Comparison of Google Online Translation and Human Translation with Regard to Soft vs. Hard Science Texts

Abstract

Machine translation (MT) is developing increasingly such that possibility of replacing Human Translation (HT) does not seem unlikely. However, it is controversial to what extent machine can replace human beings in certain areas including translation. To shed light on this issue, this study was conducted to compare the efficiency of Google Translation (GT) and HT in relation to Soft and Hard Science texts. Employing Waddington's (2001) model of Translation Quality Assessment (TQA), quality of five translation pieces of Soft and Hard Science texts translated both by GT software and HT was assessed in a bid to test three research hypotheses. The findings revealed that HT's quality was still higher than that of MT (i.e. GT); however, GT's efficiency was to some extent comparable to that of HT as far as the texts in Physics and Politics were concerned. So, it was concluded that in certain fields GT could produce roughly reliable translation if not totally as efficient as Human Translator.