Is Google translate reliable for business use?

When there are so many free translation technologies available, the most notable and famous being Google Translate, it can be hard to imagine stretching to pay for such a service. The joy of Google Translate and other free programs is that they allow us to think about a more global market, offering us the chance to explore business overseas. However, it has its limits.

Here we look at whether you can rely on free software for business and when you splashing out on a freelance translator or translation service is justifiable.

Is Google the bee’s knees or le api ginocchia?

Phrases like the bee’s knees make sense in English but when translated through free programs they will come out literally. Le apu ginocchia in Italian does not mean something is splendid, in fact it means very little but a description of the knees of a bee.

This illustrates the dangers of using free software – the meaning of what you want to say may be lost in translation. However, if you want to send an email to somebody on a casual basis, using basic English to avoid idioms being mistranslated, no harm is done. Google and other free services give you a platform for basic translated communication helping businesses to dream big and think about going global.

But then there are the much more critical documents. It is definitely not a sensible option to translate anything of consequence in this method, for those you must look to the paid alternatives.

What are the alternatives?

Using a translation service or freelancer can be the best option when you need sporadic work done. Often you can choose from a variety of tiers of translation to allow you to spend as little or as much money as you need, tailoring the job to your individual needs.

London Translations, a leading UK-based language specialist, recommend using services that combine software with human ability to avoid any literal translation errors. This means that the service will be efficient, cheaper and error-free.

When looking for a translation service it is usually very beneficial to find one that quotes you based on the source document’s word count. When a language is translated often something called ‘word expansion’ can occur, meaning the word count will go up. This means you really don’t know how much your resulting translated document is going to cost until it is finished. This also allows for the unsavoury translators to stuff your document full of extra words to raise the fee.

Do your research on a translation service and make sure you know what you’re paying in advance to avoid any hidden fees and dodgy dealers.