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Machine translation with post-editing

When man and machine work hand-in-hand

In a world in which everything is optimised, it should come as no surprise that even machines can deliver fluid, convincing translations. The quality and style of the language are sometimes so good that it can be easy to overlook the fact that the machine has not conveyed the content correctly in the target language. This has led to post-editing becoming a highly sought-after service in the translation industry. Post-editing and machine translation form an effective duo when it comes to saving time and money.

Post-editing: a compromise between efficiency and quality

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What is post-editing and how is it used?

Putting it briefly, post-editing is the review of a text translated by machine, done by a person with extensive specialist knowledge and working into their mother tongue.

Combining machine translation and post-editing allows translations to be completed more quickly, potentially saving costs and time for clients. This is because the language professionals do not have to start the translation from scratch – they receive a draft translated by machine, which they then check and optimise in terms of content, style and grammar, until the overall quality closely approaches that of a translation done in the conventional manner.

When is post-editing useful?

Certain types of text are more suitable for machine translation with post-editing than others, including legal documents, instruction manuals, corporate communication and technical texts. Criteria such as set phrases, repetitive texts and extensively standardised terminological conventions are material in this decision. Literary works and texts that need to be interpreted or contain puns, idioms, symbolism or metaphors typically cannot be adequately translated by machine. The intended purpose of a text also has a major influence on whether using machine translation with post-editing makes sense.

Data protection and confidentiality

The use of machine translation systems has become considerably more popular and widespread since 2015, even outside the translation industry. Something of which many users of free translations systems are unaware is that texts typed in or uploaded can be reused by the system providers in their entirety. Therefore, and particularly when dealing with texts that contain sensitive data and information, the utmost caution is advised. Documents like this should never be translated by machine, unless you are using a platform with a licence that guarantees that the data may not be reused. Needless to say, this is systematically guaranteed at SemioticTransfer.

We’ll gladly advise you!

You can discuss the details of a future project with your own dedicated language manager, either directly over the phone or in writing. We look forward to you!

contact@semiotictransfer.ch or +41 56 470 40 40

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Which services does SemioticTransfer offer?

Our core skill is translation. We work with a large international network of translators and can therefore produce translations in many language combinations and specialist subject areas.
We also support our customers with desktop publishing (DTP). We supply documents in all commonly used formats such as InDesign, FrameMaker or XML. We are pleased also to handle the typographical proofreading for you – the ‘remedial proofread’.
You can entrust entire projects to us, because we work with a large network of specialists from the worlds of advertising, text authorship, graphic art and printing.

How do I go about obtaining a quote?

Just send the documents you wish to have translated to us by e-mail, fax or as hard copy by post. We will then respond promptly to the receipt of your documents with a non-binding quote – including a delivery due date.
Please do not forget to provide us with your contact details so we can get in touch with you. Please also specify your desired target language, i.e. the language into which you wish us to translate.

Who is my point of contact?

Our Language Managers are the ones who attend to your immediate needs. Please use the contact form to notify us of your questions, or call us at + 41 56 470 40 40.

How quickly can you translate my documents?

Please send us the documents to be translated by e-mail. You will then receive a non-binding quote that also includes a firm delivery date.

What is the best way of getting my translations to you?

If your documents are available in an electronic format, simply send them to us by e-mail with the files attached. If you only have the documents in hard copy format, you can either fax them to us, or send them to us by post. If you wish, you can also bring your documents to us in person.

How much does it cost to translate one page of A4?

Your documents are translated exclusively by mother-tongue, certified specialist and/or technical translators.

Who actually translates my text for me?

The translation of your documents is carried out by professional, native, certified translators.

What information do you need to process my order?

The more information we obtain from you in relation to an order, the better able we are to execute it. For example, it is important for us to know the target audience of your document, or the style in which it is to be written. If you have any specific wishes, please do not hesitate to notify us of these. It is also of great benefit to us to have any previously translated documents you may have on the same or a similar subject.

What do you need reference material for?

To adapt documents to provide a perfect match in terms of the terminology and style of your Corporate Identity, we need to receive material from you to become familiar with your corporate language. The more material you provide for us, the more accurately we can communicate your business.

Do my information and documents remain confidential?

Needless to say, we treat your information and documents with absolute discretion. All of our co-workers and contractors are contractually obliged to uphold our non-disclosure policy. Should you so wish, we can provide you with a non-disclosure agreement, or we would also be pleased to sign your own NDA.

What is a notarially certified translation? What do I need one for?

A notarially certified translation is required for all official and administrative matters, e.g., when submitting marriage certificates, patents, court documents etc. A notary public certifies the accuracy and completeness of a translation.

What is an apostil?

An apostil is a supplementary form of certification – you could view it as certification of the notarial certification. The apostil confirms the genuine nature of the signature and of the stamp of the notary public. In Switzerland the cantonal district attorney’s office (Staatskanzlei) is responsible for this.

What does ‘Quality Assurance’ mean and involve?

We place great importance on the quality of our work. We therefore always have every translation checked by a 2nd subject specialist (the peer review principle), who pays particular attention to compliance with language-specific or country-specific idiosyncrasies and standards. We call this work step ‘Quality Assurance‘.

What is remedial proof-reading?

Our remedial proof-reading service involves one of our subject specialist translators checking the translation you submitted to us, and making corrections where appropriate.

What does proofreading involve?

During a proof-read, we revise the text you submitted, examining it for linguistic accuracy. If you wish, we can also alter the writing style and the length of the original text.
A specialist form of proof-reading is the ‘typographical proof-read’, also known as the ‘pre-print proof’. This involves a subject specialist reviewing the ready-to-print document which you submit to us in a hard copy format or as a PDF file. With this green light from us, you can then proceed to your print run with complete peace of mind.

How do I receive a translation?

We send you the completed translation by e-mail, fax or post. If you wish, you are also welcome to collect your translation in person from our office.

How is payment made?

On completion of your order, we post you an invoice with payment slip. With longer-standing business relationships, we are also happy to provide monthly batch invoices. Private customers are asked to settle their account in advance, or with cash on delivery (COD).

Why does the website not include any details of prices?

Every customer and each order are unique, so we are unable to provide general, one-size-fits-all pricing information. The calculation of your price incorporates many factors, including the type of text, the number of words, the language combination, the format, the delivery date and possible official certification. Having said that, to obtain a helpful guide to the costs you might incur, you can use our price calculator. We are always happy to provide you with a precise quotation at a face-to-face meeting, over the phone, by e-mail or when we visit your premises.

What is the meaning of ‘language of origin’ and ‘source language’?

‘Source language’ is the term used to describe the language in which the document was written, and for which we are being asked to provide a translation.

What is the meaning of ‘target language’?

‘Target language’ is the term used to describe the language into which you would like us to translate your document.

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