It’s no surprise that so much of the new technology being produced is focused on communication. Every year, new versions of familiar devices appear on the market with updated apps and features to connect friends, family, and teams over long distances with ever greater ease. Thanks to the Internet, international communication is now an unremarkable thing for many. Online groups and messaging apps allow for real-time talk about favorite topics across time zones and continents. Obviously, one can’t communicate in this way without running up against the language barrier—and the tech world is also taking great strides in breaking down that wall.
Some technology companies have already worked on creating earpieces that can interpret multilingual conversations in real-time, provided that the speakers give the tech time to work by taking turns and pausing, they speak certain languages, and they have access to Wi-Fi or cellular data. On the cutting edge of this trend, Google has developed language software known as Translatotron, which they hope will help ease the translation process for devices, trimming the fat from the usual three-step sequence (speech recognition, machine translation, text-to-speech synthesis) to deliver a faster, sleeker process. Machine translation itself has also taken great leaps in quality and efficiency, transitioning away from the old practice of pulling translations from compiled volumes of existing text, in favor of the use of neural engines that process language as the human brain does.
Yet the question must be asked: is technology enough to bridge language barriers? You can’t clear a road of snow without a plow – but what good is a plow without a driver? Can you trust a translation tool to run itself?
The TrueLanguage team keeps up with the flow of developments in language tech. We wouldn’t be able to provide our ISO 9001-certified full-service package to our clients, with our commitment to scaling projects for deadlines and delivery needs, if we didn’t keep our tech solutions on point. In the past couple of years alone, cloud-based translation environments and software have evolved to the point that we can receive a document from a client, prepare a project, and connect it with the right translator in minutes.
That’s the key. The right translator. The right real, live, human translator.
When it comes to communication, there is nothing that can replace the strength of human connection. And connected translation is what we offer. Our process marries the speed, sophistication, and efficiency of translation technology with the nuance, sensitivity, and depth of knowledge that can only come from a wide network of vetted professional translators we know and trust. We’ve been growing our translation pool for more than twenty years now, building and fostering relationships with our team, and inculcating the TrueLanguage standard of excellence. When we connect your documents with a translator, you and we can be confident that it’s in the hands of just the right professional linguist and subject matter expert – and that’s an assurance you’ll never get from a translation engine.
