MTPE: How to
A Comprehensive How-To Guide for Professional Translators
In the ever-evolving landscape of language services, Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) has emerged as a significant bridge between the rapidity of machine translation and the finesse of human touch. MTPE combines the efficiency of artificial intelligence with the irreplaceable expertise of human translators, resulting in a harmonious blend of speed and accuracy.
As a translator looking to thrive in the digital era, mastering MTPE is not just an advantage; it’s a necessity. This guide provides you with a step-by-step approach to excel in MTPE, ensuring that you deliver top-tier translations that meet the high standards of your clients.
Understanding MTPE
Before diving into the how-to, it's crucial to understand what MTPE entails. MTPE is the process where a human translator edits and refines machine-generated translations to ensure that the final output is accurate, culturally relevant, and contextually appropriate.
It can involve two main types: light post-editing, which aims for comprehensibility without exhaustive correction, and full post-editing, which ensures that the translation is indistinguishable from a high-quality human translation.
Step 1: Equip Yourself with the Right Tools
The first step in efficient MTPE is to equip yourself with the right tools. This includes:
A reliable Machine Translation (MT) engine that is appropriate for the content you’re working with: DeepL, Google NGTM, GPT, etc.
CAT tools that help you leverage previous translations for consistency and efficiency: Trados, Phrase, MemoQ, etc.
Terminology management tools to maintain the use of correct and consistent terminology: Multiterm, etc.
QA tool, i.e. Xbench.
Familiarize yourself with these tools and ensure they are integrated seamlessly into your workflow.
Step 2: Analyse the Source Text
Before you start the editing process, thoroughly analyse the source text. Identify the text type, its purpose, the target audience, and any cultural nuances that need special attention. This will help you anticipate areas where the machine translation might falter and require a heavier editing hand.
Step 3: Perform an Initial Review
Read through the machine-translated text without making any changes. This initial review will give you a sense of the overall quality of the translation and help you prioritize sections that require immediate attention.
Step 4: Edit for Accuracy
Begin by correcting any outright errors in translation. Focus on factual inaccuracies, mistranslations, and any content that does not accurately reflect the source text. Ensuring factual correctness is paramount in MTPE.
Step 5: Refine for Fluency
Once the translation is accurate, the next step is to refine it for fluency. Work on grammar, syntax, style, and idiomatic expressions to make the text read as if it were originally written in the target language. Pay special attention to context and cultural nuances to ensure that the translation is locally appropriate.
Step 6: Ensure Consistency
Use your TM and terminology management tools to ensure that terminology and style are consistent throughout the translation. Consistency is key to maintaining quality and coherence in the final product.
Step 7: Review and Refine
After making all necessary edits, review the text again. It can be helpful to step away from the text for a short period to come back with fresh eyes. Look out for over-edited sentences where the meaning may have been altered or where the translator’s voice overpowers the original tone of the source text.
Step 8: Use Quality Assurance (QA) Tools
Leverage QA tools to check for overlooked errors, such as double spaces, consistent punctuation, number accuracy, and formatting consistency. These tools help polish the translation to professional standards.
Step 9: Update TM
After completing the MTPE process, update your TM with the final translated segments. This practice enhances your TM database, making future translations more efficient and cohesive.
Step 10: Gather Feedback
If possible, seek feedback from peers or clients regarding the quality of the post-edited content. Constructive feedback is invaluable for continuous improvement in your MTPE process.
Goal of MTPE
MTPE is not just about correcting errors; it's about embracing the potential of technology while showcasing the nuanced understanding that only a human translator can provide. By following these steps and continually honing your skills, you will elevate your professional offerings, satisfy your clients, and solidify your place in the translation industry’s future.
Remember, the goal of MTPE is not just to translate but to provide high quality in a cost-effective and timely manner.
The typical errors in pre-translated texts
Machine Translation (MT) engines have become increasingly sophisticated, but they are not foolproof. They often produce pre-translated texts that, while roughly accurate, still contain errors that can affect the meaning, tone, and fluency of the output. Professional translators are familiar with these typical errors and are trained to identify and correct them during the post-editing process. Here are some of the common types of errors found in machine-translated texts:
Literal Translations: MT engines may translate text word-for-word without considering context or idiomatic usage. This can result in nonsensical or awkward sentences because the engine fails to capture the intended meaning or nuance.
Terminology Inconsistencies: Machines may not consistently apply the correct technical or industry-specific terminology. They might choose synonyms that seem right but are inappropriate for the context, or they might fail to recognize when a term should remain untranslated (e.g., brand names or concepts without equivalents).
Grammar and Syntax Errors: MT may struggle with complex grammar structures, such as long sentences with multiple clauses, passive voice, or nuanced verb tenses. It might incorrectly structure sentences, leading to confusion about subjects, objects, and their actions.
Colloquialisms and Idioms: MT engines typically cannot understand idiomatic expressions or slang that are culture-specific. They may either translate these expressions literally or misinterpret them entirely.
Punctuation and Formatting: MT can erroneously interpret punctuation marks, leading to run-on sentences, incorrect sentence splitting, or other issues that affect readability. It can also ignore formatting nuances important for the text's meaning, such as bullet points, italics, or bold text.
Named Entity Errors: MT might incorrectly translate proper nouns, including names of people, places, organizations, and sometimes even dates and numbers. This can lead to confusion, especially if the named entity has a specific significance within the text.
Ambiguity and Polysemy: Words with multiple meanings (polysemous words) pose a significant challenge for MT, as it may not choose the correct meaning in a given context. Similarly, ambiguously phrased sentences can lead to inaccurate translations.
Consistency Problems: MT might not maintain consistent terminology or style throughout a document. This inconsistency can confuse the reader and detract from the text's professionalism.
Cultural Nuances: MT engines may not account for cultural subtleties, potentially leading to translations that are culturally insensitive or inappropriate. Cultural references, humour, and politeness levels are often lost or misrepresented.
Homophones and Homographs: MT might confuse words that sound alike (homophones) or words that are spelled the same but have different meanings (homographs), especially in languages where such nuances are context-dependent.
Identifying and correcting these errors is a critical component of the post-editing process. MT engines are tools that can streamline the translation process, but the expertise of a human translator is indispensable for creating polished, accurate, and culturally relevant translations. As MT technology continues to develop, the role of the human translator is not diminished but rather enhanced, with a focus on nuanced editing and quality assurance to deliver the best possible final product.
The typical errors in pre-translated texts that MTPE specialists should manage in their work differ depending on the language pair.
You can choose to learn a self-paced course for a specific language here.