabulary for text to be translated: -

Surely in this field the computer is much ahead of the humans, because it has a great database of words for the languages for which it has been used for a while. Humans just can’t recall their vocabulary that too fast, but they have a sense of using the words where they are actually needed and where they make an impressive sense. So here again the computer is not that too profitable for the translation agencies.

5.) Volume of The text to be translated: -

Volume of the text to be translated is again very important parameter, because using computer to make translations for you of just 450-500 words is surely not a smart work. Computers are used when the translations are to be made of 10,000-20,000 or more words, then only it is beneficial hence it is well understood that the small documents should be left for the humans, so that they can make them correct in first attempt.

6.) Expense: -

It is a known fact that the implementation of technology in any of the field is an expensive job, and if the implementation is not extremely necessary you should not use it. Same is applicable in the translation field as well, if you are not having a desperate need of computers for translations it is not a smart deal to implement those.