Machine Translation (Automatic Translation) Case Study: Reducing Costs and Lead Time by 40%

Customer Requests

This customer, being a foreign company, had already implemented machine translation for European languages from English. However, when they tried to introduce machine translation using the same engine for Japanese-English translation, they had a bad experience where the quality was poor and it ended up costing them more time and money.

Therefore, we have proposed a machine translation engine suitable for Japanese-English translation and have also provided support for post-editing.

As a result, we have successfully reduced the translation cost and lead time from Japanese to English by "40%" compared to traditional human translation.

Human Science Solutions

At Human Science, we have provided the following consulting services to successfully introduce machine translation in Japanese-English translation.

We supported the introduction of machine translation in this project through the following steps.

①Proposal for a machine translation engine suitable for Japanese-English translation

The preferred languages and fields may vary depending on the machine translation engine. For example, even if the same document is translated, the quality can vary greatly depending on the machine translation engine used.

Therefore, when introducing machine translation, it is extremely important to select a machine translation engine that is suitable for the target document and language.
This time,

・I don't want to spend too much on operating costs for machine translation engines
・There is no existing translation data from the past, such as translation memory
・For support content, the quality of the translation can be slightly unnatural as long as the meaning is accurately conveyed

Based on the customer's request, we have proposed multiple machine translation engines that are suitable for Japanese-English translation. We conducted quality verification and cost-effectiveness calculations using the proposed engines in advance, and after confirming the expected effects of introducing machine translation, we officially implemented it.

②Setting Quality Standards

In order to successfully implement machine translation, it is also important to establish quality standards in advance for the post-editing process, which is the task of correcting machine-translated text. By setting quality standards in advance, it is possible to prevent excessive quality or excessive costs during the post-editing process.

The following figure is a correlation diagram between the target quality standards and the three levels of correction in post-editing.

This time, we received a request from our client that "for support content, the quality of the translation can be slightly unnatural as long as the meaning is accurately conveyed." Therefore, we have decided to perform post-editing at the "Rapid Edit" level, which requires the least amount of corrections for machine translation.

At "Rapid Edit", we do not make revisions from the perspective of readability. Therefore, even if there are slightly unnatural expressions or terms, we will not make revisions as long as the meaning is accurately conveyed. We have implemented post-editing based on this policy and have confirmed with our clients that the results meet the desired quality.

③Post-edit Implementation

Post-editing was carried out by compiling a checklist of correction points at the "Rapid Edit" level, clarifying quality standards and correction points, and then implementing post-editing after sharing them with the responsible party.

Customer Feedback

“

Previously, we struggled with implementing Japanese-English machine translation, but now it runs smoothly and has been a great help.

After failing to use the same machine translation engine as European languages, we had given up on using machine translation for Japanese-English translation. However, we have discovered that by using an engine suitable for the target language, machine translation can be utilized even for Japanese-English translation.

1Support content can be translated from Japanese to English, reducing costs and lead time, and has also been recognized by our US headquarters.

In the future, we are considering introducing machine translation to other content such as internal documents and instruction manuals, in addition to support content.

”

From Human Science representative

This is a case where we supported the introduction of machine translation through Japanese-English translation. By selecting the optimal engine and conducting thorough quality verification and setting quality standards in advance, we were able to achieve cost and lead time reduction even in Japanese-English translation by introducing machine translation.

We have received positive feedback from those who have attended our seminars and conferences.

・"Is it possible to introduce machine translation even for Japanese to English translation?"
・"Are there any cases where machine translation has been introduced for Japanese-English translation?"

We often receive inquiries about Japanese-English translation, but even with machine translation, it is possible to achieve cost reduction and shorten translation time.

In the future, we are considering introducing machine translation for internal documents and instruction manuals. Therefore, we would like to continue working together to design processes tailored to each target document.