Translation software
No matter how sophisticated or expensive a translation program may be, it has limitations. A software package can only do what it is programmed to do. Translation programs are fine for single word translation, but they cannot perform contextual translation. Regardless of the manufacturer's claims, no software package can deal with the constantly changing nature of a living language. Legal, scientific and specialized phrases and terms are a particularly problematic area for translation programs, but they also often have difficulty with simple homonyms and synonyms.
You've probably received dozens of advertisements for software packages that claim to meet every imaginable translation need, from literal translation through to complex legal contracts. These ads often include such enticing statements as:
- Automatic complete text translation
- Translates 100 pages per hour
- Easily translates entire books
- Translating without linguistic knowledge
- The complete text translator
- Save a lot of money! In the future, our translation program will do all translations for you.
Well, we tested various translation programs to see just how accurate they are. Langenscheidt's T1 and online translation services (such as the free service provided at AltaVista) were included in the tests. Prices ranged from free to very expensive, but all tested programs provided the same results. None of the programs yielded accurate contextual translation. In other words, the meaning of the original passage was lost in the translation.
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The Live Translator
Professional, certified, live translators offer many advantages over translation software. They work with living languages, and deal with language on a contextual level, rather than a literal one. Because of this, the meaning of the source text is preserved, you don't have to re-edit your software generated translation, and you are spared the embarrassment of sending off the meaningless jumble of unrelated words and phrases often produced by translation software.
Modern translation software may, in certain circumstances, be an aid for a specialized translator, but it can never replace the living translator.
Translating Your Software for International Distribution
If you create software for international distribution, you already know that it must be translated into a variety of languages, but do you know everything that is involved in this translation? It's not enough to simply translate the block text. Help files, error messages, information screens, dialogue boxes, shortcuts, and set menu texts must also be converted. Our graduate translators will make sure that every part of your software is translated, so that it works properly in every language into which it is converted.
Please see our Languages page for a complete list of languages from and into which we can translate your software.
If you would like a free estimate, please contact us.
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