What is the name of the software that shows how much of a machine translation is used in a text?
Thread poster: Pristine
Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
Nov 30, 2020

Hi you all,

I hope that this is the correct forum for this question. If this is the wrong forum, please forward it to the correct forum. Thanks.

I heard that there is an app that shows the percentage of a non-edited machine translation but I don't know the name of it.

I hope I have this well-enough explained.

You take a piece of machine-translation:

English source: Use our mobile-friendly text generator to generate cool animations
... See more
Hi you all,

I hope that this is the correct forum for this question. If this is the wrong forum, please forward it to the correct forum. Thanks.

I heard that there is an app that shows the percentage of a non-edited machine translation but I don't know the name of it.

I hope I have this well-enough explained.

You take a piece of machine-translation:

English source: Use our mobile-friendly text generator to generate cool animations

Google Translate: Verwenden Sie unseren mobilfreundlichen Textgenerator, um coole Animationen zu generieren

The app that I am looking for, displays 100% Google Translate.

However, if you change a word, like: Benutzen Sie unseren mobilfreundlichen Textgenerator, um coole Animationen zu generieren

And the app counts down to 90% and so on. As more as you change in a machine-translation, as more the app counts down.

I know it exists but what is the name of it?

Anyone an idea?
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Anna Gorska
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 17:59
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Pristine Nov 30, 2020

Pristine wrote:
I heard that there is an app that shows the percentage of a non-edited machine translation but I don't know the name of it.


I've never heard of such an app either. And the problem with such an app is that Google Translate does not always output the same translation for the same input text, so if there is such an app, the best the app can do is compare the user's text to *one* possible version of the Google Translate'd text.

Why do you want this app? What will you be checking with it?


Jorge Payan
neilmac
Philippe Etienne
Stepan Konev
 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 19:59
English to Russian
Try this Nov 30, 2020

I have no idea about software, but there is a web site that can check translations for 3 engines (Google, Yandex and Microsoft).
https://translation-s.ru/translation-check-station/?fbclid=IwAR2olr0PK1ONJUfoMYZ--nAJ1hRQj8iEiYy6E3HpezeEO_LOHvV44VuwptE

I am not sure if the language of the list of lang
... See more
I have no idea about software, but there is a web site that can check translations for 3 engines (Google, Yandex and Microsoft).
https://translation-s.ru/translation-check-station/?fbclid=IwAR2olr0PK1ONJUfoMYZ--nAJ1hRQj8iEiYy6E3HpezeEO_LOHvV44VuwptE

I am not sure if the language of the list of languages depends on your OS language. If yes, then you will see the list of languages in your language. If not, you have to learn language names in Russian

I tried yor samples. Here is the result:

If you want to check another portion of text for the same language pair, press the right button; it translates to 'Try again'.
If you want to check another portion of text for the other language pair, press the left button; it translates to 'New check'.
Though there is a GB flag in the upper right corner, I couldn't make it work in English. Hope they will fix it one day.

[Edited at 2020-11-30 19:24 GMT]
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Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 19:59
English to Russian
This one is for your Nov 30, 2020

second pair of samples

EN: Use our mobile-friendly text generator to generate cool animations
DE: Benutzen Sie unseren mobilfreundlichen Textgenerator, um coole Animationen zu gener
... See more
second pair of samples

EN: Use our mobile-friendly text generator to generate cool animations
DE: Benutzen Sie unseren mobilfreundlichen Textgenerator, um coole Animationen zu generieren

*Don't ask me why 67% (instead of 90% as expected).

[Edited at 2020-11-30 20:52 GMT]
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finnword1
finnword1
United States
Local time: 12:59
English to Finnish
+ ...
nothing wrong with using MT Nov 30, 2020

It's just a tool like any other tool. To estimate an extent to which MT was used in a translation, is nonsense (and ignorance). Nobody asks a lumberjack how many branches were cut using a chain saw and how many using a hatchet.

Stepan Konev
Jorge Payan
neilmac
Philippe Etienne
Daryo
 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:59
German to English
+ ...
Similar to Samuel, plus.... Nov 30, 2020

i.e.
Samuel Murray wrote:

Why do you want this app? What will you be checking with it?

I don't use machine translation, but I've been curious about it because it gets mentioned so much. A couple of times I translated text and then checked what MT might do with a standard, non-confidential portion. For some texts, the results were identical and for obvious reasons. Some things can only be translated one way; for example a list of science courses, certain boilerplate standard text. So using such an app to determine a thing is "machine translation" is a slippery slope. And then what for? Clients pay for a correct, well-worded, aptly worded translation. They are paying for a product, not the means of production.

Conversely, complaints about translations that are deemed "reads like machine translation" means they are poorly done. Someone who is not up on skills, and translates word-for-word using a dictionary, may also produce work that "reads like machine translation".


Jorge Payan
neilmac
Philippe Etienne
mughwI
Stepan Konev
Heinrich Pesch
Michele Fauble
 
Stephanie Busch
Stephanie Busch  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 17:59
English to German
+ ...
Is it an SDL AppStore app you are looking for? Dec 1, 2020

Possibly it is one of these:

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/sdlxliff-compare/89/

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/post-edit-compare/610/

Both of them can be used to measure editing distances.

SDL'
... See more
Possibly it is one of these:

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/sdlxliff-compare/89/

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/post-edit-compare/610/

Both of them can be used to measure editing distances.

SDL's Paul Filkin wrote an article about them here:

https://multifarious.filkin.com/2017/02/01/the-beauty-of-simplicity/
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Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for your reply, Samuel Dec 19, 2020

Samuel Murray wrote:

Pristine wrote:
I heard that there is an app that shows the percentage of a non-edited machine translation but I don't know the name of it.


I've never heard of such an app either. And the problem with such an app is that Google Translate does not always output the same translation for the same input text, so if there is such an app, the best the app can do is compare the user's text to *one* possible version of the Google Translate'd text.

Why do you want this app? What will you be checking with it?


No particular reason. I just heard of it and I thought it is cool to check it out, Samuel.

Really? Google Translate does not always output the same translation for the same input? I never noticed this but I don't use google often.


 
Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
Interesting, Stepan Dec 19, 2020

Stepan Konev wrote:

I have no idea about software, but there is a web site that can check translations for 3 engines (Google, Yandex and Microsoft).
https://translation-s.ru/translation-check-station/?fbclid=IwAR2olr0PK1ONJUfoMYZ--nAJ1hRQj8iEiYy6E3HpezeEO_LOHvV44VuwptE

I am not sure if the language of the list of languages depends on your OS language. If yes, then you will see the list of languages in your language. If not, you have to learn language names in Russian

I tried yor samples. Here is the result:

If you want to check another portion of text for the same language pair, press the right button; it translates to 'Try again'.
If you want to check another portion of text for the other language pair, press the left button; it translates to 'New check'.
Though there is a GB flag in the upper right corner, I couldn't make it work in English. Hope they will fix it one day.

[Edited at 2020-11-30 19:24 GMT]


But no time to learn Russian. But I am glad you speak it.


 
Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
That is right finnword1. Dec 19, 2020

finnword1 wrote:

It's just a tool like any other tool. To estimate an extent to which MT was used in a translation, is nonsense (and ignorance). Nobody asks a lumberjack how many branches were cut using a chain saw and how many using a hatchet.


Nobody tells a doctor not to use a stethoscope and hear the heartbeat without it.

What's important is that the final translation is professional.


 
Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
How about post-editing, Maxi? Dec 19, 2020

Maxi Schwarz wrote:

i.e.
Samuel Murray wrote:

Why do you want this app? What will you be checking with it?

I don't use machine translation, but I've been curious about it because it gets mentioned so much. A couple of times I translated text and then checked what MT might do with a standard, non-confidential portion. For some texts, the results were identical and for obvious reasons. Some things can only be translated one way; for example a list of science courses, certain boilerplate standard text. So using such an app to determine a thing is "machine translation" is a slippery slope. And then what for? Clients pay for a correct, well-worded, aptly worded translation. They are paying for a product, not the means of production.

Conversely, complaints about translations that are deemed "reads like machine translation" means they are poorly done. Someone who is not up on skills, and translates word-for-word using a dictionary, may also produce work that "reads like machine translation".


Sure, customer pay for an excellent translation and not a machine translation. However, some translators are using machine translation a tool to spark their memory or as a basic frame to expand from. They improve the machine translation until it is a human translation.

Numerous translation agencies ask nowadays for post-editing.

The text is machine-translated and they want a translator to edit it into a professional translation.

The rates for post-editing are of course lower.


 
Pristine
Pristine
Local time: 10:59
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, Stephanie Dec 19, 2020

Stephanie Busch wrote:

Possibly it is one of these:

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/sdlxliff-compare/89/

https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/post-edit-compare/610/

Both of them can be used to measure editing distances.

SDL's Paul Filkin wrote an article about them here:

https://multifarious.filkin.com/2017/02/01/the-beauty-of-simplicity/



Thanks for the links, yes, this comes close!


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:59
German to English
+ ...
answering Pristine Dec 19, 2020

I disagree with the last sentence.
Pristine wrote:

Numerous translation agencies ask nowadays for post-editing.

The text is machine-translated and they want a translator to edit it into a professional translation.

The rates for post-editing are of course lower.

"post-editing" is the same work as revising any translation done by anyone, or any"thing". You check for the same things as in any translation: a) accuracy of meaning transfer (no omissions, additions, changes, correct nuance etc.), b) target language (grammar, spelling, syntax, reads naturally and appropriately). It will take longer to fix a poor translation, than to translate the source text from scratch. In fact, you can never really bring a poor translation to the same level, and it is very stressful work. Therefore fixing a poor translation will be more expensive than translating it form scratch. Obviously you want to be charging by the hour for such work.

That said, some customers (agencies) will decided they want to pay say 25% of the per-word rate, and think this is the "policy" - therefore they will push for what they see as a lower cost. It can only be policy, if we professionals decide to make it a policy. I disagree with working twice as hard for a fraction of the pay. And don't.

I have had MT sent to me and applied my usual policy. "If it is faster and cheaper to do a fresh translation, that is what I recommend. Otherwise I'll charge per hour - pls see my estimated fee for revision ('post-editing) vs. my firm fee for translation, and choose."


Endre Both
Arabic & More
 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:59
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
@ the OP Dec 20, 2020

Why was this question asked in the first place? Just curious.

[Edited at 2020-12-20 12:57 GMT]


 


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What is the name of the software that shows how much of a machine translation is used in a text?






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