How to Use ChatGPT to Translate into English

2. Features of ChatGPT Translation

How does ChatGPT differ from typical translation tools? Below, we will explain those differences.

2-1. High translation accuracy

The translation accuracy of ChatGPT rivals that of other specialized translation tools. This high performance is backed by a wealth of high-quality training data, cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP) technology, and contextual understanding through deep learning. ChatGPT integrates content from a wide range of fields and disciplines into its training, resulting in highly accurate translations no matter the topic. Though to truly tailor the end results, you can direct the system to use the terminology and style appropriate for your specific document by specifying its field and purpose in the translation instructions. Traditional machine translation engines could not accommodate such instructions. Training a triditional engine to specialize in a particular field or purpose required a large amount of text data and training, which was both labor-intensive and costly. However, with ChatGPT, you can generate translations that meet your specific needs simply by providing the right instructions. For more details on ChatGPT's translation capabilities, follow the link below to another of our blogs.

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

2-2. Multilingual support

The dataset that ChatGPT is trained on mainly consists of text data collected from the internet. Because various languages are used on the internet, this text data includes data in all of those languages, which allows ChatGPT to support machine translation not only in English but also for Asian languages like Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai; European languages like French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese; and Middle Eastern languages like Arabic and Persian. Nevertheless, since the training dataset contains a particularly large amount of English data, it is especially capable of translating into English with natural-sounding expressions.

2-3. Natural translations that fit the context

ChatGPT can translate using context-appropriate terms and expressions. By specifying the field of writing or providing multiple sentences for translation in the instructions, aka. prompt, you can ensure that the translation generated is appropriate and takes contextual information into account. Traditional machine translation services like Google and Microsoft did not utilize contextual info. Even when multiple sentences were provided, older systems often processed the text internally on a sentence-by-sentence basis, without considering context. However, the DeepL translation engine does provide context-aware translation when multiple sentences are input. For more details on the comparison results between DeepL and ChatGPT, check the blog post below.

What is DeepL? A Comparison with ChatGPT

2-4. Specifiable output formats and terminology

The style of the translation used in the original text (formal, casual, etc.) is automatically reflected in the translation to some extent, but if specified in the prompt, it will be more reliably used in the translation. For translations into English especially, terminology and expressions that fit the indicated style will be used. Unfortunately, for translations into Japanese, style-related instructions (plain form vs. polite form) are often ignored. So, if you want to specify the plain or polite form of Japanese, we recommend using DeepL's translation service, which has the relevant optional features.

Another benefit of ChatGPT is the ability to specify the translations of proper nouns within the prompt. By pre-defining translations for company names, personal names, product names, and service names, more accurate translations will be generated.

For now, when using the free version of ChatGPT to translate into Japanese, the specified style (plain form or polite form) is often ignored. If you want to specify plain or polite form, use the paid version of ChatGPT or use DeepL, which has plain and polite form options.

2-5. Detection of mistranslations and omissions, and proofreading

In addition to translation itself, you can use ChatGPT to check for mistranslations or omissions by entering the original text and the translated text together. You can also run proofreading for grammar and typos.

2-6. Glossary creation

For help in pre-translation preparation, you can automatically extract terms from the original text that seem suitable for a glossary and then translate those terms. And by designating output as a table, you can easily select the generated text and copy it into Excel.

3. The ChatGPT Translation Process

This section explains how to perform translation using ChatGPT.

1. Open the ChatGPT screen in your web browser.

2. Type "Translate the following into <language>," in the chat box, then copy and paste the text you want to translate, and press the Enter key.

3. Specify the output requirements as needed. By specifying the type of document with a prompt such as, "Translate this website text into Japanese," or "Translate this technical document regarding software into English," the appropriate terms and expressions for that purpose will be used. If specific terms already have a set translation, add instructions like "Translate 'ABC' as 'DEF'," to the prompt.

If you want to specify multiple translation instructions or predecided terms, you can also divide the instructions into sections such as "### Rules" and "### Glossary."

4. If necessary, execute proofread after the translation is complete. Prompt the system to "Look for mistranslations."

4. Key Points When Translating with ChatGPT

4-1. Information handling precautions

By default, any content entered on the official ChatGPT site is used to improve the ChatGPT model. Therefore, entering translation source text that contains confidential information or personal data may lead to information leaks. To ensure that your data is not used for model improvement, be sure to turn off "Chat History & Training" in the ChatGPT settings. This setting is saved per machine and web browser, so if you use ChatGPT on multiple machines or browsers, check the settings and update them again, as needed.

If you are using ChatGPT Team, ChatGPT Enterprise, or ChatGPT API, your data will not be used to improve the model, and there is no risk of your information leaking. (Reference: Enterprise privacy at OpenAI)

4-2. Anticipating mistranslations and omissions

Translations provided by ChatGPT may contain errors or omissions. If you are using the translations for purposes where mistakes are not acceptable, you should make sure that a human translator checks them. The process of having a human review and correct machine translations is called "post-editing." For more information about post-editing, be sure to browse our collection of related blog articles.

Post-editing blogs

4-3. Recommended tool integrations

If you want to specify the style of translation into Japanese as either plain ("de aru") or polite ("desu/masu") form, consider using the DeepL translation engine, which provides that setting option.

For proofreading features, other dedicated tools may be superior to full reliance ChatGPT. For English, consider using proofreading software or services like Grammarly or DeepL Write. For Japanese, we recommend options like Just Right! or Typoless. If you have access to Microsoft Word, you can also utilize the "Proofing" features under the "Review" tab.

5. Summary

This post has explained the process and features for using ChatGPT to translate to and from English. ChatGPT's translations are highly accurate, support multiple languages, and can provide natural-sounding translations that fit the context. However, if mistranslations are not acceptable, it will be necessary to have a human review the translations. In addition, be sure to check the security settings before entering any confidential information.

At Human Science, we offer the automatic translation software MTrans for Office and MTrans for Trados, which can utilize ChatGPT. With our tool, you can translate transcriptions with just one click. ChatGPT can be used not only as a translation engine, but also for transcription, rewriting, and proofreading, depending on the prompt. Try out MTrans for Office and MTrans for Trados with our 14-day free trial offer. Please contact us for more information.

Features of MTrans for Office

① Unlimited number of file translations and glossary integration for a fixed fee
② One-click translation from Office products!
③ Security API connection
・For customers who want further security enhancement, we also offer SSO, IP restrictions, and so on.

④ Japanese language support by a Japanese company
・Response to security check sheets
・Payment by bank transfer available

MTrans for Office is an easy-to-use translation software for Office.

Features of MTrans for Trados

1. ① Simultaneous translation using multiple machine translation engines, such as DeepL and Google.
2. ② Automatic application of specific terminology to machine-translated text. Centrally managed term glossaries, regardless of the machine translation engine
3. ③ String replacement, regular expression replacement, and automatic correction of translation style, notation, and expressions using ChatGPT
4. ④ Automatic revision of fuzzy matches in the translation memory
5. ⑤ Preservation of the original formatting and tags during machine translation

 

What is the Trados-dedicated machine translation solution MTrans for Trados?