I have defined some of the words (underlined) in the blog post, which you can add to your Personal Dictionary. Click on the Excel icon to download the word list to your PC or mobile device, which you can thereafter import into your Personal Dictionary. They are also listed below.
Scroll down to the bottom for links to a crossword and word search using words from this post.
Essential – absolutely necessary; extremely important
Majority – the greater number
Launch – introduce a new product to the public for the first time
Reliable – consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted
Competitor – an organisation engaged in commercial or economic competition with others
Terms and conditions – the rules, specifications, and requirements of a contract
Encryption – the method by which information is converted into secret code that hides the information’s true meaning
Confidential – private or restricted information
Feedback – reactions to a product, a person’s performance of a task
Subtitles – captions displayed at the bottom of a cinema or television screen that translate the dialogue
Evidently – in a way that is clearly seen or understood; obviously
Veracity – accuracy of facts
Disclaimer – a statement that denies something, especially responsibility
Precise – exactness and accuracy of detail
Old-fashioned – no longer current; not modern
Just recently, I asked some of my students, which websites were essential for their day-to-day business. Naturally, Google search was on everyone’s list, and their translation website too. A couple of days later, I was reading an article that Google had added a further 24 languages to Google Translate, bringing the total to 133. Moreover, I’m quite certain that the majority of people reading this, will have used an online translator service within the past 7 days, as well.
Therefore, we can’t deny that this type of tool has become an essential assistant for our daily business. Another big player, particularly on the German market, is the Cologne-based company, Deepl, which launched in 2017, and according to some, offers a more reliable translation than its competitors. But how safe is our data when we use these services? According to Deepl’s terms and conditions, only their premium service offers an end-to-end encryption service, when transferring data, with the option to delete it once the translation has been done. Does this mean that most people using Deepl are potentially handing over confidential data? If so, what would Deepl do with it anyway? No doubt, our translations are only used to improve their service. That said, wouldn’t they need to ask for our feedback? In the 4 years or so since I started using Deepl, I’ve never been asked.
A few years ago, I used Google’s service to translate the subtitles of my YouTube videos into approximately 30 different languages. I had absolutely no way of knowing if they were correct but thought that even if they were only 80% okay, that would still be better than nothing. However, as I started to get more popular on the video platform, I started to get comments on my videos. Evidently, some of my (well, Google’s) translations had wildly different connotations, which had confused the viewers greatly. Furthermore, I got a call from a Polish friend of mine, who couldn’t contain his laughter after watching my latest video. I cannot repeat what my translation meant in Polish, but, needless to say, I deleted the subtitle text immediately.
Therefore, can we ever be ever sure of the veracity of our translation? I guess if we have a good command of the language we are translating into, we can be reasonably sure. Or should we attach a disclaimer to our translation that if there is an error, artificial intelligence is to blame for our work?
My opinion is, Google, Deepl and co, are perfectly okay for checking the basic meaning of text, but for a more precise translation, the old-fashioned method has to be preferred.
What do you think? Let me know your opinion.
To test your knowledge, why not do a crossword puzzle, using words from this text?
Click here for instructions on how to play.
To test your knowledge, why not do a word search puzzle, using words from this text?
Click here for instructions on how to play.
To avoid spam, all comments will be held for moderation and posted once checked. All comments whether positive or negative will be published.
