If you are looking to reach a global audience quickly and at minimum cost, post-editing is the way to go. Here is everything you need to know about light and full post-editing. 

What is post-editing?

Machine translation post-editing (MTPE) is where human translators review and edit machine-translated content. This means you get all the cost and time benefits of machine translation (MT) together with the quality of a human translation. MT technology represents a real breakthrough for the language industry, although it still has its drawbacks.  

Engines are not yet able to pick up on subtle cultural differences and linguistic nuances, lacking the sensitivity of a human translator. The quality also varies depending on both the language combination and the resources available for engine training. As a result, MT does not always deliver reliable results. 

This is where post-editing comes into play. Using the right techniques, professionally trained post-editors can process machine-translated texts to ensure natural, fluent and reliable results. 

What are the benefits of post-editing?

• Quality comparable to professional human translation 
• Faster turnaround times, even with high-volume projects 
• Significantly reduced costs compared to human translations 
• Consistency throughout the translated material 

By combining MT with a readily available translation memory and CAT tools, we can guarantee consistent terminology throughout your translation. Post-editing then makes sure the translation is coherent, while also taking care of any grammatical, stylistic or wording issues.  

This MT editing process is well-suited to technical texts, and can even produce good results with highly specialised content. Once complete, the post-edited content can be used for training customised MT engines ready for future projects. This will save you even more time and money in the long run.  

How does it work?

First, before a text is machine-translated, it goes through a process known as pre-editing. At this stage, adjustments and tweaks are made to the original content to improve the quality of raw MT output. Ideally, pre-editing methods are combined with the use of computer-assisted translation tools and existing translation memories to achieve the best results. 

Depending on our clients’ needs and expected results, we then go ahead with either light of full post-editing. 

Light post-editing

Light post-editing involves a human post-editor making minimal corrections to the translation. These are limited to edits that are absolutely necessary to make the translated text understandable. It covers major errors in grammar and spelling, as well as any inaccuracies that could alter the meaning or cause confusion.  

As a result, stylistic and terminological consistency is not guaranteed. While the final text is delivered fast and conveys the original meaning, it might not sound fluent.  

Full post-editing

Full post-editing is more in-depth, incorporating all the basics covered by light-post-editing with any necessary structural and stylistic amendments. The final text reads naturally in the target language and preserves the tone of the source text. This is a more time consuming process, but it produces high-quality results.  

Terminology is consistently and accurately translated, and the content is successfully localised to suit the target audience. Full post-edited texts will read as though they were originally written in the target language. 

Find the right language experts for your project

At Intertranslations, we help you cut costs and save time without sacrificing quality.

Our company is ISO 17100:2015, ISO 9001:2015 and 18587:2017 certified, and we specialise in both light and full MTPE. Using our advanced NMT software, we have processed over 10 million words in more than 50 different language pairs with excellent results. 

After we have assessed your needs, our team of trained post-editing experts will help you choose the right post-editing solution for your project. This will depend on the language combination and how you intend to use the translation, as well as the quality of the machine translation output. 

Guiding you through every step of the process, we will make sure that your post-edited content successfully gets your message across. For fast translations that meet your needs, get in touch with our post-editing specialists today.