Although machine translation has advanced hugely over time, it is difficult to match the accuracy and quality of a human translation. This has led to machine translation with post-editing (MTPE) becoming standard practice since it offers better results than machine translation alone. In this context, in translation agencies such as Okodia, we use two types of post-editing: light and full, depending on what the customer asks for and the objectives to be achieved.
Machine translation with post-editing: light vs. full
Post-editing is the process of reviewing and editing a translation produced by a machine. The aim of this process is to improve the accuracy, fluency and contextual appropriateness of the text generated by a machine translator. However, the amount of adaptation and the level of precision varies depending on whether it is light post-editing or full post-editing.
What is machine translation with light post-editing?
Machine translation with light post-editing combines the use of technology and human skills to create texts that are simply understandable, but not of the quality achieved using human translation.
The main purpose of this type of translation is to have a text that can be understood in the target language, despite possibly having some errors with the syntax or semantics.
What is machine translation with full post-editing?
In contrast, full post-editing also starts with a machine translation, but this translation service is used to obtain a result of a similar quality to a human translation, but at a lower cost and within a shorter delivery time.
In this case, the result should be correct, understandable and suitable from a stylistic point of view and the syntax, grammar and punctuation must also be correct.
How do post-editors work with the two types of machine translation?
Post-editors play a fundamental role in machine translation processes. Thanks to them, machine-generated translations can be improved to produce more understandable texts.
A post-editor’s role in light MTPE
When someone requests a machine translation with light post-editing (light MTPE), the post-editor focusses on correcting the most obvious errors made in the machine translation. This means leaving the output of the machine translation unchanged as much as possible. In addition, they will ensure that no information has been added or omitted and will change any inappropriate content by correcting grammatical and spelling errors, adapting any vocabulary that the machine has translated literally and verifying that there is consistency throughout the text. In this type of text, a superficial correction is made; quality matters, but not very much.
This is a type of low-cost translation with short delivery times.
A post-editor’s role in full MTPE
Full post-editing requires much more exhaustive work than light post-editing. In this case, sentences will have to be restructured if the meaning is incorrect or unclear. However, the output from the machine translation will again be used as much as possible. The post-editor will be tasked with making sure the content is correct in the target language following the appropriate rules for grammar, syntax and semantics. They also have to respect the terminology used by the customer (as far as possible) and in the sector, apply the appropriate spelling rules and formatting standards and ensure that the type of text being produced follows the style instructions provided by the customer.
This makes it cheaper than a purely human translation (since it is not as natural as a human translation), but not as cheap as machine translation with light post-editing, since in these jobs quality is important and the delivery time is a little longer.
What texts are suitable for machine translation with light or full post-editing?
It is important to understand what type of machine translation is most suitable for the document you need to translate. This all depends, as we have already discussed, on the type of text to be translated and the customer’s needs.
For example, a machine translation with light post-editing is often used when there is a need to translate large amounts of text quickly and these texts are going to be used internally, such as internal user manuals or databases. In these cases, it is sufficient to have a translation that can be understood at a glance.
Machine translation with full post-editing, where quality is more important, is recommended when translating user guides, legal or technical documents, product information and instructions or web content.
How do I know what type of translation I need?
The choice between machine translation with light or full post-editing will depend on various factors. Before you decide on one or the other, it is important to ask yourself the following questions:
- Is it an internal document? If it is, light post-editing might be enough.
- Is it for research purposes? If they are preliminary texts where you simply need to understand the general meaning of the text, you will very probably require light post-editing. If it is research to provide information, then the full service might be better.
- Is it a document customers will see? If it is, machine translation with full post-editing will be needed.
- Do you need to use specific terminology? To adapt the text to specific terminology, the full post-editing service should be chosen.
- Is delivery time more important than human-equivalent quality? If you need a very fast translation without worrying too much about quality, light post-editing is undoubtedly the one for you.
- Do you have to translate a lot of content for the end user and need a reasonably acceptable quality? In this case, you will need machine translation with full post-editing.
If you are still unclear about anything, the team at Okodia translations will be able to advise you so that you obtain the best possible results from your translations.
