What Is Machine Translation Post Editing (MTPE)?
Machine translation systems like Google Translate, DeepL, and Watson are reliable at delivering consistent translation outputs. But when it comes to convincing the audience, delivering the message, or translating cultural intricacies, machine-translated text requires editing.
Machine Translation Post-editing (MTPE) is the process where professional translators reviews the machine translated text, and edit it to make it more accurate and fluent.
With their expertise, the post-editing translators make tonal adjustments, fix syntactical errors, use appropriate cultural references, and more to deliver high-quality translated text.
Light Post-editing vs. Full Post-editing
Businesses can choose between two types of post-editing translation depending on their requirements - light post-editing and full post-editing.
Light Post-editing
It involves the post-editor correcting mistakes like spelling, grammatical flaws, wrongly framed phrases, and punctuation. The focus in light post-editing is to make the text error-free. It is a quick process as the translator scans the text for errors rather than going through it for flow, consistency, etc.
Full Post-editing
It is a thorough post-editing translation process where the post-editors, along with checking for basic errors, also carry out detailed edits. They ensure that-
*The text is consistent with the brand’s style guide
*The tone of the text is consistent throughout
*The text follows the cultural nuances of the target language
*The text is syntactically accurate
After full post-editing, the text will be as fluent as a human translation. In this kind of editing, the focus is on quality.
Best Practices For Machine Translation Post Editing (MTPE)
Businesses that face people regularly require high-quality content. While machine translations give the option of scale and consistency, MTPE makes the content accurate. The best practices for MTPE are
1. Choosing the Machine Translation (MT) Engine
The right MT engine will deliver output with minimal errors. It means fewer MTPE hours. The choice of MT engine must depend on the translation languages. Some MT engines perform better with European languages, while some are better with Asian languages.
Further, the MT engine technology also makes a difference. Neural Network Translation engines are better than statistical or rules-based MT engines. Research the options thoroughly before choosing the MT system.
2. Preparing the Source Text
The best output from an MT system is possible when the source text is error-free and easy to understand. Avoid complex phrases, jargon, technical terms that the MT system is unfamiliar with, or deeply rooted cultural references in the text. Keep the text format consistent throughout the text.
3. Laying Down MTPE Guidelines
A post-editor cannot go into the editing work blind. Lay down proper guidelines for machine translation post-editing. Provide clear information on the expected tone of the text, what phrases and expressions are acceptable, which product names or company strap lines must be in the source language, etc.
Further, provide reference documents, style guides, terminology glossaries, and other materials for the post-editor for editing specialized content. Clear MTPE guidelines will make the post-editing translation work quick and easy.
4. Edit Thoroughly
After the post-editor finishes the first pass of the document, review the text and edit it again. This is essential in the MTPE process to ensure that the final document is of high quality.
Benefits Of MTPE
MTPE has several benefits that make it essential in the translation process.
1. It has a faster turnaround time than human translation.
2. It is cost-effective.
3. It is scalable. Large volumes of content can be translated with MTPE.
MTPE Vs Machine Translation
Machine translation is a cost-effective way to translate language pairs automatically. It is perfect for content that has no strong personality, say a welcome note on your website, or technical documentation.
MTPE is for those looking to deliver engaging content. For example, businesses from the hospitality and tourism industry must have accurate translations to convince customers to use their services. With MTPE, the scale of MT and the expertise of translators will deliver quality content at low costs.
How Crystal Hues Can Help In Machine Translation Post Editing?
Crystal Hues offers comprehensive Machine Translation Post Editing services that are cost-effective and ISO-certified. We have translation expertise in over 300 languages and experience in diverse subjects.
Our post-editing translators ensure quicker delivery and high-quality content. We have a robust quality analysis system and effective data privacy measures in place.
Partner with us now for the best MTPE solutions for your business.