Machine or Human Translation | Who is a better rescuer for your software?

Translation of the software has become crucial because of the ongoing advancements, which are not going to end anytime soon. It has especially become important for software companies to widen their customer reach and strive in the global market. Targeting new markets across the globe becomes easier when you translate your software product into multiple languages. With multilingual translation of the software, more people can understand and use your product, thus enhancing your customer base.

Moreover, you as a software company get a competitive edge as software translation and localization makes you stand out among your competitors. Presenting your software in a multilingual pattern helps you with more clientele and gets you more sales, as compared to companies who haven’t stepped in translation yet, making you a top choice in diverse markets.

Software Translation and its Key Elements

Before we proceed further in our debate of a better mode of translation for software, it is important to understand the process thoroughly.

What is software translation?

Software translation is a phenomenon that orbits around the conversion of the textual content of a software application from the source language to the target language. This practice is executed to ensure that the target masses find the software resonating with their needs in their native language and according to their cultural practices, which helps in better accessibility and usability. The software translation process is not a traditional process of conversion of words from one language to another, rather it goes beyond that. It talks about cultural adaptation, takes into account contextual accuracy, and also addresses technical precision in order to maintain software’s working and functionality according to the demands and expectations of the target audience.

Key components of software translation 

The scope of software translation is tremendous and broad. It is multifaceted and involves several key components and steps that further ensure and help in smooth and seamless software localization.

The key elements are important for you as a software company and your translation agency to consider, understand, and look into before embarking on the journey of software translation whether it’s by human translators or machine translation tools.

User interface (UI) translation

The user interface is the primary interaction of a potential customer with the software, so accurate translation of this feature is pivotal. It includes text elements that pop up on the main interface. The translation of this text is visible the most and the text may include a main menu bar, sub-menus, buttons, labels used to direct the customers, error messages that may pop up in case of wrong selection, and tooltips.

After these textual elements, the next process comes with the adaptation of the layout. The adjustment of the layout according to the target market is also critical. This requires adjusting the layout according to the text length and reading directions, which could differ from right to left languages such as Arabic or Hebrew. Along with translation, UI localization is also important. 

User experience (UX) localization

The next key element of software includes user experience localization. User experience is the game changer here. Cultural adaptation is the primary element of this part, which includes facilitating the user while resonating with their needs. This contains a modification of the content while aligning with the cultural norms and preferences of target audiences. This may include date formats, the number format, the unit of measurement, and its entry along with the right selection of colors while working on color schemes.

The accurate translation further ensures that all the features and functionalities are relevant and useable for the target market. The process may ask for the addition, modification, and removal of particular features.

Manuals and help files

The software could ask for the compilation of a lot of documents and help files. The user manuals are a fundamental part of this service. Translation of a comprehensive guide and manual is part of this step, where all this content is curated according to the users’ choices so that they can understand and utilize the software according to their needs. The translation of in-app help files and FAQs needs to be there for immediate assistance and guidance to users in their native language.

Moreover, tutorials and training material can also emerge as an important part of this section. Where translating tutorials, videos, and other relevant training resources can help to fetch more potential clients.

Error messages and alerts

Error messages and alerts are an imperative part of software localization. These help with clear communication, which is why you need to ensure that the error messages and alerts along with notifications get translated accurately. This also leads to better communication and less confusion, resolving the problems for one and all. This factor further aids with better consistency in terminology. The phrasing gets consistent across all messages, and the users get to have a coherent experience.

Software documentation

The software documentation is another key feature that comprises the developer guides and release notes. Translation of the technical documentation for the developers also includes API documentation, SDKs, and integration guides. Moreover, the release notes could be about localization, or update information to inform the users about upcoming features, new updates available to install, bug fixes, and the improvements that are made over the period.

Marketing and legal content

Marketing and legal content are the backbone of the software translation. It helps with spreading the word about the software as a product across different regions and countries. Translation of the marketing material including websites, advertisements, ads, promotional campaigns, and brochures is imperative to let the target audiences know about your software and its key features and why they should be purchasing it. An accurate translation of this whole content also helps to promote the software in different regions.

Moreover, the legal text is also part of the game where it could talk about the legal documents, terms of services, privacy policies, and end-user license agreements. Hence, ensuring compliance with regulations is imperative for adhering to the legalities.

Quality assurance and testing

Quality assurance and testing enable you to look deeper into the product. The linguistic testing ensures that translated content is accurate as well as culturally appropriate and without any linguistic error. This also includes functional testing. The quality of the product cannot be assured without a practical check and scan. Hence, making sure that localized software functions correctly without any issues from the translation process, such as layout problems or text truncation.

Moreover, it also includes the usability test, which assesses the overall user experience. It is important to perform this practice to ensure that it meets the needs and expectations of the target audiences.

Human Vs Machine Translation: An Overview

When it comes to translating software, a lot of companies and businesses opt for machine translation for the fact that it saves time and money. There is no harm in opting for machine translation. However, human translation stays significant. Moreover, it is important to use machine translation tools smartly. These translation types have their pros and cons, which can be addressed with smart and wise use of both. Machine translation, however, comes with a different type of challenges, making it imperative for you to dig deeper and understand the methods to help decide the right approach for your software product.

Human translation & its strengths 

Starting with the human translation, it is needless to say how it gets the edge for being real, contextual, and concise. Human translation is often conducted by professional translators who are proficient in the language pair you seek to translate your software content. Moreover, they are subject-matter experts with proven experience who can navigate through the challenges that come with software translation while simplifying the text more smartly. They also ensure without even a reminder that the original tone, meaning, and intent remain intact and do not get lost in translation. Using human translation for your software offers these advantages.

Language nuances

Language is a whole skill and no one can master it better than a human brain. A single language can have different nuances and dialects within one region, which makes it tricky and somewhat complex. However, a native speaker is a person who has a strong grip over the most dialects and nuances of their language and can implement similar knowledge in software translation, hence presenting a translation product that is accurate and reflects the preferred dialects. Human translators are better at comprehending the nuanced text, they get to understand idiomatic expressions in a better way with an accurate description of cultural references.

A meaningful and contextual content

Translating software is a technical task. It has specialized language which is not understandable by an ordinary person. There is a use of programming language as well. Relying on human translation helps you to have content that is rich in quality and has better readability. The text has a natural flow, making it an interesting read for your audience. Human translation is particularly preferred because they are creative beings who incorporate their creativity into the translation, making it meaningful and crisp, rather than making it monotonous and dry.

Context is a main concern in every kind of translation. Context is what helps you perceive what it is all about. Software translation gets better with human translators in a way that they understand the context and can interpret and adapt the translation on the basis of the context. This further ensures that the software functionality and user experience are preserved.

Cultural relevance

We all understand the significance of cultural relevance, particularly in a software translation. A software that is popular in one region for its intriguing interface and engaging visuals can face rejection in another region for the same features if it does not offer cultural relevancy. Human translators who are native speakers understand their culture best, and they can adapt the content of software, making it culturally more appropriate for the target audiences, which paves the way to engage the users and facilitate them with a satisfying experience.

Limitations

Despite that human translation never fails and is always preferable for obvious reasons, it has some limitations which often make the experts worried and concerned.

Speed

Humans are humans for a reason. Translating large volumes of text is particularly time-consuming for them. Moreover, there could be unexpected delays as well, making the overall project detain.

Cost

The cost comes as a great concern for businesses while opting for human translation. A software translation is particularly expensive due to the technicalities involved. So this manual labor makes humans charge hefty amounts for the tasks. Businesses that come with limited budgets often get stuck whether they should opt for the machine translation or human.

Inconsistency

The inconsistency can ‌occur in a software translation project when the text is divided among different human translators. Everyone works on it as per their aptitude, and hence it is very likely that inaccuracies may occur. Moreover, the content also becomes inconsistent due to a lack of coordination and the absence of glossaries.

Machine translation

Machine translation, which made its way to the real world during the 1900s, is an innovative approach according to which it uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to translate the text from one language to another. This method has become quite popular with new translation engines over time.

A few of the trusted and reliable translation engines may include:

• Google translate
• Bing translator
• DeepL
• Systran
• Amazon translate 

Also read: Top 20 Machine Translation Software In 2024 | CCJK

Pros

Choosing the best machine translation engine can be a challenge, as there are many available in the market. However, there are some common benefits of using any MT tool. The top advantages of using machine translation are described below.

Speed

Machine translation has managed to attract businesses, companies, and individuals for its commendable turnover. The machine translation tools allow you to get your hands on your first draft within a few seconds, making it a super-fast tool to use and make the most of. It possesses the quality to translate a large amount of text within a few seconds.

Cost

Expenses get nominal with the usage of machine tools for software translation. It is cheaper as compared to human translators, which is why companies find it a relatively economical option to use for large-scale projects that involve the translation of huge volumes.

Consistency

Machines can provide consistent translations for the repetitive phrases and terminology, particularly when it is fed with a terminology list. Moreover, the translation memory also plays a greater role in contributing to bringing consistency to translation.

Cons

The constraints that are part of using machine translation are quite serious and important to address. Most importantly, data security and privacy is the major concern when using machine translation. Some other disadvantages are:

Inaccuracies

Machine translation has made quite advancements and has come a long way over the decades. Still, it has to struggle with the context mainly. The idiomatic expressions and phrases that are part of every language and culture and can often require translation in the software text often get too complex for the machines to comprehend, absorb, and offer translation accordingly. Moreover, it is also quite complicated for a machine tool to comprehend the nuances and dialects of a language. All these problems lead to inaccuracies and discrepancies in the software text.

Quality

Quality can not be compromised in a translated software text, as it is not an ordinary text. However, using machine translation may lack a natural flow and engagement. The readability that is part of the human-translated text is nowhere to be seen and observed in the machine-translated text, which can eventually lead to a below-quality translation with an unpleasant user experience.

Technical terms

The specialized jargon and industry-specific terminology which requires additional vigilance and attention can get compromised in machine text. The machine translation lacks contextual value big time. It can not develop background or foreground knowledge while translating software, which can make the translation sound monotonous and meaningless.

Lack of cultural references

Cultural sensitivity can create serious rifts and controversies if not taken care of well. Every type of translation comes with a certain cultural delicacy that translators are supposed to take into consideration and translate the content accordingly. However, you cannot expect the same from a machine. They often fail at perceiving cultural context, consequently leading to inappropriate and insensitive translations.

Challenges in Software Translation

Software translation is a technical process, so challenges are likely to be there like all other domains of translation. While selecting the translation mode for your software, it is important that you also consider the common challenges of the translation that may come your way while using any of the methods. Furthermore, the mode should be selected after being mindful of these challenges so that you can scrutinize and navigate through them accordingly.

Machine translation challenges for software translation 

Here are the primary challenges that may occur while using machine translation for the software.

Comprehending technical terms

There are different idioms and jargon that are part of the software translation. As this is a specialized subject, there is exclusive terminology that needs to be considered for smooth translation. The text may comprise programming terminology, industry-specific language, and technical specifications. The technical terms refer to a specialized vocabulary that machine translation could fail.

The technical terms are tough to translate because many times there are no alternatives available in the target language, and machine translation cannot deal with this challenge. Human expertise, however, can make a good translation by opting for an alternative word that does not change the meaning or overall content.

Maintaining the crux 

Understanding the crux and maintaining consistency is another hardcore challenge in software translation. Ensuring the consistent use of technical terms and their simplified meanings across the software is fundamental to making the content not lose its flow and crux. Even it gets tough for experienced translators to ensure consistency in a technical text, let alone machine translation. Hence, considering machine tools for your software might not be an appropriate approach.

Lack of contextual understanding

Contextual understanding is inevitable for every type of translation. It is particularly important to be taken care of while dealing with technical and challenging text. A context talks about the background knowledge and the situations that make a reader develop an understanding of a word, phrase, and text. When it comes to software translation, it deals with the functionality, user interface, and its intended use. This is a challenging part, which is why the subject-matter experts are sought for the tasks.

Therefore, it can be particularly challenging for the machine to fetch the right words and translate them. The main factors that can make it challenging may include:

• Ambiguity
• User interface constraints
• Dynamic content

Dealing with cultural nuances

The next important challenge is dealing with the cultural nuances. The cultural nuances are often subtle and are affiliated with the relevant culture. Any particular meaning, behavior, or custom that is part of the text demands a cultural explanation, which is why opting for human translators who are native speakers and also culturally educated gets your only bet at times.

They can take care of the idiomatic expressions and colloquial phrases better. Some symbols and icons may revolve around cultural references. Moreover, some different colors and images may hold different significance in different regions. This all can be too much to handle for a machine translation tool, and only the human brain can cope with such challenges swiftly.

Legal and regulatory requirements

Legal and regulatory requirements are an important part of software translation. You cannot simply launch your software in a new region casually. Every region has defined its rules and regulations for the international business to follow for the legal distribution of their software. They demand that foreign businesses follow the right process and tap the market through the proper channel. This may include data protection laws, consumer rights, as well as industry-specific regulations.

The challenges also pop up when there are compliance issues where the translated text of the software needs to comply with local laws and regulations. It also includes taking care of the legal terminology and its proper and accurate translation which demands specialized knowledge and can get difficult without relevant legal expertise which tools can lack. Moreover, many regions demand data privacy laws to ensure compliance. 

Major human translation challenge for software translation 

When it comes to the challenges in the case of using human translators, these are very few. A main challenge that we can mention here is resource management which often gets messy and tricky when it is controlled by humans and machines can have a better command for managing it.

Resource management

Following practices get compromised as part of this. 

Coordination

Coordination while working with multiple translators can be a real-time challenge. This especially occurs while working on large projects. Mis-coordination then further leads to inconsistencies and delays. Therefore, the human translators need to work on this part.

Misuse of tools and technology

Human translators also often stumble while using machine translation tools smartly due to insufficient practice and technological illiteracy. Using the right translation techniques along with the relevant tools can help you achieve marvelous results, accuracy, and consistency. The use of translation memory and working on a glossary list is also overlooked by a team that believes in following traditional and conventional methods.

Not meeting deadlines 

Last but not least, human translators often fail to meet the deadlines. However, we should not overlook the factor of tight deadlines here, which can also impact the quality of translation. That is why companies also need to set realistic deadlines so that the quality, review, and testing process does not get compromised. Moreover, the translators should also deliver their work as per their commitment. 

Using a Hybrid Approach for Software Translation 

Now that we have looked deeper into each method for the translation of software, we can safely conclude that a hybrid approach may work best and in favor of everyone.

What is a hybrid approach?

A hybrid approach offers the best solution by combining machine translation and human brains, providing a high-quality end product. It lets everyone do what they are good at. Machine translation takes care of the petty tasks and human translators supervise and post-edit the content to make it better, meaningful, and fluent.

Why should you opt for a hybrid approach?

Using a hybrid approach for your software translation can fetch you many positive outcomes.

Better efficiency with minimal cost

It contributes to the efficiency of your software translation positively and also turns out to be cost-effective, which can be a greater concern of the software developers otherwise. The turnaround is faster with machines taking care of large volumes and letting the human translators scan for edits, errors, and proofreading, accelerating the overall translation process.

Improved quality

As human translators are there to collaborate, they keep on addressing the MT errors right away, sending it for the next process which assists to ensure accuracy. The cultural and contextual understanding is also not overlooked in this method. This helps with better consistency across all text and languages. The human editors can work on terminology and style later, and can also supervise the text that comes from translation memory and terminology management.

Flexibility and adaptability

Flexibility and adaptability are some of the most beneficial aspects of opting for a hybrid approach where machine tools and human touch collaborate to create wonders. The handling of static and dynamic content leads to the creation of dynamic content, which can also be achieved in multiple languages. As machine translation has been dealing with a wide range of language pairs, the translation work is getting easier for translators and teams. The requirements may vary and differ between different projects, so using machine translation and human translation can be adjusted accordingly depending on the project’s needs.

Focus on core areas

According to translation experts and linguists, the hybrid approach is particularly beneficial to translating software because it allows the translators to focus on more complex and sensitive content, which exists a lot in software. The machine translation in such cases is allocated to repetitive and less important content, while making room for the human resources to focus and work on the more important and sensitive tasks. 

Questions to address before choosing the right translation method

While we move toward the end, it is important that as a software developer, you address these questions before making a final decision about the mode of translation.

What is the nature of your software?

Software generally is itself a complex and sensitive product. The nature of the software can help you make an informed decision. So if you have to work on medical, legal, or technical software or an application that has to deal with finances and record transactions, you might consider rethinking your choices of which type of translation goes best given the sensitivity of the text.

Who is your target audience?

Identifying your target audience can help you to work on your product accordingly. So look deeper and do proper research on your target audience, their market norms and behaviors when it comes to acceptance of new software, and their digital preferences. The selection of region plays an important part. Many regions come with fierce competition where you might have to strive while offering flawless software in their native language.

What is your budget and resource availability?

You should always consider your budget before making a relevant choice. If you have the finances good enough to support each part of software translation accordingly, you don’t have to ponder a lot on this. However, for the software developers who come with limited budget and resources, they should not attempt something that could cost a hefty amount upsetting the overall financial plan and eventually making them strangled in the middle of nowhere.

What is your deadline?

Software translation is something that cannot be done overnight and is a time-consuming process despite the mode of translation. However, it is still crucial to consider the deadline. You should not overlook the need to meet given deadlines when you have initially agreed to deliver duly. Having sufficient time can certainly help you to work on a rather more accurate and consistent translation method. A tight deadline on the contrary can make you offer a rushed product without evaluating all aspects crucially. 

How important is it to maintain language nuances and accuracy?

Though this is an inseparable part of any translation and goes without mentioning. However, there could be certain types of software that may demand less accuracy and language nuances, which can make you opt for a relevant choice for translation accordingly and can also make you work on a minimal budget.

A lot of gaming software (not all of these) often does not demand language nuances and accuracy. Likewise, software that addresses simple and basic utilities such as file managers, calendars, and employee management apps can strive without one hundred percent accuracy and language nuances. 

Conclusion

Software translation has emerged as one of the most challenging types of translation. Using machine translation for your software can make you compromise on certain quality issues. Likewise, solely using human expertise can come with a lot of expenses. Make sure that you opt for a hybrid approach after checking all the pros and cons of using machine translation for your software. A hybrid approach can help you achieve more accuracy and efficiency on a reasonable budget. Moreover, considering certain factors before selecting the right translation methods can also help to make a relevant and informed decision. 

Here at CCJK, we offer professional software translation services for 800+ language pairs. Contact us to get a free quote now!