The 5 Best Online Translation Tools and Why You Should Avoid Using Them For Your Website Copy
Technology is wonderful, and it's so advanced that today we can even use it to communicate in situ in different languages. I personally found it amazing when, on a trip to Russia where nobody could speak either English or Spanish, the offline version of the Google Translator app allowed me to communicate with some people and survive my first night in St Petersburg.
That's why I would like to recommend the best online translations tools you can use from my point of view. I have used them all and my experience with each one of them has been exceptional.
Which Are The Best Online Translation Tools You Can Use?
Online translators are truly useful for daily tasks we have to undertake. I constantly use them in my job as Communications Manager as I receive emails in different languages on a weekly basis. If you're looking for one that you could trust, below you can find the the best 5 online translation tools from my experience.
This is the first online translator you're going to come across if you type the word 'translator' in Google (as expected). You don't even have to click on a website, as Google itself gives you the option to translate any piece of text in the search engine. You can translate any text into 103 languages. Google translator is a truly wonderful tool that offers real-time translations of text, video, images and audio.
The platform itself can identify the language you're translating from and there are both Android and iOS apps you can download (they're compatible with 50 and 90 languages respectively) and that work offline. The Google translator app was truly a life-saver on my first night in Russia (thanks Google!). Lastly, you must know its free version is limited to 5,000 characters: more than enough for what we intend to use it for.
With over 30 languages available, the Collins Dictionary translator can automatically identify the language we're translating from and it also gives us the possibility to listen to the pronunciation of the word or sentence translated, which is really useful when we have doubts on this respect.
I'm a big fan of this real-time online translator. With up to 42 languages available, from my humble point of view, this is one of the most powerful and comprehensive online translation tools there is as its translations get very close to what is grammatically correct. At least that's the case of English-Spanish translations and vice versa. I've read the platform uses really advanced AI technology, and you can definitely tell. I highly recommend it for translations from and to Spanish and English.
Even though this is not a real-time online translation tool as the aforementioned, Word Reference is truly a reference - if you will forgive the repetition - when it comes to translations and definitions. On a personal level, I can say I constantly use it to clarify doubts, especially when it comes to false friends, phrasal verbs and expressions/idioms. Not only it translates words, but it also put great examples (on how to use the translated word in a sentence, for instance) and provides synonyms of that word or sentence. It's an indispensable tool for me and it should be for any Spanish-speaker learning English.
I have been doing some research on what the best online translation tools are for other copywriters and marketeers, and I was surprised to find out many of their lists overlook Linguee. This fantastic multi-lingual dictionary works as a search engine. As in every online translation tool, you can choose a language of origin and a target language. After processing the search query, the tool gives you access to hundreds of translations made by other webs, blogs and online platforms.
I find Linguee especially useful when I have doubts regarding the syntax of a sentence, as the fact that media outlets, academic papers and other reliable sources had used sentences similar to mine strikes me as a sufficient guarantee that a sentence is grammatically correct. Linguee is an online translation tool I use on a daily basis, as it also helps me double-check all prepositions I use are correct. If you're a Spanish-speaker learning English, I know you get where I'm coming from. It takes a long time to know what preposition to use in each case. That's why Linguee can become your best ally!
Human Translation or Machine Translation?
There is no doubt online translation tools are incredibly useful. However, when it comes to communicating an idea, concept or message and you're deciding whether or not to use them, you should give this a second thought.
Being bilingual, I'm aware of these tools' limitations. First of all, you should know they're not accurate because they don't understand context. Machine translations are amazing if we're desperately trying to communicate with locals in Russia (I still can't get over this) or we're hesitant about a word. However, if we need to accurately translate a sentence for professional use, that's a different story.
It is also worth mentioning that each language has its own grammar rules and, even though online translators are a big help in some cases, there's still much work to be done before they can translate a text accurately.
An example.
Friend - Amigo CORRECT
Mary's friend - El amigo de Maria CORRECT
I look up to Mary's friend as she is a renowned doctor - Miro a la amiga de Mary porque es una doctora reconocida INCORRECT
As we see in the first case, Google translator is translating the word 'friend' for us to Spanish. So far so good.
When we translate 'Mary's friend' from English to Spanish, we can still say the translation is correct.
However, when we try to translate a longer sentence ('I look up to Mary's friend as he is a renowned doctor'), the translation is incorrect. Even though an English-speaker would probably understand what we mean, the translation is not accurate. The correct one would be 'Admiro al amigo de Maria porque es un reconocido médico'.
This translation very well exemplifies Google translator's limitations with phrasal verbs, as 'look up to' is simply translated to 'look'.
Consequently, this is evidence once again that, even though online translation tools are of great help to get by, they're not the ideal solution if you need to translate texts written for professional or academic purposes. For that, I would recommend to trust a bilingual professional who understands the grammar rules of each language.
Who Can Translate My Website Copy?
The conclusion is clear. Online translation tools are fantastic, I consider myself a big fan and use them all the time. However, if we're talking about translating your website copy or any text for professional use, I would encourage you to trust a reliable human translator.
If you're actively searching for that professional to help you translate texts from Spanish to English and vice versa, I'd love to help you. Read more about my Spanish-English translation service and contact me with any doubt or query.