Human translation vs. technology: an unsurpassable quality

Article

In general terms, technology makes our lives easier, is convenient and brings us a level of wellbeing that we would never have imagined some decades ago. However, the results that a certain form of technology can provide us with are not always the best. In the past, present and future, human capacity will always be ahead of any technological innovation which tries to emulate the actions of a human being.
In this article, we are examining one of the aspects in which technology, despite its many attempts, has not been able to match the result achieved by human beings, and nor does it seem like it will be able to. We are referring to the translation of texts, which is a very precise process with a huge number of variables that technology cannot always interpret, leading to errors that a human translator would never make.

Machine translators

In the past few years, there have been many attempts to programme a machine translator as precisely as possible. The results have been more or less successful, but in most cases have been too literal and have failed to take into account many aspects of the text which a professional translator would render more comprehensible.
Perhaps the most popular example is Google translate. Without a doubt, it is a highly useful tool if we want to basically translate a text into another language in a way that provides a minimum level of understanding. However, if what we want is a translation that would enable us to use the translated text in a professional, legal or business setting, a translation from Google would not be of any use. We are already perfectly aware of the many errors of context and interpretation made by machine translators, something that is actually normal in such a complex process.

Wearable technology

In addition to machine translators, there are also other technologies created for translation. An example is wearable technology, where we see various examples of what we call “instant translators”. The concept in itself should make us question the result, given that carrying out an instant translation of a text is very complicated if we want a high-quality translation. One product that has considerable popularity is Ili, a small gadget that can be worn around the neck. Simply by saying any phrase to it, the device translates it into the language of our choice and repeats the phrase out loud. As you can see in the video, the result is effective and can be very appealing for travellers going to places where they don’t speak the language.
In the video we can see how ili allows natives in a certain place to understand us. Undoubtedly, this involves astonishing and exciting technology which is also very useful, but the resulting translation or interpretation is far from loyal to the original speech. Only a professional translator would take into consideration essential aspects such as context, formality, tone, volume and cadence, among other things, in addition to the grammatical aspects alone.
In conclusion, we can see that translations carried out by technology can offer us a level of convenience as we have already explored (we can translate a text basically and quickly via text or voice), but when it comes to translations to be used in important professional, legal or personal contexts (a medical certificate, a sworn statement, minutes of a meeting, etc.), we can only obtain a high-quality result by using a translation and interpretation agency with accredited professionals.
Photo: © cienpies

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Important warning: we recommend that you carefully read the contents of this legal text prior to providing any personal data through the website of Bibielle Global Translations, SL, owner of and responsible for the correct application of the Privacy Policy.
In accordance with the regulations applicable to the protection of personal data, and the new provisions contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR), directly applicable from 25 May 2018, Bibielle Global Translations, SL informs you of the following:
i. Contact details of the Data Controller: Bibielle Global Translations, SL (hereinafter BBL), with Tax Identification No. B65336885, registered office at Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain, and contact e-mail legal@bbltranslation.eu.

ii. Purposes: Data collected through the contact e-mail address, or service quotation request form, will be incorporated into files owned by BBL with the purpose of handling, managing and responding to your request or contact. The data provided will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

iii. In addition, and on a voluntary basis, you may provide your consent (by ticking the corresponding box or registration) to us sending commercial communications, by any route and/or electronic means, and keeping you informed about the services which, being similar to the current ones, may interest you, and which BBL offers to its Clients and users under more advantageous conditions, and to carry out market or customer satisfaction surveys.

iv. Retention: The data will be retained for the time necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, in order to respond to the subject of your request or contact, and while there continues to be a mutual interest. It will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for such purposes, the commercial or contractual relationship ends, unless its retention is required by law.

If you provide your consent to the sending of commercial communications, personal data will be processed actively while you have the status of User, or until you withdraw your consent.

v. Data communication: In no event will your data be transferred or communicated to a third party, unless required by law; nor will it be transferred internationally, except with the unequivocal consent of the data subject, and prior information about the possible recipients, purpose and, where appropriate, country of destination.

vi. Duty of secrecy: BBL complies strictly with the duty of secrecy and confidentiality of personal data, and for this reason has implemented technical, organisational and security measures to prevent its unauthorised alteration, loss, processing and/or access, taking account of the state of the art, the nature of the stored data and the risks to which they are exposed, all of this as established by Spanish and European legislation on the Protection of Personal Data.

vii. Rights of the data subject:

a. To exercise the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, limitation of treatment, data portability and not being the subject of automated individual decisions, by writing to Bibielle Global Translations, SL, Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain or at legal@bbltranslation.eu indicating the subject of your request, and attaching a [copy of your] national identity card or passport.
b. To complain to the Supervisory Authority: if a user considers that their data is not being used properly, and this matter is not addressed by BBL, they may submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.

viii. If you receive commercial communications by electronic means, in accordance with the Spanish Law of Information Society and Electronic Commerce Services (LSSICE), you may withdraw your consent, unsubscribe or modify your data using the same channel, through the e-mail address legal@bbltranslation.eu, which will be specified in each communication.