Free & Cheap Translation For All Your Needs
Cheap & Free Translations
Where've you been all these years?
Why go for cheap when you can get it free and at same qualities as cheap?
Do like the majority of cheap translation providers do and use the many CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) sites such as those listed on the
link and its sub-links.
Let's first however check how accurate and precise they are.
Lets try to translate any text to any language using any of them and then copy-paste the result to translate back to the original (source) text. You can view "
few free trial sample" translations showing the CAT translations of the following:Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall:
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty in his place again
Did you know that Humpty Dumpty's name in Czech is "
Hunch Undercut" and in Russian he's called "ÿá½Ôá®-stir"? That's what he's called on two highly recommended high quality CAT translation sites. You'll also find a high percentage of "professional" (many also claiming having high certifications) translators on the market insisting on Humpty Dumpty being Hunch Undercut in Czech and ÿá½Ôá®-stir in Russian. They'll certify that with full confidence and regardless of what you as a certified non-professional (or even if you are a professional) translator, say or object with. They will even have the CAT websites on the Internet ready to flash in your face to back their claims with.You can keep trying these sites as they supposedly get better, but most likely Humpty Dumpty will for many years to come remain "
Hunch Undercut" in Czech and "ÿá½Ôá®-stir" in Russian and whatever in other languages and other trials on CAT translators.What would you comment if a Czech correspondent sent an email to you proudly saying:
Hunch Undercut
sat next a stna :Hunch Undercut
mnl jsem a a total of fall.A total of flax uritý Kr l shoe plus a total of flax uritý Kr l men
Couldn't set Hunch Undercut up his reside again
That's what one
"Free translation" site says.Here's another of the many sites that provide
free online translation services for you to enjoy using and saving money on.If you are looking for a free "high" quality translation those are examples of the high quality that you may probably get.
If you are looking for a cheap translation, your translation service provider may most likely be using one of these CAT translation sites. That's most probably why he/she's cheap. You may only be paying him/her to click in one of those CAT sites instead of you doing so.
This can be an infinitely lengthy discussion. But it's hoped that you have enough from above to realize to never believe that translation can be efficiently computerized. There's no such miracle, though it's continuously being hoped to be snake oil peddled over the Internet as far as one can see nowadays. There are too many factors to discuss to substantiate that in fact it may never go above 70% proof. For example, how is the CAT going to differentiate between a phrase that can be a joke, serious, metaphoric, sad, expressing anger, pleasure or sarcasm or irony, or, or? What's the programming needed for that and how large is that program to be?
You may now understand and appreciate why the range of translation prices vary between the price in a similar fashion as commuting vehicle prices vary from cheap third hand slipper do-it-yourself commuting prices to first class travel airline prices. As you don't believe that there's a free lunch don't believe there's going to be any free translation. In fact most above average translators would prefer to offer you a free lunch instead of a cheap translation of half a page or more if they were compelled to choose. It's cheaper to pay for the lunch than the wasted time's worth to translate cheaply.
You've hopefully by now been convinced that like lunch there's no free translation. The ones that I've tried till now (2007) on the Internet or in pocketsize gadgets or on CDs can provide no more than 70% accuracy at best for simple phrases and much less for longer phrases and texts. That's a personally rough percentage estimate that the writer of this page has not bothered to check up on. It's left to you to use those CAT devices and check up on their percentage accuracy. But admittedly something is better than nothing.
One may try to guess what's meant by a short phrase translated by CAT, but no one is going to go through paragraphs and pages done in CAT level quality at the levels of CAT translations available over the Internet in 2007 as this is being typed here. Much needs to be done on CAT development before that opinion will be changed. If any is available that translates back to original on more than 50% of the phrases or full sentences fed into it, please inform this Web Site owner and it'll be mentioned, once tried. We'll change the 50% to 51% or whatever updating is required. Presently from what's available till 2007, 50% is way out. But this does not mean that CAT translators aren't helpful for quick comprehension sometimes. Maybe the hand held ones are better than the ones available online on the Internet, but till now the editor of this page has never owned or intensively tried one. The online examples don't encourage such an attempt yet for him, though he may get one in some future time for a language that he doesn't know, but needs to use. Admittedly they might be useful for travel into a country that one does not know the language of or is weak in.
At the time of adding the last paragraph the extreme left and right columns are empty. But these cells are intended for advertising and some adverts that are for Cat and hand held translators might be inserted there. If I, the editor of this page, get a chance to use one or more and find the comments above inaccurate, I'll withdraw/replace/update them. "The proof is in the pudding".
Furthermore, note that many free online translation CAT and otherwise services in parallel also provide human translation. For me, that is enough to tell me that the free services still have a long way to go to replace the human services in translation. Or maybe some would like to argue that machined art in general is more polished than human art, with human or manual art always more expensive, due to the labour, hours etc. Yes, it is. I certainly won't carry you on my back in luxury for 10 miles for a gallon's worth of petrol in fees, because that's what a luxury car would consume over that distance (disregarding here wear and tear and maintenance). Save giving a translator that money and get yourself a luxury car. Sorry, but one should hear how some argue about anything/everything over the phone. Many translator forums have been noticed on that and other related topics.
If you now arrive at the conclusion that you will need a human translator for your more professional translation needs, good. If you still aren't convinced, another article on the topic exists on:
http://german.about.com/library/bltransltxt.htm or go to "Translation Jokes, Mistakes & Gaffes" to find out how enjoyably funny or "enjoyably" drastic consequences cabe. There's an abundance of plenty more if one cares to search for it over the Internet.As this is being typed in (while updating in 2006), I also have to deal with the website and other constructive matters. Hence I'll leave these topics and maybe come back to them later or deal with them on pages accessible from or referred to in some of those forums. For now, getting this website efficiently activated is more important for me.
Obviously the best choice is to give your needs to a professional whose business it is, is to provide professional translation/s.
But amateurs that rely on CAT sites are also advertising themselves as professionals. So how are you going to know which professional is amateur and which not?
(Check "Quality" on the previous page)
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