Disadvantage to Using a Translator

by Becca
(UK)

Becca asked: What is the disadvantage of using a translator?



The Spanish Translator: Thanks for the question, Becca, but to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what you are asking. Are you wondering what the disadvantages are to using an online translator, or are you asking what the disadvantages are to using a real-live translator?

I'm going to assume that you want to know why it's not always a good idea to use automatic translators, and answer that question here.

The main disadvantage to using automatic translators is that they are on the whole less accurate than professional human translators. Online translators rely on statistical processing, dictionary lookup, and other methods to translate and aren't always capable of capturing meta-linguistic features of the language. For the most part, computers don't "understand" things like irony, sarcasm, or cultural nuances that exist in language, and that is why professional translators will always find employment.

I put some online translators to the test a while ago and you can see how they performed at the page on Free Spanish Translation.

Hope that answers your question!