What is Machine Translation Post-Editing?

When time and budget constraints are more pressing than the need to produce a top-notch text, pushing a source text through a translation engine like Google Translate is a cheap and easy solution.

Machine translation has come a long way since the first attempts all the way back in 1933. Sometimes, a machine can translate as well as or even better than a human, especially when sentences are short and simple. However, machines aren't human, and they struggle with nuance, implied meaning, idioms, colloquialisms and other aspects of language that differentiate us from computers. The results can often just a bit 'off' at best and gibberish at worst, and the text will often need to be post-edited before it can be used.

Machine translation post-editing or MTPE/PEMT involves checking a translation done by a machine and improving it. It's different from revision, review, and proofreading in that the aim is not always to produce a perfect text. A post-edit might mean just tweaking a text slightly so that it makes sense. Or it could mean rewriting it to make it indistinguishable from human translation.

Please note that while I check my work thoroughly, machine translation post-editing does not include a full proofread. I strongly advise having the post-edited text proofread if it is intended for external and/or long-term use. Even when you factor in the extra cost of proofreading, post-editing can still be a cheaper option than having the text translated from scratch by a human translator. To find out what post-editing and proofreading cost, see the revision & proofreading rates page.

I offer MTPE in three versions: light, standard and full. Here's what each level of post-editing involves.

Light post-edit

A light post-edit makes minimal changes so that the text is comprehensible. Because the quality will still be quite low, this approach is best reserved for texts that are needed quickly, have a short lifespan, and aren't intended for external use.

In a light post-edit, I'll carry out spelling, grammar, and punctuation checks for major issues with the help of automated checkers. I'll make sure that everything has been translated, and that there are no problematic mistranslations. However, I will not check whether specific terminology has been used or that terms have been used consistently. A light post-edit doesn't involve stylistic changes, so I'll only rewrite or reword where this is necessary to make the text understandable.

Standard post-edit

A standard post-edit involves a bit more intervention. Here, as well as making sure that the text is understandable, I'll make a few stylistic changes to make it more readable and remove anything that sounds jarringly unnatural in English. The quality will be good enough for external use, but only for texts with a short lifespan or where the quality is not so important.

I'll use multiple automated checkers to check for major and minor spelling and grammar issues and see that punctuation has been used correctly and consistently. I'll then give the text a quick check myself, usually with a skim read and some manual spot checks to catch most of the things the automated checkers might have missed. This is a quick check rather than a full proofread.

I'll make sure that everything has been translated, and that there are no problematic mistranslations. If a termbase or glossary is provided, I'll make sure that key terms have been used correctly and consistently.

Full post-edit

In a full post-edit, the aim is to produce a high-quality text that is indistinguishable from human translation. It includes all the checks in a standard post-edit but goes further, addressing structure, style, tone, flow, and localisation. Where necessary, the text will be rewritten to more closely resemble the voice of the source text and to suit the target audience. I'll also do a full manual check for spelling and grammar issues. However, please note that this is not a full proofread. I strongly recommend having the post-edited text proofread if it is intended for external and/or long-term use.