Machine Translation Post-Editing

Machine translation

What is Machine Translation Post-Editing?

With the rise of Neural Machine Translation (NMT), the service called machine translation post-editing (MTPE) has become a reality for the language industry. Even languages traditionally characterized by poor output quality, such as Hungarian, show significantly better machine translation results when NMT engines are used.

WHY IS IT SO CRUCIAL?

Human-like quality is impossible to achieve without humans, and this is where linguists come in: they correct the errors found in the raw MT output in order to produce a perfectly understandable and error-free text.

Post-editing is different from proofreading human translation, but also from translation itself – it requires good knowledge of the types of errors that NMT usually produces, and other shortcomings of machine generated sentence structures.

Types of machine translation post-editing

There are generally two types of MTPE that are distinguished by the industry experts: light post-editing and full post-editing (sometimes called hard post-editing).

Light post editing

Light post-editing

Light post-editing is usually requested when the timeframe is very strict and the aim is only to understand the basic meaning of the text, or to produce ‘good enough’ quality – in this case, minor grammatical errors such as punctuation can be left in the target text.

Full post editing

Full post-editing

Full post-editing, however, aims to produce the same high level of quality as human (reviewed) translation and is often performed by two separate linguists in order to achieve this.

How we work

Reception of materials
Files can be sent to us via e-mail or our secure client portal for greater data security. We receive instant notification of new requests, and the assigned Project Manager starts to work on the quote immediately.
1
Preparation
Conversion of the files to the required bilingual format, and pre-translation with MT-engine(s) and Translation Memories.
2
Machine translation output assessment
Our experienced linguists assess the quality of the raw MT output and determine if it is appropriate for post-editing. If any time saving can be achieved compared to standard translation, the project is approved for MTPE.
3
Quote
Once the optimal deadline, the cost and the team are known and established, we issue a detailed quote for the client to confirm. For recurring clients, the prices are fixed and separate quotations are not required to speed up the process.
4
Confirmation
If the client wishes to impose different terms and conditions (e.g. shorter timeframe), negotiations are made until an agreement is reached, and the client confirms the order.
5
Post-editing
Post-editing itself (’light’ or ’hard’ depending on the requirements) is done by an experienced and trained post-editor.
6
Bilingual review
This step is only needed in case of full post-editing, in order to make sure that all grammatical or other errors were eliminated during the post-editing phase and the target text is as natural sounding as a professional human translation.
7
Quality assurance
In this step there is a double QA (quality assurance) check which consists of both manual and automated checks, in order to eliminate any leftover mistakes from the post-editing and the eventual review step.
8
Translation memory update
The post-edited versions are populated in the client's TM so that future projects have greater TM leverage.
9
Delivery to the client
Once all of the steps are finished and the files are finalized, the Project Manager delivers the target files via e-mail or the secure client portal (the client receives an instant notification of this).
10
Handling of queries after delivery
In case of eventual questions or remarks, the dedicated Project Manager takes care of any additional steps – the client can contact them directly, and action is taken immediately.
11

Our strengths

Translator proficiency is constantly monitored and maintained

Over 400 linguists ready to help at any time

Two individual quality checks at the end of every project

We take care of multilingual projects into 26 target languages on a daily basis

We are a regional provider with a strong local presence - these languages are our main focus and strength

What can we do for you?

Gonda Ágota
+36 62 950 222
+36 62 950 222