Religion

communications end up being translated poorly by Google Translate. The output in the target language depends on the source language's structure.

To achieve accurate results, one must forgo using colloquialisms and complex grammatical structures in English. And no matter what you write as the original, it's essential to back-translate the result. If it is not a perfect match for the original, then editing the original content is essential.

Using complex sentences, conditional phrases, and language-specific shortcuts are a mistake. Even common contractions often do not translate properly. Simple declarative sentences and questions, using unambiguous words, translate best. English is full of words with multiple meanings. Google Translate tries, but is often unable to use context to determine which meaning is intended. Wherever possible, word choices that are unambiguous and specific to your meaning are best.

Still, Google Translate continues to improve its capabilities. In the several years I have been using it, it has made giant strides, at least in translating to most European languages. The most comical errors I saw in corresponding with mineral collectors were with collectors in Japan. I do not know Japanese at all. Many times my original in English had to go through multiple back-translations before returning to me unchanged. Still, I heard compliments on my Japanese from several customers, despite my knowing no Japanese at all.

Often, translating to English from other languages is a challenge, because the writer doesn't understand Google Translate's limitations. However, creative interpretation usually can figure out what was meant.