Machine translation with human revision, or MTPE, ‘Machine Translation Post-Editing’, is becoming increasingly popular. And to be fair: it can be a convenient solution. With MTPE, the translation is first automatically generated by a machine, after which a professional translator checks and adjusts the text. Sounds efficient (and it is), but only if the type of text lends itself to it.

At our translation agency, we believe that MTPE only really works well when revision is taken seriously. This means that we always include the source text: this is the only way we can ensure that the translation is not only linguistically correct, but also clear, correct and consistent in content, with the style and message you want to convey. Without that check, misunderstandings can arise, and that is precisely what you don’t want. We have spoken to clients who have had entire reports translated by a machine only to find out later that terms were used inconsistently, some sentences made no sense at all or the tone was completely wrong. One client even told us that it was only at the final presentation that they discovered that the word “product safety” had been translated as “safe toy”. Ouch.

MTPE works very well for certain types of texts, especially those with large volumes and texts with a lot of repetition. Think product descriptions, internal memos or informative content where style is not as important. Especially if things need to be done quickly or the budget is on the tighter side, this approach can save a lot of time and money. But: it is still essential that a professional translator checks the translated text with care. 

Yet there are also texts where we say: MTPE is not the way. For legal documents such as contracts or general terms and conditions, for medical texts, and certainly for official records such as SDS documents (Safety Data Sheets), the accuracy required is simply too high. Those texts must be clear, 100% correct and legally watertight. You don’t want any mistakes or misunderstandings there, and certainly no assumptions from a translation machine.

For this kind of work, we translate according to the ISO 17100 standard. This means that one specialised, native-speaking translator translates the text, and a second then performs expert revision on the translated text – with the source text alongside it. That way, we not only check for spelling and grammar, but also for style, terminology, consistency and context. You can then be sure that your text will be flawless and professional – as it should be.

Our advice? Don’t take unnecessary risks. MTPE can be an excellent choice, if applied properly. But when in doubt, check with us to see what best suits your document. We are happy to provide a free quote for both an MTPE option and a full human translation according to the ISO 17100 standard. Then you can choose what suits your goal, deadline and quality requirements.