The Korean language is complex and the cultural aspect that ties in with it makes machine translation less desirable than human translation. While there’s certainly room and space for machine translation in the business world, human translation has proven to be more effective. Whether in marketing, sales, official documentation, legal, social, governmental, or more – human translation is undoubtedly the best way to translate English to Korean. Here are three important reasons why.
Human Translation for Korean Has Better Accuracy and Quality
Human translation for Korean is proven to be more effective than machine translation. Machine translation has an accuracy of around 80% to 90% whereas human translation has an accuracy of 100%. Especially if the translation is performed by a qualified translator. There are several reasons for this. For one, machines are unable to pick up on creativity and translate those aspects into a tangible and quality finished product. Meanwhile, human translation takes into account the environment including social, economic, political, and business factors.
What’s more, is that the specific expertise of the translator comes through prominently as they’re also able to take these aspects into account to ensure that the meaning conveyed from the source language to the target language is accurate and of a high-quality standard. Machine translation can’t pick up on these cultural and environmental factors and this means that the quality of the translation will be much lower than a human translation.
In essence, human translators borrow knowledge from their environment, which a machine cannot do or be programmed to do. This is because machine translation lacks the context in which the language is used. In essence, machines attempt to form grammatically sound sentence structures by taking words and phrases and translating them into the target language. But they do not have the capacity to sift through context and environmental factors in order to produce a 100% accurate and quality translation.
Phrases and Intention Stay The Same
As mentioned earlier, Korean is a complex language. When it comes to English to Korean, in order for a text to be translated right, it is necessary for the translator to go beyond the mere translating of words and phrases to create a meaningful sentence. For example, metaphors and idioms are words that are paired together in an unusual manner and they create a specific meaning with wit and intelligence. While a machine cannot pick up on this, a human translator can. The same applies to slang words and language that is used in informal contexts, which a machine is unable to do.
Furthermore, a human translator can ensure that the meaning of the translation remains the same as the source language and that it is kept intact together with the underlying intention of the language that is used. This boosts the translation’s reliability as terminology and phraseology can be adjusted to offer the right meaning instead of nonsensical sentences that are irrelevant and unhelpful and which can have negative results in any environment such as loss of business reputation in a cultural context.
Also, human translation is more powerful than machines when it comes to Korean translation, which is more prone to technological loopholes including loss of network, viruses, spam and anything else that may interfere with the translation content.
There are also legal and governmental regulations, which must be factored into the translation equation in addition to the fact of the language in its pure form in the sense that Korean, for example, doesn’t have multiple tenses like English does and taking this into account is essential for a quality translation.
And perhaps most importantly, human translation is much more powerful when it comes to English to Korean translations in the context of technical language. Humans are much better capable of translating technical documents with more precision and accuracy than machines because of their detailed knowledge and background that a machine is unable to absorb. This is because a human translator is capable of translating a document with the exact meaning, style, and tone as depicted in the source language.
Knowledge of Korean Culture
Korean culture is deeply embedded in the language itself. You will not be able to step into an elevator or even purchase bubble gum without hearing the polite “-yo” at the end of a sentence uttered by a speaker. This is because honorifics and respect play such a crucial role in the culture. There are numerous hierarchical relationships and multiple ways you can greet someone depending on their age and relationship to you. This is absent in English and a meaningful translation should be able to take this into consideration.
When performing a Korean translation, this requires deep knowledge of these cultural aspects as well as cultural sensitivity, which a machine cannot be trained to pick up on. Hence, human translation is capable of taking into account cultural norms and values because the translators themselves are native speakers who have broad knowledge and experience with not only the language but the culture as well. As a result, human translation can create a higher level of authenticity and retain originality as opposed to machine translation.
Human Translation Trumps Machine Translation
In order to have a document, website, marketing text, or legal piece translated right from English to Korean, it is critical to use human translation for this purpose. Due to the complexity of the language and the deeply ingrained cultural norms, a Korean translation requires the human touch for accuracy, reliability, authenticity, and quality, which a machine can simply not achieve. This translates into multiple benefits for a business or governmental organization including more accuracy, a better reputation, fewer errors, and fewer translation gaffes, incorrect translations, nonsensical sentences, and more. As a result, human translation is highly recommended when it comes to English to Korean translation requirements of any institution or organization.