Google Translate is one of the most popular language services in the world, but that isn't a guarantee of quality or accuracy. Google Translate is well-known for being iffy. It makes a lot of mistakes, and it doesn't translate with the nuance that you might need for things like business documents.
If you're considering the use of Google Translate, here are five reasons why it's better to seek professional translation services like The Spanish Group over it.
1. It translates literally.
Google translates everything word for word. As soon as it hits a colloquial expression like "break a leg," its translations fall apart.
It's also terrible with everyday words and phrases that have secondary meanings. For example, if you're using Google Translate Cantonese, it might take the saying "your eyes met mine" and translate it with the literal Cantonese word for "met," which means "seeing someone in a social setting." You'll give the impression that a pair of eyeballs are going out for coffee with a friend.
As you might imagine, this kind of verbatim translation can result in some pretty nonsensical documents. You'll want to avoid it with your own business. Not only will it send the impression that you're an amateur, but it can also result in legal or financial consequences if your flubbed translations have real-world consequences.
Do yourself a favor. If you're trying to translate something to Albanian, don't use Google Translate Albanian.
2. It isn't updated or operated by professionals.
Google Translate was first launched for Arabic, but it has since expanded to everything from Google Translate Khmer to Google Translate Creole. The good news is that it has seen contributions by millions of native speakers worldwide.
The bad news is that there's no guarantee of accuracy from them.
Setting aside the trolls who enter fake or vulgar vocabulary words for fun, there's also a limit to the amount that a layperson can translate. For example, Rosita, the shopkeeper might be a fluent Spanish speaker, but that doesn't mean that she has the range of skills to translate medical documents. Her contributions to the Google Translate Mexican Spanish won't be up to snuff.
This is why it's important to seek out professional translators, especially when you're running a business. You want an accurate, high-quality document for your company, and you want their translations to know what they're talking about.
3. It doesn't always account for regional dialects.
Google uses a machine translation (MT) system, and those systems are notorious for being bland, formal, and overly generic. They can't understand the subtle nuances that make up an everyday language, especially when it comes from accents, dialects, or regional differences in speech.
Take Mexico, for example. There are more than 65 languages used in daily life, and they have 350 dialects spread between them, but Google Translate Mexican can only recognize a few.
Another example is South Korea. The people of Seoul don't talk like the people of Busan, so if you're trying to open a factory in the former, you don't want your translations to sound like they come from the latter.
Don't even think about China. There are so many different ways to speak Chinese that they're almost separate languages. A portfolio that uses Google Translate Cantonese might be unreadable to someone who speaks Mandarin.
4. It requires proofreading.
Machine translations are subject to errors. It might be a grammar mistake that the system didn't catch; it might be a buggy piece of code that messes up a line or paragraph.
If you speak the language, it's a simple matter of going into the document and fixing typos. If you have no idea what Albanian is supposed to look like, however, you could print out an entire page of gibberish from Google Translate Albanian with no idea what you've done.
Even if you do catch the mistakes, you'll need to proofread and edit the documents to make sure that they live up to your company's standards, and that takes time. It takes manpower. You could be doing other things instead.
Let professional translators handle your documents for you. Not only will they come in higher quality, but they'll be delivered to you already fresh and flawless. You won't have to look up the accent marks of Creole languages to make sure that Google Translate Creole is doing its job. You can focus on other aspects of your business while leaving the translations to the pros.
5. It's unsafe.
Any information that you put into Google Translate can be compromised. This includes personal, financial, and confidential data that's been provided to you by customers and clients. Their credit card numbers will be logged into a system that you can't control; their names and addresses might be subjected to data breaches over unsecured connections.
"What if I take out any private information before I send my documents through Google Translate Bosnian?"
You might still be liable for going against the privacy regulations of your company or contract if you aren't allowed to share information with third parties, which includes the web crawlers of Google.
The right way to translate sensitive documents is to go through a professional translation service. They have privacy rules of their own, so they're a lot more cautious about things like unencrypted networks, and they won't be allowed to share or sell your data without legal ramifications.
Don't rely on Google Translate Khmer. Talk to professional translators who speak and understand Khmer.
A Better Kind of Translation
These are just a few of the reasons why you shouldn't trust Google Translate. It'll do in a pinch for quick, casual references. But, when you need serious and high-quality paperwork for business purposes or medical or legal documents, it's best to reach out to a professional translation service like the Spanish Group.
Here are the benefits that you'll enjoy when you hire us:
- Multiple languages
- Accurate translations from certified professionals
- Easy uploading formats for files and photos of all types
- Account creation for repeat customers
- Privacy guarantee
You don't have to go through bad and bizarre translations from Google Translate Bosnian. Contact us at the Spanish Group, and we'll have your files, budgets, papers, and portfolios translated in no time!