Translation Blog

Google Translate is perhaps the most well-known translation tool on the planet. However, its popularity isn’t a yardstick for its accuracy. Google Translate is famous for its less-than-stellar grammar and inaccurate translations. The machine translation Google provides often contains several mistakes, and Google cannot translate nuance for things such as business documents.

If you are considering using Google Translate for your business, think again. Here are six reasons to steer clear of this or any other machine translation. You will also discover why getting a professional translation agency for all your language service needs is a much better solution.

1. Unprofessional Quality

Minor grammatical errors frequently occur when using machine translation tools such as Google Translate. The more complex your source document, the more likely your Google translation will contain mistakes. While this might not matter in a casual setting, small mistakes can make businesses look extremely unprofessional.

2. Non-Confidential Translations

When using Google Translate, all information can be stored on their system. For example, credit card information could get logged if you translate a financial page using Google’s translation tool. You might believe a simple way around this is to take out any sensitive information before getting a machine translation. However, your business can still be held liable for breaching privacy regulations.

Rather than relying on Google, using professional translation companies is the best for professional documents. They come with their own privacy rules, meaning they are a lot more cautious. They also don’t sell or share your data without running afoul of the law and have stringent confidentiality agreements in place.

3. Proofreading is Required

Machine translation can be quite error-prone. Simple things such as mistakes in grammar or syntax are particularly prevalent when using Google Translate. All content translated by an AI translation tool must be proofread to ensure that the translated documents are up to business standards.

Unfortunately, the proofreading process can take a lot of time and resources that could be spent doing something else. If you don’t speak the language, you’ll need to pay someone to proofread your Google translation on your behalf. It is more cost and time-effective for businesses to pay for a professional translation upfront rather than spend on proofreading further down the line.

4. Dialects Aren’t Considered

Google Translate utilises a machine translation system, and this system provides overly generic and bland samples. The translation tool cannot comprehend the subtle nuances we find in everyday language. This is especially true when you consider dialects, accents or regional differences.

Let’s take Mexico, for instance. It has over 65 languages spoken every day, with about 350 dialects. However, Google Translate can only recognise a couple of them. South Korea is another example; the people in Busan certainly do not speak like those in Seoul. If you open a business in the former city, using a Google translation from the latter would prove counterintuitive.

5. Unqualified Contributors

Google Translate was first launched to offer a machine translation to Arabic. It has since been expanded into a translation tool capable of rendering text into nearly every language. The positive side of this is that there have been various contributions from native speakers worldwide. However, it is hard to verify the accuracy of said contributions.

When you take out vulgar or fake vocabulary, there’s only so much a regular person can translate. For instance, just because you speak French fluently doesn’t mean you can translate legal documents accurately. Your Google translation is based entirely on the text adaptations supplied by these various contributors, impairing their quality.

6. Literal Translations Only

The way Google Translate works is to translate every sentence word for word. This initially might seem like an effective way to translate. However, machine translation falls apart when it encounters colloquial expressions. Translation tools are also bad at rendering everyday slang phrases and words with multiple meanings.

As you can imagine, such verbatim translation can make nonsense of official documents. This can result in financial or legal consequences if your translations make it into the world. Businesses will want to avoid this by swapping their Google translation for a professional and reliable translation service. Human translators can consider context and cultural nuances, so your message is retained.

Professional Translation Services You Can Trust!

When you need quality translation, Google Translate is not your friend. Their machine translation tool is helpful for straightforward translations of specific words or phrases. However, companies using a Google translation for business documents look unprofessional and can even face legal trouble.

In a professional setting, you should always reach out to a reliable translation agency such as Renaissance Translations. With us, you can receive a high-quality human translation, a privacy guarantee, and 100% accurate grammar. You also get content proofreading to ensure your document meets your business’s exceedingly high standards.

Our company is an associate member  of the Association of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. Contact our sales team to discover more about our professional translation services. You can alternatively request a quote for your translation project. Don’t use Google Translate; let our qualified professionals take care of your business documents instead.

While it might seem surprising, audio transcribing services have been around for quite a while. The first record of audio transcription comes from Ancient Egypt, although they were sketches carved into stone rather than articulate words on a screen. Audio transcriptions have come a long way since then! Today, professional language service providers transcribe audio using modern and effective methods.

Choosing to transcribe audio carries any often overlooked benefits, too! This article highlights the many benefits of audio transcriptions and why you should transcribe your recordings.

1. Audio Transcriptions Help with Searchability

Audio content isn’t as easily searchable as written text. You cannot scan through recordings, and finding the exact segment you’re looking for can be difficult. When you transcribe audio, you automatically make the content more searchable. Users can now use the audio transcriptions to seamlessly find specific words or phrases.

When transcribing services include timestamps in the transcript, the searchability factor becomes even more beneficial. With the time stamp, viewers can find what they’re looking for and then listen to the audio file at that moment. This is particularly advantageous for longer audio files such as podcasts, lectures, sermons and webinars.

2. Audio Transcriptions Help You Repurpose Your Content

Brands and businesses looking to be relevant online must continuously create engaging and purposeful content. Considering how many competitors are currently online, brands need to stand out from the pack. Being unique, however, requires creativity and many resources!

Audio transcriptions are an easy way to help you repurpose your content and fulfil this requirement. Rather than transcribe audio into text to supplement recordings, transcribing services can transform audio content into eBooks, website pages, and infographics. These types of content are unique and a great way to produce more while doing less.

3. Audio Transcriptions Help with Translation

The first step towards translating any audio content is first to transcribe audio to text. Translating written content is a lot easier than directly translating your videos and recordings. A transcription services agency can then render the text file into another language.

Translations make your audio files more accessible to wider audiences – if they cannot understand the audio, they can obtain the information by reading the translated audio transcriptions. Most professional translation agencies offer transcribing services and translation services as a package, providing access to a written version of your audio file in various languages.

4. Transcribing Audio Improves Learning

Audio transcribing services have been known to improve learning in an academic setting. Universities can transcribe audio lectures, for example. This helps students avoid the need to frantically write or type every word they hear. They can simply enjoy their lectures, focusing on the moment. After classes, use the audio transcription to help solidify the information and better comprehend the lesson.

If transcription is not offered by your school, choosing to transcribe your recordings can be advantageous as a student. Not everyone learns the same way! If you find it difficult to learn simply by listening and prefer reading content, having an audio transcription can help your learning process.

5. Audio Transcribing Service Help to Save Time

Using transcribing services can help you save time. This may seem counterintuitive, given that an extra step is necessary to produce content. However, certain professions can benefit from the efficiency provided. For example, educators can employ transcription companies to transcribe audio from lectures into text, saving time in their lesson preparation process.

Journalists also record interviews with their sources. These recordings offer them a record of their research. However, without an audio transcription, they lack an effective way to find specific quotes in the recording. Employing transcription companies to transcribe audio to text can streamline a journalist’s workflow.

6. Audio Transcriptions Can Help with Legal Compliance

While engaging in audio translation might seem like an afterthought, there are legal ramifications for choosing not to do so. Specific laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act mandate that public places be accessible to everyone. According to the law, the internet is a public place. So, video and audio files aren’t exempted from being made accessible.

You need to transcribe audio or add video subtitles to make it possible for people who are hard of hearing to understand. Not only does this avoid legal ramifications, but investing in audio transcribing services prevents you from cutting out a significant part of your audience. It can be economic suicide for a brand to marginalise a section of the population in today’s climate, making this a crucial service for businesses.

7. Audio Transcriptions Improve SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) deals with creating website content that shows up on search engines. It ensures that your website is listed when specific key phrases are searched. Since its inception, Google and other search engines have been biased toward text content. Search engines find audio and video difficult to understand, so they don’t appear as much in search results.

With audio transcribing services, you can seamlessly transcribe audio into easily crawlable text content. This is slightly different from a standard audio transcription as you must follow SEO best practices, including headings with targeted keywords, bulleted lists, bolded target keywords, internal and external links where applicable, and images with alt text and keywords.

With these practices implemented, your audio transcription can be indexed and crawled. Your page can now rank higher on Google, helping drive more website traffic and secure more sales.

Professional Transcription Services You Can Trust!

Investing in audio transcription is beneficial for businesses in all industries! From driving more website traffic to appealing to a broader target market, a single audio transcription can significantly impact revenue and overall business success. Unfortunately, it can also take much time to transcribe audio – something that all busy business owners are short of.

If you want the benefits of transcriptions without the time investment, we can help. We offer professional transcribing services for all recordings and audio files. We have provided professional transcription services to many UK and international institutions such as NHS, CRDF Global and more.

As a leading translation agency, we can also transcribe your audio files into other languages. This is an excellent option for businesses wanting to expand globally or connect better with the multicultural UK population. Our company is member of the Association of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. Contact us today to discuss your audio transcription project.

In today’s global economy, businesses need to market their products and services globally to remain competitive. Expanding your business worldwide may be a difficult job, but you can do it well with the aid of professional language services. This article will discuss how professional language services can help businesses sell worldwide, and the types of translator services available.

What Are Language Services?

Language services are professional services that typically include translating documents from one language to another. Some language services include:

• Translation Services: Translation of websites, documents, apps and other materials. Businesses frequently use translator services to connect with clients and partners who speak different languages.
• Interpretation Services: The aiding of oral or symbol communication between humans speaking in different ‘languages,’ perhaps simultaneously or separately, is called language interpretation. Businesses often use interpretation language services for face-to-face meetings, legal proceedings, and business negotiations.
• Transcription Services: Transcribing audio or videos into written content. Successful businesses often use transcription services to create transcripts of meetings and conference calls. Transcription can be combined with translator services to render a text version written in multiple languages.
• Localisation Services: The most in-depth of all translator services, in which the product or service is adapted to a specific region or culture. This can include changing text, graphics, and audio to reflect the cultural norms of a particular country or region.

Considerations for Expanding Your Business Globally

If you plan to market your products or services globally, it is essential to invest in language services. You can translate your website, marketing materials, product labels, and emails into multiple languages using language services. This makes it easier to connect with a new audience, form international partnerships, and succeed in foreign markets.

However, there are four factors to consider before investing in translator services and expanding your business globally.

1. Reach a Wider Audience

Making your services readily available to potential consumers is essential. In fact, it is one of the most crucial things you can do when expanding your business globally. However, not all countries speak the same language. So, translator services are crucial for achieving your desired reach.

Reaching a wider audience entails making your site and advertising resources accessible in several languages. Furthermore, customers will feel that you are serious about providing quality services. It will also give them the guarantee that you will go the extra mile to serve them. Therefore, language services are a wise investment and must be considered before you launch overseas.

However, it is essential to remember that translating your website and materials into multiple languages can be costly and time-consuming. Make sure you have the resources to do this properly before expanding into new markets using language services.

2. Use Professional Translation Services

When expanding your business into new markets, it is essential to use professional translator services. Agencies offering professional language services have the experience and expertise necessary to translate your materials into the target language. Many language service providers (LSPs) even provide specialised business translations for all important documents.

Working with a professional agency improves the chances that the target audience will understand your translations. In addition, expert business translation services can ensure that all your translations are free from errors. Make sure you research the abilities of different LSPs and choose a translation agency with an excellent reputation that meets your needs.

3. Avoid Mistakes in Translation for Your Business

One of the most important things to remember when expanding your business into new markets is to avoid translation mistakes. Errors can be costly and embarrassing, damaging the reputation of your business in the target market.

To avoid making translation mistakes, always hire a language service provider familiar with the target market’s language and culture. All good translator services rely on native speakers with professional translation experience. Professional agencies also use software and tested processes to ensure your work is accurate and authentic.

4. Provide Multilingual Customer Service & Marketing

It is critical to provide customer help in their native language while expanding your business into new regions. A language service provider can help you translate your customer service materials into multiple languages, ensuring your customers receive a high level of service. They’re also more inclined to purchase your product or service, knowing they can contact you if anything goes wrong.

Business translator services can also help you localise your marketing and advertising campaigns for specific global markets. By targeting specific international markets, you can increase your chances of success. This will help ensure that the target audience correctly interprets and receives your marketing and advertising goals.

Benefits of Language Services When Expanding Globally

When expanding your business into new markets, there are several benefits to using translator services from a reliable language services provider:

1. Increase in sales: A professional translation agency can assist you in expanding your business into new markets and selling your items and services to more customers.
2. Improved visibility: Language services will help you win a larger audience with your multilingual marketing materials, social media presence, and websites.
3. Time and money-saving: Translator services can help you save time and money by translating your marketing content quickly and accurately. This avoids setbacks and potential translation fails further down the line.
4. Improved customer relations: Business translation services can help you improve your customer relations by providing timely and accurate translations of all your customer communications.
5. Enhanced brand image: Translation services can help enhance your brand image by providing accurate and high-quality translations of your brand name and tagline. They also help maintain your brand voice in all languages.
6. Greater market penetration: High-quality language services can help you penetrate new markets more effectively by providing accurate translations of all your marketing data and localising your business website.
7. Increased revenue and profits: An expert translation service can help you increase your revenue and earnings by increasing sales through translation. Translations can also open up more international investments and opportunities.

Professional Language Services You Can Trust

Expanding your business into new markets can bring prolific results. However, language barriers can severely hinder your success in the global marketplace. Before expanding, you must consider the cost of translation and work with a professional language services provider with professional memberships such as ATC and SDL.

Renaissance Translations can be your trusted translation partner for high-quality business translations. Our project managers are ready to help you with your translation needs. And with our network of 10,000 professional translators, we can provide translator services in more than 120 languages, most industries, and any deadline. Get in touch with us today to discuss your project.

As humans, we make mistakes! This is why an editing and proofreading service is essential to the writing process. Whether you’re writing a cover letter, article, or novel, you must edit and proofread your work before sharing it with an audience. But how we proofread content is changing – online proofreading via AI software is slowly taking over the role of humans. But are online proofreading tools effective? Or will your work be full of mistakes if you proofread online?

Several options are available to you in both human and artificial intelligence forms. All these proofreading and editing options have their benefits, depending on the mistakes you are looking to remedy. This article discusses the different ways you can acquire online proofreading services and which is best suited to your requirements.

AI Online Proofreading

The first type of editing and proofreading service that we are going to discuss is AI or artificial intelligence proofreading. AI tools provide online proofreading services using natural language processing (NLP). This allows the programme to proofread online content and identify mistakes in vocabulary, spelling, grammatical, and punctuation.

For those who have never used an AI online proofreading programme before, you should know that they are pretty simple. It is as easy as copying and pasting your copy into the programme and hitting a button. Within seconds, any errors in the text will be highlighted and ready for you to edit and proofread. Some even act as add-ons to your favourite word-processing software, allowing you to make edits in real-time. No need to copy and paste; every error gets highlighted as you write.

One of the criticisms of AI online proofreading services is that they fail to take in things like tone and context. When expressing humour, colloquialisms, and common phrases, we often need to communicate outside the rules of the written word. Where AI proofreading services software will pick up on all the grammatical and structural inaccuracies, it won’t understand the complexities of context, tone, and creative expression.

Examples of AI editing and proofreading programmes are Grammarly, Google Translate, and ProWritingAid. They all work to offer grammatically, structurally, and tonally accurate text. Here is a closer look at these three market-leading options:

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is a cloud-based online proofreading tool that reviews spelling, punctuation, grammar, and delivery mistakes. It uses AI to identify errors and search for suitable replacements. You can download the app, which connects easily to many platforms and word-processing software, or copy and paste your text directly into the website to edit and proofread online.

Grammarly offers a free editing and proofreading service that provides basic spelling and grammar editing. A paid subscription is available for more thorough edits that recommend sentence structure and flow changes. While the paid subscription can be costly, its versatility and ease of use make it worthwhile. Grammarly also allows you to choose what language to edit and proofread, and enables you to set a style and tone appropriate to your writing style and content.

2. Google Translate

Google Translate isn’t your typical online proofreading application – it is more commonly used for its machine translations than to proofread online. Nevertheless, the software is versatile, supporting over 109 languages. This is possible through its online database of linguistical information gathered from documents and transcripts of the European Parliament and the United Nations.

Google Translate can thus prove helpful as an editing and proofreading service when writing content in another language. It can translate spoken words, websites, documents, mobile apps, and images. Writing your source text into the AI software and Google Translate will spit out a rendered alternative in your target language within seconds.

Unfortunately, Google Translate has come under scrutiny for its inaccuracy and mistranslations. These errors arise because all text is first translated into English before being translated into its final linguistic form. The text is translated one sentence at a time, which can significantly affect context and tone. Therefore, you should still edit and proofread your translation before distribution.

3. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a user-friendly and versatile editing and proofreading service that allows you to proofread online in real-time. By connecting directly to your preferred word processing software, the AI tool offers suggestions to replace errors in your copy. The software also helps improve your writing skills by giving tips, quizzes, videos, and articles. As far as online proofreading tools go, this software is up there with the best!

Like Grammarly, you can choose from free and paid subscription options depending on your requirements. The main downside of ProWritingAis is that it has been blamed for lag time with larger documents. Thankfully, there is an easy solution: it is recommended that you edit and proofread anything over 500 words in increments to help speed up the processing time.

Human Proofreading Services

Online proofreading services relying on AI can identify and suggest corrections on grammar, style, and plagiarism. However, AI does not consider things like tone or creative expression when employing its editing and proofreading service to your content.

While tone and context might not be as important in an academic or professional document, they could drastically change how a lack of creative expression could impact a fictional story. Tone is also crucial in all branding and marketing content, reflecting your brand voice and influencing your connection with your audience.

To edit and proofread the more “human” aspects of your work, you need a human proofreader! You can find people to proofread online through freelancing platforms, websites, or agencies. Here we take a closer look at your options.

1. Online Proofreading by Freelancers 

A professional freelance proofreader is an independent person who can edit and proofread your work for spelling, grammar, and structure. In this way, they are much like online proofreading tools. However, freelance proofreaders have the human element to identify freedom of expression, tone, and context while still editing for grammar and spelling.

Another perk of sourcing an editing and proofreading service via the freelance route is that you can establish expectations directly with the individual rather than the company they work for. This gives you the freedom to bargain towards more mutually agreeable terms. Freelancers often take on a variety of clients and work independently.

In the past, it was challenging to work with freelancers. Knowing which freelancers could be trusted was difficult, and there wasn’t always a guaranteed sense of security for either party. Thankfully, the internet has made it a safer place to hire freelancers and find someone reliable to proofread online content. Here are some top tips on finding someone worth hiring:

• Establish the terms of the job, your expectations, and what you are willing to pay before contacting any freelancers. This makes it easier when approaching freelancers to weed out candidates who are not adequately qualified or experienced.
• Check out the websites and social media profiles of anyone that you’re interested in working with. Freelancers showcase their reviews, portfolios, rates, and more online. This gives you a good indication of their standard of work and expectations.
• Provide as many details about the job and your expectations as possible. One of the reasons people go freelance is because they get to decide whom they work with. The more they know about your project, the easier it is for them to determine if you’re an appropriate match.

2. Freelancing Platforms

If you’re unsure about working with freelancers directly, websites like Upwork and Freelancer.com are excellent options. Upwork is a freelancer platform that people worldwide use to hire for both long-term and short-term projects. You can use it to add permanent staff members to your team or hire someone to complete a single project for you.

Like Upwork, Freelancer is a platform that brings freelancer talent to potential jobs and makes it easy to find someone that can reliably proofread online content. Both websites work in similar ways:

1. You submit an advertisement for an editing and proofreading service job that you want to be done. The ad should illustrate the job requirements, expectations, and pay range.
2. Freelancers offering online proofreading can bid on your job via the freelancing website.
3. You review the bid, profiles, and qualifications of each applicant. Once you find someone you want to edit and proofread your content, send a contract to make the hiring official.
4. You then submit your payment for the project, which is held in escrow.
5. You receive and approve the work, and then agree to release the funds to the freelancer.

When hiring a freelance proofreader, there can be some initial uncertainty. However, hiring a freelancer can be a relatively inexpensive way to get a job completed to your standards.

3. Proofreading Services by Companies

Rather than hiring a freelancer to edit and proofread your content, you can hire companies offering professional editing and proofreading services. This is your best option when dealing with important content, such as legal documents. Unlike working with freelance proofreaders or those who proofread AI, the results will be guaranteed.

When acquiring online proofreading services, many companies are available. They will take your copy and pass it to one of their in-house professional proofreaders. These are professional linguists who represent that company. From this point, the company assumes all responsibility for the project until you are satisfied with the results.

The problem with using companies that provide online proofreading services is that they can be costly. Unlike freelance and AI options, there is more overhead involved with running a company. These extra operating costs are typically rolled into the costs of an online proofread. However, these additional fees are also what allows these companies to guarantee job satisfaction.

Human vs AI: What’s the Verdict?

Whether you choose AI software, a freelancer, or a proofreading company to edit and proofread your work, there is one thing that all three choices have in common: They all have the fundamentals of being able to proofread your content well. All three options can identify and offer replacements for spelling, grammar, structure, tone, and style errors.

Nevertheless, each has its benefits. Online proofreading tools have the edge in offering perfection. They can write without human error and stick to all language rules. On the other hand, the human element in freelance proofreaders and companies that offer an editing and proofreading service allows for tone and creative expression.

The best option for an accurate online proofread is thus a combination. By combining the efficacy of AI proofreading with the sense of artistic expression that a freelancer can ensure, you’re guaranteed the best results.

Professional Proofreading Services You Can Trust

When hiring someone to edit and proofread your work, the options are almost endless. All one needs to do is google “editing and proofreading service” to get twenty pages of results! Alternatively, you can go straight to the professionals at Renaissance Translations.

We have pooled the talents of native translators and thousands of professional linguists internationally to offer a reliable online proofreading service to global clients. One of our experienced proofreaders will ensure your manuscript is grammatically, structurally, and stylistically perfect. Add the reliability you get from hiring an accredited business, and our service is an even better option.

We offer impeccable proofreading services at reasonable prices. Contact us today to let us know how we can help proofread online content for your business, or you can simply request a quote online on our website.