As Featured in the Evening Standard.
In Japanese, ‘Everyone makes mistakes’ translates as ‘Even monkeys fall from trees’. ‘Raining cats and dogs’ in English is ‘raining ropes’ in French. Could any machine really know that and understand the differences when translating?
Recently, Creative Translation shared with readers in the Evening Standard London newspaper, providing insights into the captivating world of language translation, looking at how machines translate language, how they work with the evolving role of AI and the different options available. The article highlights that while AI excels in many aspects, conveying the full emotional depth required for global marketing campaigns is where human expertise shines, ultimately proving humans are irreplaceable.
The feature also goes into depth on the precision of AI, particularly Neural Machine Translation (NMT), in analysing grammar, vocabulary, and structure. It also describes how AI rapidly learns through machine learning, showcasing its effectiveness in handling straightforward text.
Limitations of AI
The article looks at the challenges AI faces, especially when it comes to adding real emotion and that extra something into translations, a crucial aspect of global marketing, ensuring each and every campaign resonates with the intended audience and how subtle differences in language can have a big difference in meaning when translated. This is where the transcreation takes the stage, underscoring the necessity of human intuition to capture cultural nuances, idiomatic differences, and emotional subtleties that machines might overlook.
“AI is perfect at speeding up the translation process, but it needs a flesh and blood, coffee-drinking translator to make sure the work is pin sharp.” – Creative Translation
Working Side by Side
The article explores the technologies of Neural Machine Translations (NMTs) and Language Model Machines (LLMs) and highlights the need for a delicate balance. While NMTs offer accuracy and consistency, LLMs add a human touch. Yet, the piece ultimately shows that true harmony is best achieved with the eye of a human, ensuring a seamless blend of both technologies and making sure every marketing campaign always hits the spot.
Click here to read the article in full.
At Creative Translation, we have over 3,000 in-market translators, editors, and cultural consultants working in synergy, ensuring marketing campaigns resonate authentically in every language and adding that crucial human approach.
To discover how we can help you translate your marketing copy, call us on +44 (0)20 7294 7710 or email us at info@creativetranslation.com for further information or a quick quotation for your next project.
