How accurate is Google Translate? That’s the biggest question posed when it comes to deciding if it’s worth using, especially when the standards for accuracy increase every year while the patience for reading subpar content decreases in tandem. When it comes to determining the accuracy of Google Translate, it becomes more complex than assigning a simple accuracy percentage.
Determining the accuracy poses the question: “What is accuracy?” By definition, being accurate means being free from mistakes or errors. But in an extremely broad language like English, who determines which translations are mistaken?
For instance, let’s say you translated the following sentence, “He put a band on her finger.” While technically accurate, the client or consumer reading the sentence may see choosing the word “band” instead of “ring” as a mistake. This example demonstrates the answer to the question of how accurate Google Translate is in 2022—it depends on the context of the writing.
As we stated above, the biggest factor in how accurate Google Translate will be for you depends on the context of your content. Google Translate works best for long-form text with simple sentence structure.
Using standardized, non-colloquial text will give you your best chance of receiving a pretty accurate machine translation. The more context given in the standardized sentences, the more accurate the translation will be. For example, the word “liability” has several different meanings. Without additional context relating to the use of the word, Google Translate may not pick the correct definition for your content.
Another factor affecting how accurate Google Translate will be is the amount of data for the language you’re translating. The more data there is, the higher the probability of accuracy. While most internet content is in English, German only shows up in 2% of web pages. This discrepancy would make it harder for Google Translate to give you a highly accurate German translation. The following chart shows how context and data changes can affect Google Translate accuracy:
When using Google Translate with technical, simple content suited for a more accurate outcome, accuracy percentages can be close to 90%, requiring only 10% to be edited for a high-quality translation. The problem is that 10% could easily render content incomprehensible and usually requires a subject matter expert who knows exactly what needs to be changed in the context. That’s why the best outcomes are usually achieved by combining machine and human translation.
Using Google Translate as an Asset
At Bureau Works, we don’t use Google Translate as a sole translator. We combine it with Microsoft Translator for an initial translation round, followed by editing done by an expert linguist that understands the context and what changes need to be made and in-depth quality reviews to ensure the highest level of accuracy possible. We understand that accuracy isn’t a simple, black-and-white concept in language.
The more communication evolves, the more complex the standard of accuracy becomes. We also know that our linguists need to evolve with it to tackle challenges such as gender neutrality, hom*onyms, etc., and make sure translated content meets your business’ standards. Our definition of accuracy is providing a localization management platform that makes certain content is error-free and that it’s understood and enjoyable for any new market.
Bureau Works provides a robust platform that focuses on accuracy and success without the hassle. Contact our team today to learn how our solutions can help you.
Well, the short answer is this: Yes, Google Translate is very accurate for the most part. In some cases, it's 94%+ accurate! In fact, it's one of the top-rated translation tools when it comes to translation accuracy, though the exact accuracy will depend on the language pairs that you've chosen.
A 2021 study conducted by the UCLA Medical Center found that Google Translate preserved the overall meaning for 82.5% of the translations. But the accuracy between languages spanned 55% to 94%. Sometimes, Google Translate's precision is shockingly good.
Therefore, Google Translate will often give nonsensical translations, not representing the original meaning. In addition, teachers are immediately able to identify the use of electronic translations because the language used falls outside the language taught in the classroom.
Such automatic translation is in fact based on statistical occurrence. Google has developed enormous databases of existing content translations prepared by human professionals over many years, considered to be of high accuracy and reliability.
DeepL. DeepL is one of the best Google Translate alternatives for people who really value accuracy, especially when it comes to grasping context and local idioms.
Well, the short answer is this: Yes, Google Translate is very accurate for the most part. In some cases, it's 94%+ accurate! In fact, it's one of the top-rated translation tools when it comes to translation accuracy, though the exact accuracy will depend on the language pairs that you've chosen.
At the same time, translations of Bengali, Haitian Creole, and Tajik failed 100% of the time. In addition, languages at which Google Translate failed 80% or more of the time were Kurdish, Nepali, Latin, Malaysian, Urdu, Maori, Cebuano, Georgian, Persian, Punjabi, and Uzbek.
Google Translate uses neural networks to translate content. These networks are made up of many layers and make connections between words, much like a human brain, to deliver more accurate translations.
Ambiguity: When a word or phrase has multiple meanings, Google Translate may choose the wrong one if there isn't enough context to determine the intended meaning.Gender and pronoun issues: Some languages have gendered nouns and pronouns, which can lead to inaccuracies in translation.
The biggest reason why you shouldn't rely on Google Translate for last-minute translations is accuracy. Simply put, Google Translate isn't as accurate as a skilled human translator. For Google Translate to provide pristine results, a few conditions must be met.
Since its inception in 2006, it has become one of the top-rated machine translation (MT) tools, currently supporting 133 languages, having added 24 in 2022. Accuracy varies depending on language pair and content type, though some reports show Google Translate reaching 94% accuracy.
It's hard to give a single conclusion for accuracy because it depends in some part on the specific language pairs that you're translating. However, DeepL generally fares a bit better than Google Translate in blind tests, especially when it comes to European language pairs.
When using Google Translate with technical, simple content suited for a more accurate outcome, accuracy percentages can be close to 90%, requiring only 10% to be edited for a high-quality translation.
A 2021 UCLA Medical Center study found that Google Translate preserved the overall meaning in 82.5% of English-Spanish translations. However, the same study also found a wider accuracy range of 55% to 94% across all language pairs.
In general, DeepL has a very good reputation for translation accuracy, especially when it comes to understanding context and creating more natural, human-sounding translations. You'll see this sentiment almost universally expressed when talking about DeepL translation accuracy.
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