Machine translation converts written or spoken language from one human language to another using a computer dictionary, but it is difficult to achieve complete accuracy due to the complexity of human languages. Programs must consider context and grammar rules, and human machine-assisted translation is often used to improve accuracy.
Machine translation is a field of computer science that focuses on converting written text or verbal speech from one natural human language to another. Research in this field began in the 1950s and has since progressed to the point that, as of 2011, several machine translation systems were available for public use. However, it is very difficult to get a completely accurate translation using machines and many challenges in this area still needed to be solved.
The general technique used in machine translation is to convert words in one language into their equivalents in another language, using a computer dictionary. Human languages are complex, however, and sentences can often have multiple meanings, so effective translation programs must account for entire sentences. These programs must calculate the meaning of each word. For example, the word “book” can be a noun as in “he read a book” or a verb as “will book a flight”. By analyzing the context, programs can determine the best words for translation.
Machine translation algorithms must also consider the grammatical structure of the target language. For example, for the English words “red shirt,” the direct translation into Spanish is “roja camisa.” However, correct Spanish grammar puts adjectives after nouns, so a correct translation must follow this grammar rule and rearrange the Spanish result as “camisa roja”. Grammar rules can be simple to apply when only two words are involved, but can become complex and difficult for machine translation to process when entire sentences and paragraphs need to be translated.
Despite advances in machine translation, computer programs in the early 21st century were still prone to errors. One technique to solve this problem is human machine-assisted translation, where professional human translators use the program. These professionals are aware of the limitations of machine translation, so they are able to find and fix common mistakes. The combination of human and machine translation services allows you to convert large amounts of text quickly and accurately.
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