How to Use ChatGPT for Translation – Usage Methods and Practical Procedures

2. Unique Ways to Utilize Translation with ChatGPT

 

While general translation tools can only translate, ChatGPT has versatile language capabilities, making it useful in various situations related to translation.

2-1. Summary of the Text

Not only can you translate text, but you can also summarize it simultaneously. This is useful when you want to efficiently gather information in a foreign language, such as overseas news or academic papers. For example, if you command ChatGPT to "summarize in Japanese" and provide a long text, it will summarize the content in Japanese. Additionally, Microsoft's Edge browser has an AI equivalent to ChatGPT built-in. While browsing a web page, if you command the "chat" panel on the right to "summarize in Japanese," you will be able to quickly grasp the content of foreign language pages.

In the article "ChatGPT and Medical Translation", we examined whether it is possible to create summaries of medical papers using ChatGPT, but the conclusion was that it could not generate the expected summaries. For more details, please see "ChatGPT and Medical Translation".

2-2. Improvement of Translated Text

You can use ChatGPT to rewrite phrases and expressions in the translated text. For example, in English manuals, it may be required not to use the subject "You." If the output from machine translation services like DeepL or Google Translate does not follow such rules, you can use ChatGPT to rewrite the translation to comply with the rules as shown below.

 

Additionally, depending on the purpose of the translated document and the target audience, expressions and phrases can be rewritten. It is also possible to rewrite them into compelling expressions for marketing or to simplify the language for general consumers.

The process of correcting machine translation is called post-editing, and using ChatGPT can automate part of the post-editing process. It is important to note that the rewritten translation may differ from the original meaning, so it is essential for a person to verify it.

For more details on general methods to improve machine translation output, please see Trends in Machine Translation and Tips for Common Mistakes and Corrections (Post-Editing) ① - Avoiding Misinterpretations and Redundancy with Pronouns.

2-3. Extract Only the Elements You Want to Know

ChatGPT can extract only the elements you want to know from long texts in response to questions. After having ChatGPT read documents such as papers, manuals, or web pages, you can ask questions about that text. For example, after reading a software manual, if you ask about how to use a certain feature, it will explain how to use it. This operation appears the same to users as traditional chatbots, but it is significantly different from the perspective of those preparing the chatbot.
In the case of traditional chatbots, it is necessary to prepare a large number of questions and answers in advance, but with ChatGPT, such preparation is not required; having the manual file or page is sufficient. Note that ChatGPT has a character limit, but you can bypass this limit by using plugins for ChatGPT, such as WebPilot.

2-4. Creation of Glossary

You can extract terms that will serve as candidates for a glossary by providing the original text. While there have been glossary creation tools in the past, they extracted terms based on frequency of occurrence, resulting in many terms being extracted that did not need to be included in the glossary, necessitating a manual re-extraction of important terms from the list of extracted terms. ChatGPT can extract only the key terms that are important keywords, so while manual verification is still necessary, it can significantly reduce the workload.
Additionally, it is also possible to perform machine translation simultaneously with term extraction.
For information on how to create a glossary, please see the blog post below.

Is ChatGPT a Good Translator? Thorough Verification at Each Stage of Translation

3. Comparison of ChatGPT and Other Machine Translation Services

 

In addition to ChatGPT, many machine translation services are available. Here, we will compare ChatGPT with representative services such as DeepL and Google Translate.

3-1. Comparison with DeepL

DeepL supports text translation and file translation. It features a glossary function that allows you to specify translations for specific words. Additionally, when translating from foreign languages to Japanese, you can specify the style of the translation as either plain (de aru style) or polite (desu/masu style). When translating foreign languages that distinguish between formal and informal address, you can also specify the formality.
In the mobile app, you can translate text, files, images captured by the camera, and images or files stored on your smartphone, as well as transcribe and translate audio.
Furthermore, although it is not a translation service, DeepL's website offers a proofreading support service called DeepL Write, which uses AI to help refine your writing. As of October 2023, it supports English and German.

In terms of translation accuracy, DeepL's translations are often more natural and fluent. However, it is relatively common for some phrases in the original text to be omitted in the DeepL translation. On the other hand, ChatGPT tends to translate more literally and verbatim, resulting in fewer omissions compared to DeepL.
For more details about DeepL, please see the blog article below.

What is DeepL? A Comparison with ChatGPT

3-2. Comparison with Google Translate

Google Translate supports translation not only for text but also for images, documents (files), and websites. Additionally, by using the mobile app for smartphones, you can translate images captured by the camera in real-time, as well as convert and translate speech into text. It is also possible to recognize and translate handwritten characters.

Regarding translation accuracy, both Google Translate and ChatGPT tend to provide relatively literal translations, with Google Translate generally having fewer mistranslations and omissions.

4. How to Use ChatGPT's Translation Feature More Easily

 

If you want to use ChatGPT directly for translation while creating office documents such as Word or Excel, it is convenient to use a translation tool. Our company offers "MTrans Team," which allows you to translate by simply dragging and dropping Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files into a web browser. You can choose from five translation engines: ChatGPT, Google, Microsoft, Papago, and Claude. Since all engines connect via API, the input and output data are not reused. You can register glossaries and phrase collections, which can reduce the time spent on post-translation editing. For more details about MTrans Team, please see the product page below.

AI-Powered Automatic Translation Software "MTrans Team"

5. Using CAT tools improves translation efficiency

 

Mainly, translators and reviewers can improve their translation efficiency by using ChatGPT in combination with CAT tools.

5-1. What is a CAT tool?

CAT tools, short for Computer-Assisted Translation tools, are referred to as translation support tools in Japanese. They primarily assist the work of translators and reviewers, improving the efficiency of translation tasks and the quality of translated texts. Notable products include Human Science's MTrans Team, Phrase's Phrase TMS, and RWS's Trados Studio. Similar products include translation management systems, which are designed to support project managers with features such as scheduling management for translation tasks, centralized management of work data, and process automation.
For more details about CAT tools, please see the blog article below.

What is a CAT Tool? Explanation of Advantages and Disadvantages
What is Memsource (now Phrase TMS)? What is the difference between Translation Assistance Tools (CAT) and Translation Management Systems (TMS)?
What is Trados? How does it help with translation? Introduction to Features and Benefits

5-2. Benefits of Using CAT Tools

The main features are translation memory, machine translation, glossary, and quality check. Translation memory is a database that stores the original text and its translated version from past translations. Once a translation is done, the translated text can be retrieved from the database, eliminating the need to translate again.
Additionally, if any part of the new source text matches a past original text, the corresponding past translation can be reused, so there is no need to translate from scratch (a partial match of the original text is referred to as "fuzzy match").
By referring to the translation memory, it is also possible to unify the phrases and expressions in the translated text. For new sentences that do not exist in the translation memory, machine translation can be used to generate the translated text. By combining translation memory and machine translation, the translation process can be significantly streamlined.

5-3. Benefits of Combining ChatGPT and CAT Tools

Traditionally, ambiguous matches could only be corrected manually, but with ChatGPT, ambiguous matches can be automatically corrected. ChatGPT understands the differences between past source texts in the translation memory and the new source text to be translated, translates those differences using machine translation, and reflects them in the past translations. The automatic correction of ambiguous matches by ChatGPT further streamlines the translation process.

The rewriting feature of ChatGPT is also helpful. Machine translations by DeepL and Google may not always adhere to style guides or writing rules. Additionally, expressions and phrases that are suitable for the purpose and target audience of the translated document may not be used. By having ChatGPT rewrite such translations, you can automate the post-editing process.

It is also possible to have ChatGPT perform machine translation. By providing the type of document in advance, you can use expressions and phrases suitable for that document in the machine translation. However, since the translation accuracy itself is often superior in DeepL or Google, it is believed that entrusting ChatGPT with surrounding tasks rather than the machine translation itself will improve translation efficiency and quality.

6. Summary

This article introduces how to use and leverage ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a very large language model that can be utilized for various language processing tasks, including not only translation but also summarization, document improvement, extraction of specific information, and glossary creation. By combining ChatGPT with CAT tools, it can efficiently support the entire translation process, including automatic correction of fuzzy matches, automatic post-editing, and machine translation. Please note that a final human review is necessary when using ChatGPT.

Human Science offers the automatic translation software MTrans Team, which utilizes ChatGPT. MTrans Team also offers a 14-day free trial. Please feel free to contact us.

Features of MTrans Team

① Multiple engines equipped! (Standard equipped with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Claude, Papago)
② Becomes "smarter the more you use it" with AI and translation memory.
③ Reliable security: No worries about public sharing of translation data due to API connection.
・We also offer SSO, IP restrictions, and more for customers who want further enhancements.

④ With a flat-rate system, you can translate without worrying about the amount of translation.