Machine translation (MT) is translation performed by a computer without human intervention. Launched in the 1950s, machine translation is also known as automatic, automated, or instantaneous translation.
There are two types of machine translation: one that is based on rules and another that is based on statistics.
For example, if we enter McDonald’s slogan “I’m lovin it” into Apertium a free machine translation platform, the result we get in Spanish is “Soy lovin lo”— total nonsense.
Literary translation is the area that perhaps best demonstrates the limitations of machine translation. When translating One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) by Colombian writer García Márquez, translator Gregory Rabassa had to confront multiple challenges, including how to translate the title of such an acclaimed novel. In his memoir, If This Be Treason, he said that the translation of the novel’s title required precision and a bit of poetry. “Cien” could be translated as “One Hundred” or “A Hundred”. Rabassa decided to go with the former because he believed that García Márquez had a specific period of time in mind. Another decision he had to make was how to translate “soledad”, which in English could be either “loneliness” or “solitude”. Therefore, the final title One Hundred Years of Solitude was the result of the translator’s in-depth analysis of multiple semantic and poetic factors, which a machine translation engine would never have been able to do.
Another area where the human factor is key is in legal translation because the translator must not only know the corresponding legal formulas but also have extensive knowledge of comparative law and the different fields of law. An error in the interpretation of a contract clause or the content of a judgment can have severe consequences.
To demonstrate the strengths and limitations of MT, we took a special power of attorney written in Spanish and entered it into the machine translation platform Systran. The result of the MT is provided below, along with a professional human translation for comparison purposes.
| ORIGINAL | MACHINE TRANSLATION | PROFESSIONAL (HUMAN) TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|
| Ante mí, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notario del Ilustre Colegio de Madrid, | Before me, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notary of the Illustrious College of Madrid, | Before me, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notary Public of the Illustrious Association of Notaries Public of Madrid, |
| COMPARECE: DON JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, mayor de edad, de doble nacionalidad filipina y española, soltero, domiciliado y residente en Negros Oriental, Filipinas, con D.N.I. español número 0019753P. | IT APPEARS: DON JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, adult, dual Filipino and Spanish nationality, single, domiciled and resident in Negros Oriental, Philippines, with Spanish ID number 0019753P. | THERE APPEARS: MR JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, of age, with Philippine and Spanish dual citizenship, domiciled and residing in Negros Oriental, Philippines, holding Spanish Identity Card (DNI) No. 019753P. |
| INTERVIENE en su propio nombre y derecho. Le identifico por la documentación exhibida y le juzgo con capacidad legal necesaria para otorgar la presente escritura de PODER GENERAL, y a tal efecto, | INTERVENES in his own name and right. I identify you by the documentation displayed and Judge you with the legal capacity necessary to grant this writ of GENERAL POWER, and to that effect, | HE ACTS on his behalf and in his own right. I have identified him through the documentation shown and, in my opinion, he has sufficient legal capacity to execute this deed of POWER-OF-ATTORNEY and, for that purpose, |
| OTORGA: | GRANTS: | HE STATES THAT: |
| Que confiere poder a favor de DON JUAN GONZALEZ, con D.N.I. número 5209998J, y DON VICENTE FERNANDEZ, con Pasaporte filipino número P9328838A, para que cualquiera de ellos, si bien establece expresamente el poderdante el orden de actuación antes reseñado por parte de los apoderados, en su nombre y representación, y aunque incidan en la figura jurídica de autocontratación o múltiple representación, así como salvando el conflicto de interés o intereses contrapuestos puedan ejercitar -CON CARÁCTER SOLIDARIO e INDISTINTO- las siguientes FACULTADES: | Conferring power in favor of DON JUAN GONZALEZ, with ID number 5209998J,and DON VICENTE FERNANDEZ with Philippine Passport numberP9328838A,so that any of them, while expressly establishing the order of action outlined above by the proxies, in their name and representation, and even if they affect the legal figure of self-employment or multiple representation, as well as saving the conflict of interest or conflicting interests, may exercise –IN SOLIDARITY and INDISTINCT CHARACTER– the following POWERS: | He grants a power-of-attorney in favour of MR JUAN GONZALEZ, holding National Identity Card (DNI) No. 5209998J, and MR VICENTE FERNANDEZ, holding Philippine Passport No. P9328838A, so that either one may exercise the following POWERS INDISTINCTIVELY AND JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY on his account and behalf, even if involving self-contracting or multiple-party representation, except for any conflict of interests or the existence of opposite interests: |
| a) Realizar toda clase de actos de administración, sea ordinaria o plena y de disposición a título oneroso, sobre toda clase de bienes, sean muebles, inmuebles, semovientes, derechos u otros cualesquiera, pudiendo en consecuencia, constituir y extinguir derechos reales, aceptar hipotecas, arrendar, traspasar y pactar aparcerías, incluso tratándose de arrendamientos inscribibles | a) To carry out all kinds of administrative acts, whether ordinary or full and disposed of for consideration, in respect of all types of property, whether movable, immovable, movable, rights or any other property, thereby constituting and extinguishing rights in rem, accepting mortgages, leasing, transferring and agreeing sharecroppers, including in the case of registrable leases. | a) Performing all types of ordinary or full management acts or acts of disposal for consideration concerning all kinds of assets –personal or real property and cattle–, rights or any other assets, thus being able to create or extinguish rights in rem, accept mortgages, lease, make sharecropping transfers and enter into sharecropping agreements, even in the case of registrable leases. |
| Así lo dice y otorga el señor compareciente, después de hechas por mí, las reservas y advertencias legales, incluso la relativa a la lectura de esta matriz, manifestando haberla leído por sí y encontrarla conforme, por lo que consiente y firma. | This is what the Lord who appears before me says and gives the legal reservations and warnings, including those relating to the reading of this matrix, stating that he read it himself and found it to be compliant, so that he consents and signs. | This is so stated by the appearing party, after the reserves and legal warnings made by me, including the reading of this notarial record. He further states that he has read it by himself and has accepted it and, therefore, he consents to and signs it. |
| ORIGINAL |
|---|
| Ante mí, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notario del Ilustre Colegio de Madrid, |
| COMPARECE: DON JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, mayor de edad, de doble nacionalidad filipina y española, soltero, domiciliado y residente en Negros Oriental, Filipinas, con D.N.I. español número 0019753P. |
| INTERVIENE en su propio nombre y derecho. Le identifico por la documentación exhibida y le juzgo con capacidad legal necesaria para otorgar la presente escritura de PODER GENERAL, y a tal efecto, |
| OTORGA: |
| Que confiere poder a favor de DON JUAN GONZALEZ, con D.N.I. número 5209998J, y DON VICENTE FERNANDEZ, con Pasaporte filipino número P9328838A, para que cualquiera de ellos, si bien establece expresamente el poderdante el orden de actuación antes reseñado por parte de los apoderados, en su nombre y representación, y aunque incidan en la figura jurídica de autocontratación o múltiple representación, así como salvando el conflicto de interés o intereses contrapuestos puedan ejercitar -CON CARÁCTER SOLIDARIO e INDISTINTO- las siguientes FACULTADES: |
| a) Realizar toda clase de actos de administración, sea ordinaria o plena y de disposición a título oneroso, sobre toda clase de bienes, sean muebles, inmuebles, semovientes, derechos u otros cualesquiera, pudiendo en consecuencia, constituir y extinguir derechos reales, aceptar hipotecas, arrendar, traspasar y pactar aparcerías, incluso tratándose de arrendamientos inscribibles |
| Así lo dice y otorga el señor compareciente, después de hechas por mí, las reservas y advertencias legales, incluso la relativa a la lectura de esta matriz, manifestando haberla leído por sí y encontrarla conforme, por lo que consiente y firma. |
| MACHINE TRANSLATION |
|---|
| Before me, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notary of the Illustrious College of Madrid, |
| IT APPEARS: DON JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, adult, dual Filipino and Spanish nationality, single, domiciled and resident in Negros Oriental, Philippines, with Spanish ID number 0019753P. |
| INTERVENES in his own name and right. I identify you by the documentation displayed and Judge you with the legal capacity necessary to grant this writ of GENERAL POWER, and to that effect, |
| GRANTS: |
| Conferring power in favor of DON JUAN GONZALEZ, with ID number 5209998J,and DON VICENTE FERNANDEZ with Philippine Passport numberP9328838A,so that any of them, while expressly establishing the order of action outlined above by the proxies, in their name and representation, and even if they affect the legal figure of self-employment or multiple representation, as well as saving the conflict of interest or conflicting interests, may exercise –IN SOLIDARITY and INDISTINCT CHARACTER– the following POWERS: |
| a) To carry out all kinds of administrative acts, whether ordinary or full and disposed of for consideration, in respect of all types of property, whether movable, immovable, movable, rights or any other property, thereby constituting and extinguishing rights in rem, accepting mortgages, leasing, transferring and agreeing sharecroppers, including in the case of registrable leases. |
| This is what the Lord who appears before me says and gives the legal reservations and warnings, including those relating to the reading of this matrix, stating that he read it himself and found it to be compliant, so that he consents and signs. |
| TRADUCCIÓN (HUMANA) PROFESIONAL |
|---|
| Before me, CARLOS FERNANDEZ PEREZ, Notary Public of the Illustrious Association of Notaries Public of Madrid, |
| THERE APPEARS: MR JOSÉ RODRIGUEZ, of age, with Philippine and Spanish dual citizenship, domiciled and residing in Negros Oriental, Philippines, holding Spanish Identity Card (DNI) No. 019753P. |
| HE ACTS on his behalf and in his own right. I have identified him through the documentation shown and, in my opinion, he has sufficient legal capacity to execute this deed of POWER-OF-ATTORNEY and, for that purpose, |
| HE STATES THAT: |
| He grants a power-of-attorney in favour of MR JUAN GONZALEZ, holding National Identity Card (DNI) No. 5209998J, and MR VICENTE FERNANDEZ, holding Philippine Passport No. P9328838A, so that either one may exercise the following POWERS INDISTINCTIVELY AND JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY on his account and behalf, even if involving self-contracting or multiple-party representation, except for any conflict of interests or the existence of opposite interests: |
| a) Performing all types of ordinary or full management acts or acts of disposal for consideration concerning all kinds of assets –personal or real property and cattle–, rights or any other assets, thus being able to create or extinguish rights in rem, accept mortgages, lease, make sharecropping transfers and enter into sharecropping agreements, even in the case of registrable leases. |
| This is so stated by the appearing party, after the reserves and legal warnings made by me, including the reading of this notarial record. He further states that he has read it by himself and has accepted it and, therefore, he consents to and signs it. |
Machine translation can be used when the goal is to get the “general idea” of a text, especially short fragments like menus, signs or articles. It can also be useful in asking for directions, finding out what ingredients are in a dish or checking the price of something.
It’s important to remember that machine translation involves a “word-for-word” translation, so it can sometimes mistranslate entire phrases or paragraphs. Therefore, human intervention is always needed to understand the complete context around those words.
With that in mind, Google made a great leap when it started to use the neural network for translation. Until then, MT programs were based on syntactical and statistical translation, understanding words in an isolated way. The use of artificial intelligence has made these programs begin to understand texts as a whole by putting details into context.
These MT engines may sometimes produce a more or less exact translation, but when you read it, something just doesn’t flow right… In every culture, people have a different way of reasoning that is grounded in their language and that is reflected in the way they structure their speech and writing. In Romance languages, for example, the degree of subordination of ideas is greater than in Germanic languages. Therefore, the outcome is usually a literal translation that can provide a general idea but does not communicate it well.
