S E R V I C E S    P R O J E C T S     A B O U T    C O N T A C T
 
 
JapanTrans.com

 

H U M A N   v s.  M A C H I N E


More than one client has asked: "What software do you use to do the translations?"

We use the most advanced software available: Human Translator 1.0
It's still the best way to get the message across linguistic and cultural barriers.

Machine translation has made enormous progress in recent years. There may come a time when the machine replaces us human translators and interpreters, but that day is still a long way off. Oh, you can use machine translation to translate text: The only catch is that the source text must be written so that the computer can understand it. That means, one must write like a machine.

 

You must write simple sentences.

Compound sentences are unacceptable.

You must avoid subordinate clauses.

Ambiguous sentences will remain ambiguous — or simply bizarre — in translation.

You may not use idiomatic phrases, slang, humor, or figurative language.

Highly technical language — so-called terms of art — will stump the computer.

Etc

Here's an example

MACHINE TRANSLATION

Or let's say you're interested in the latest in fish-processing technology.  The Japan Patent Office website is fully automated and has great search features.  You plug  fish, tuna, and smoke into the search engine and up comes the following patent

TREATMENT FOR RETAINING FRESHNESS AND COLOR
OF FRESH MEAT AND DEVICE THEREFOR

Fine.  So what does the patent tell us about this fish treatment?  Hit the Detail button on the page, and we are offered the following machine translation of the patent:

MACHINE TRANSLATION