--- title: "Translation: Human vs. Machine" description: It’s easy to understand why people might use machine translations instead of human-generated ones. For one thing, a lot of translation... image: https://aiatranslations.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/8d8b80_e2e4d67abedf4965929f7e3fab7bf405~mv2-1.jpg --- [Go Back Up ](https://aiatranslations.com/blog/post/translation-human-vs-machine#top) [back to blog](https://aiatranslations.com/blog) # Translation: Human vs. Machine [Medical Pharmaceutical Translations](https://aiatranslations.com/blog/topic/medical-pharmaceutical-translations) • Feb 17, 2014 12:00:00 AM ![](https://aiatranslations.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/8d8b80_e2e4d67abedf4965929f7e3fab7bf405~mv2-1.jpg) Share article [mailto:?subject=Translation%3A%20Human%20vs.%20Machine&body=https%3A%2F%2Faiatranslations.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Ftranslation-human-vs-machine](mailto:?subject=Translation%3A%20Human%20vs.%20Machine&body=https%3A%2F%2Faiatranslations.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Ftranslation-human-vs-machine) It’s easy to understand why people might use machine translations instead of human-generated ones. For one thing, a lot of translation software is free and easily accessible online.  But machine translation has its pitfalls.  For example, in a recent [article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nataly-kelly/why-machines-alone-cannot-translation_b_4570018.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology), author and translator Nataly Kelly points out that computers don’t understand context, which can drastically change the meaning of a word or phrase.  She adds that translation isn’t just about finding equivalent words, but capturing meaning and, in some cases, writing style – something machines can’t do. As a writer and translator, myself, I agree. It’s not that I don’t sometimes use technology (online bilingual dictionaries can be a godsend).  But I know that, ultimately, it’s my own knowledge and, at times, creativity, that will make a good translation. If you haven’t had extensive experience with machine translation, you may not believe me.  So I decided to do an experiment.  I chose five different kinds of phrases in French, and wrote my (or in one case, another human’s) translation.  Then, I typed the French phrase into two of the most popular free online translation programs (for various reasons, I won’t name names).  Here’s what happened: **1. J’ai faim.** Human translation: I’m hungry. Machine translations: I’m hungry./I am hungry. This one didn’t surprise me too much; it’s a pretty simple statement, although I wondered whether the verb avoir (“to have”) would trip up the machines.  They came through swimmingly. ** 2. Aimer, ce n’est pas se regarder l’un l’autre, c’est regarder ensemble dans la même direction.** Human translation: Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction. Machine translations: Love, is not looking at each other, it’s look together in the same direction./ Love does not consist in gazing at each other, it is looking together in the same direction. I chose Lewis Galantière to represent Team Human for this translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous quotation, since his version is the one you’ll find pretty much everywhere. The machines surprised me by their varied responses.  I have to admit that Program 2 did a pretty good job, but Program 1’s version is littered with grammar mistakes. **3. Ramène ta fraise!** Human translation: Hurry up! Machine translations: Bring your Strawberry!/Back your strawberry! Although fraise does literally mean “strawberry”, here it’s a question of context.  Idiomatic expressions are one of the key reasons why it’s important to have a human translator. ** 4. Je le kiffe grave!** Human translation: I’m, like, totally in love with him!/I’m soooo into him! Machine translations: I kiffe grave!/I kiffe serious! This contemporary slang phrase is somewhat hard to translate, even for a human like me who watches a lot of French reality television, so I didn’t expect much from the machines.  But I was disappointed that, despite the verb kiffer being pretty ubiquitous in pop culture, it wasn’t recognized by either program. **5. Comme dirait Dracula, j’irais bien boire un cou.** Human translation:  As Dracula would say, I could go for a neck.  -> Let’s make like a Ghostbuster and go get some spirits. Machine translations: Looks like Dracula, I’d go drink a neck./As would say Dracula, I’d well drink a neck. Strangely, the machines were totally lost even when making a literal translation. But the biggest challenge here is that the sentence is a pun: the word cou (“neck”) sounds like coup, which in the expression j’irai bien boire un coup means “drink,” as in “I could go for a drink.”  As Kelly suggests, a translator’s job would be to take this phrase and make it just as funny (or groan-worthy, depending on your feelings about puns) for an Anglophone audience.  In some cases, this could mean having to replace the pun with another one entirely, as I did…hopefully not too badly. Winner: Humans.  …Although, being unable to generate a terrible pun, the machines win in the dignity department. by [Alysa Salzberg](http://www.alysasalzberg.com/) [#aiatranslations](https://www.aiatranslations.com/blog/hashtags/aiatranslations) [#humantranslation](https://www.aiatranslations.com/blog/hashtags/humantranslation) [#machinetranslation](https://www.aiatranslations.com/blog/hashtags/machinetranslation) ### Ready to Transform your Business with Little Effort Using Vertical? 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