Have you come across the Babel fish? This fictional species of fish conjured up by Douglas Adams in his “Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy” makes an age-old human dream come true by overcoming the Babylonian confusion of languages. It works thanks to an ingenious symbiosis. If you put a Babel fish in your ear, it provides a simultaneous translation of whatever’s being said to you, allowing you to understand every language in the galaxy.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing us ever closer to this dream.
Machine translation is capable of translating large quantities of text automatically, quickly and efficiently. But one thing quickly becomes apparent: since language is such a complex phenomenon, machines can probably never translate completely error-free and in the appropriate style. Even the most powerful computer needs a human to understand, check and correct its output. Not a fictitious fish, however, but a skilled human. That, in a nutshell, is what post-editing is: the post-processing of machine-translated text.
Apostroph Group – your partner for post-editing.
myAPOSTROPH is our up-to-the-minute online portal that provides a rapid and efficient order fulfilment process for translation jobs, including those that involve post-editing. If you’re not sure whether post-editing is needed for your translations, don’t worry. We’ll have a look at your documents and help you find the solution that’s right for you.
- Are you under time pressure, or are your texts for in-house use only? Then our recommendation is to opt for PE “light”, which offers basic editing by professionally qualified and native-speaking proofreaders. They ensure that your text is clear, correct and complete, but don’t consider its style or client-specific terminology.
- Do your texts require a high-quality translation because they’re intended for a long shelf life or for external purposes? If so, our recommendation is to opt for PE to the ISO 18587 standard, which offers comprehensive editing by professionally qualified and native-speaking proofreaders. The end result resembles a traditional translation: the style and terminology are consistent and tailored to your requirements.
We’d be only too glad to discuss with you the post-editing approach that best suits your project.
Are you looking to reach international markets with your texts? Then we recommend a human translation in the accustomed Apostroph premium quality: This “transcreation” approach involves more than translating a text correctly – it’s about adapting it to the cultural context of the target language. Not about sticking a fish in your ear. Because machines are unable to match the specialist professionalism of our translators.
