Translation Crowdsourcing is Good for Business

Many articles have been studied about crowdsourcing for translation companies and there are a number of reasons why crowdsourcing takes place.  Most benefits are due to factors that can be found in all types of translation work. 

The cost of translation is important to translation companies but it does not always figure as the most important reason for crowd sourcing. It is hard to understand why this is the case especially when companies like Facebook has got its site  translated into 70 languages using no less than 100,000 words in each. With a price tag of around 10 cents a word this could attract a bill of around $US 7 million. 

Adam Wooten from Globalization Group Inc. states that crowd sourcing costs maybe more than more traditional professional German translations. Perhaps the reason that saving costs are not seen as important is the difficulty persuading users to do translations for free just to increase company profits. It is not surprising that professional translators sometimes do not favour translation crowdsourcing for for-profit companies.

The speed of translation speed is usually regarded as the key reason for crowdsourcing for translation. A good example is the translation of Face book into French. When 4,000 users of Facebook translated the complete site into French in a 24 hour period it could most likely have won the prize for the quickest translation ever. That speed of translation would be just about impossible to achieve with translation organised in a traditional way.  When Facebook overtook MySpace it occurred because of the international user base.

Translation crowdsourcing means a single user base can translate into many languages with a minimum of organisation.

Some people think that the user base produce far better quality English German translation than traditional translators as they have a better understanding of the subject. It is quite safe to assume that crowdsourcing quality is more than adequate. 

Facebook says 300,000 users have completed translations and with more than 500,000,000 users that is 6 in about 10,000 users. 

In summary speed is of the greatest importance to translation crowdsourcing and quality seems to be good too if Facebook and Twitter are used as examples. About quality there are differing views but we can say for certain that at least Facebook and Twitter have achieved good quality translations to draw their supporters.

What a Translator Puts in Reflects the Quality of the Translation

This is without a doubt a true statement when it comes to translation. Machine translators are an example of the effects of bad input, so it is necessary to ensure that all input is relevant and accurate. A machine translator works on the basis of what has been fed in reflects what it is able to translate accurately when it is given a translation task.  It is particularly important with translations that are prepared with localisation in mind that the correct words are used for the audience, otherwise it will have difficulty understanding the true context.

Most translation companies have devised a checking tool so that it ensures that each translation matches the target audience. There is one important but often overlooked fact and that is the way punctuation and sentence structure can impact on the reader. For example, long sentences and long words are difficult for some readers to understand.  The target audience will detect how the words, sentences and paragraphs should be organised in a text. Some people simply have better grasp of their own language and can tolerate reading more complex vocabulary while others can’t. If you, as a translator, get this wrong your translation could be a complete waste of time as it could be falling on deaf ears.

Not all people who seek translations necessarily understand how difficult it is to translate some texts accurately as the context may be unfamiliar to the German English translator. Often, some research may be necessary on behalf of the translator before an accurate translation can be undertaken. It is quite surprising how when a client receives a translation he or she does not think it reflects the message he or she is trying to convey. 

When the translation is checked for accuracy it is frequently discovered that the translation is quite correct and the problem is more to do with what the client has asked to be translated as it does not quite suit the target audience that he wanted. 

If you are seeking an English German translation that you wish others to see you should ensure the information you want translated suits the target audience it is intended for.