You're exploring new translation technologies. How do you navigate the trade-off between speed and accuracy?

Since my high school days when I was using online translator, I could see that it was quite good at translating words but struggled to translate full sentences. This made me cautious with MT. Nowdays technology is much better but still we should be cautious and not trust it blindly.

The bottomline is not to be totally dependent upon these tools. They are your assistants, whose work has to be checked by you, not consultants whose advice you have to act upon.

Different CAT tools are quite similar in their main features. If you're familiar with a few of them, it won't be a problem to get to grips with a new one. Take some time to learn the basic items of the user interface and you'll soon be translating at your normal speed.

I think tools are ment to be used by us people but we shouldn't depend on it and trust it blindly. We should learn to use new technologies but always check its work. When it comes to translation I believe that accuracy has higher priority than speed. We want to work as fast as possible without losing accuracy.

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools are like a translator's secret weapon, combining speed and accuracy. They provide useful features such as translation memory (TM), which remembers previous translations, and glossaries to ensure consistency in your work. While CAT tools can help you get things done faster, they are only tools. The real magic happens when you, as the translator, add your expertise, background knowledge, and cultural insights to the table. This personal touch makes sure your translation is not just rapid, but also accurate and meaningful.

For circumstances with high stakes, accuracy is critical, demanding more complex models and maybe human review in the Post-editing phase. Post-editing involves the reviewing, correction, and improvement of machine translation output to ensure that it meets a level of quality negotiated in advance between the customer and the post-editor. The most suitable compromise is determined by the unique use case, taking into account aspects such as time sensitivity, information type, acceptable error rates. The quality is expected to be publishable and equivalent to that of a human translation.

Remember that HAMT (Human-Aided Machine Translation) and MAHT (Machine-Aided Human Translation) are distinct approaches. In HAMT, the machine performs the initial translation, which is then post-edited by a human. In MAHT, the human does the primary translation work, with assistance from the machine. Choosing the right approach depends on your familiarity with Machine Translation (MT) and Post-Editing Machine Translation (PEMT), as well as the specific requirements of your project (e.g., whether the client mandates or prohibits the use of MT). It’s crucial to understand MT and how to leverage it effectively. Embrace these modern tools and trends to enhance your work.

The technology is getting updated quite frequently nowdays so one should stay up to date. I believe one day technology could translate nearly without any errors but until then we have to double check and correct the errors.