How accurate is Google Translate? That’s the biggest question posed when it comes to deciding if it’s worth using, especially when the standards for accuracy increase every year while the patience for reading subpar content decreases in tandem. When it comes to determining the accuracy of Google Translate, it becomes more complex than assigning a simple accuracy percentage.
Determining the accuracy poses the question: “What is accuracy?” By definition, being accurate means being free from mistakes or errors. But in an extremely broad language like English, who determines which translations are mistaken?
For instance, let’s say you translated the following sentence, “He put a band on her finger.” While technically accurate, the client or consumer reading the sentence may see choosing the word “band” instead of “ring” as a mistake. This example demonstrates the answer to the question of how accurate Google Translate is in 2022—it depends on the context of the writing.
As we stated above, the biggest factor in how accurate Google Translate will be for you depends on the context of your content. Google Translate works best for long-form text with simple sentence structure.
Using standardized, non-colloquial text will give you your best chance of receiving a pretty accurate machine translation. The more context given in the standardized sentences, the more accurate the translation will be. For example, the word “liability” has several different meanings. Without additional context relating to the use of the word, Google Translate may not pick the correct definition for your content.
Another factor affecting how accurate Google Translate will be is the amount of data for the language you’re translating. The more data there is, the higher the probability of accuracy. While most internet content is in English, German only shows up in 2% of web pages. This discrepancy would make it harder for Google Translate to give you a highly accurate German translation. The following chart shows how context and data changes can affect Google Translate accuracy:
When using Google Translate with technical, simple content suited for a more accurate outcome, accuracy percentages can be close to 90%, requiring only 10% to be edited for a high-quality translation. The problem is that 10% could easily render content incomprehensible and usually requires a subject matter expert who knows exactly what needs to be changed in the context. That’s why the best outcomes are usually achieved by combining machine and human translation.
Using Google Translate as an Asset
At Bureau Works, we don’t use Google Translate as a sole translator. We combine it with Microsoft Translator for an initial translation round, followed by editing done by an expert linguist that understands the context and what changes need to be made and in-depth quality reviews to ensure the highest level of accuracy possible. We understand that accuracy isn’t a simple, black-and-white concept in language.
The more communication evolves, the more complex the standard of accuracy becomes. We also know that our linguists need to evolve with it to tackle challenges such as gender neutrality, hom*onyms, etc., and make sure translated content meets your business’ standards. Our definition of accuracy is providing a localization management platform that makes certain content is error-free and that it’s understood and enjoyable for any new market.
Bureau Works provides a robust platform that focuses on accuracy and success without the hassle. Contact our team today to learn how our solutions can help you.
A 2021 study conducted by the UCLA Medical Center found that Google Translate preserved the overall meaning for 82.5% of the translations. But the accuracy between languages spanned 55% to 94%. Sometimes, Google Translate's precision is shockingly good.
If you're using Google Translate for your translations, you'll probably be wondering if Google Translate is correct and whether you can trust Google Translate accuracy for your use case. Well, the short answer is this: Yes, Google Translate is very accurate for the most part.
Ensure that the text is well-written and free of grammatical errors and typos to get the most accurate translation possible. Use specific language pairs: Google Translate supports many language pairs, but it is always better to use the language pair with the highest accuracy rate.
The overall accuracy is 82.5 percent. Google Translate accuracy varies greatly across the supported language pairs. For instance, Google Translate is 90 percent accurate for the commonly used English-Spanish language pair and only 55 percent for less frequently used English-Aremenian pair.
Accuracy varies depending on language pair and content type, though some reports show Google Translate reaching 94% accuracy. Google's 2016 shift to Neural Machine Translation (NMT) represented a turning point for output quality.
Is it obvious to a native speaker when someone uses Google Translate? Yes.Even if the other user is also a native speaker and has tried to clean up the text. You really cannot use Google Translate if you want results like those of a native speaker.
Google Translate often produces translations that contain significant grammatical errors. This is due to the fact that Google's translation system uses a method based on language pair frequency that does not take into account grammatical rules. Google Translate does not have a system to correct for translation errors.
At the time that we're writing this, Microsoft Translator supports an impressive 113 languages, which is the highest of any alternative on this list. That's almost as many as Google Translate, but it's a lot more than DeepL. The main advantage that Microsoft Translator has over Google Translate is its pricing.
Ambiguity: When a word or phrase has multiple meanings, Google Translate may choose the wrong one if there isn't enough context to determine the intended meaning.Gender and pronoun issues: Some languages have gendered nouns and pronouns, which can lead to inaccuracies in translation.
DeepL is generally rated as having higher-quality translations, along with options to choose between formal and informal tones. So if you want the most accurate and natural-sounding translations, DeepL is usually the best option. Google Translate (and other services) are cheaper than DeepL.
Among these, Brazil is at the forefront as the country that uses Google Translate the most. Around 143 billion words are translated every single day, across 100 languages.
Google Translate adds more adaptive features, new contextual translation options and a fresh redesign to make accessing Translate more helpful. AI has helped power some of our biggest advancements in translation in the years since we've launched Google Translate.
In general, DeepL has a very good reputation for translation accuracy, especially when it comes to understanding context and creating more natural, human-sounding translations. You'll see this sentiment almost universally expressed when talking about DeepL translation accuracy.
For those seeking the most accurate translation app, Google Translate and Microsoft Translator are solid choices. But for AI-powered translation of PDF documents, UPDF is an innovative solution. Try these tools to bridge language gaps with confidence and efficiency.
Google Translate is one of the best machine translation services that you'll find. However, it's far from being the only option when it comes to automatic translation. If you're mainly concerned with the accuracy of your translations, you might want to use DeepL.
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