Machine translation – use with care
4 days ago
Machine translation tools like Microsoft Translator can help us work bilingually, but they are not always accurate. They should never replace professional translations for formal or public -facing documents.
Key Reminders:
- Machine translation often struggles with idioms, puns, and errors in the source text.
- Use it only for internal purposes, such as:
- Understanding the gist of emails or brief reports.
- Drafting informal replies in Welsh.
- Do NOT use machine translation for minutes, letters, posters, website content, social media posts, or anything for external circulation including job profiles and adverts or internal circulation such as intranet or newsletters.
- All official or public documents must go through the Translation Unit.
- Do not send machine-translated documents to the Translation Unit for proofreading, as this adds unnecessary steps and delays the turnaround time.
- The Translation Unit follows a specific process for translation requests, using its own translation memory software to ensure consistency and accuracy.
- This guideline applies to Welsh and all other languages.
If in doubt, contact the Translation Unit for guidance.