Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2024) DOI: 10.23977/langl.2024.

070211
Clausius Scientific Press, Canada ISSN 2523-5869 Vol. 7 Num. 2

Comparative study of machine translation versus human

translation
Youyou Lu
School of English Language and Culture, Xi’an Fanyi University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

Keywords: Machine translation; human translation; comparative analysis; translation quality;

translation efficiency

Abstract: This study provides a comprehensive and in-depth comparative analysis of

machine translation and human translation. In terms of translation quality, human translation
excels in accuracy, fluency, and cultural adaptability due to human expertise and linguistic
proficiency. Conversely, machine translation demonstrates superior efficiency, particularly
suited for large-scale, urgent, or real-time translation projects. In terms of cost-effectiveness,
machine translation holds a more economic advantage in long-term, large-scale tasks, while
human translation is more cost-effective in short-term, small-scale tasks. However, rather
than being mutually exclusive, these methods can complement each other. Machine
translation can serve as an auxiliary tool for human translation, offering initial translations
and specialized knowledge to optimize results and refine quality and adaptability. Future
translation practices should make full use of the complementarity of the two to promote the
healthy development of the translation industry.

1. Introduction

In the context of the current globalization, translation, as a bridge between languages, is

particularly important. With the rapid development of science and technology, machine translation
came into being and gradually became a new force in the field of translation. However, as a traditional
translation method, human translation still has an irreplaceable position. Therefore, comparative
studies of machine translation and human translation can not only help to deeply understand the
advantages and disadvantages of both, but also provide a useful reference for future translation
practice. The development process of machine translation and human translation is very different.
Machine translation originated from rule-based methods in the 1940s, and experienced the evolution
from statistics-based methods to the deep learning-based methods today. Human translation, with a
longer history, relies on the translator's language ability and expertise to realize the accurate
understanding and expression of the original text[1]. With the continuous progress of machine
translation technology today, human translation still occupies a place in the translation market with
its unique advantages. This study aims to compare the advantages and disadvantages of machine
translation and human translation in terms of translation quality, translation efficiency and translation
cost, and explore the differences and their applicable scenarios. At the same time, this paper will also
focus on the role and influence of machine translation and human translation in cultural
communication, information communication and other fields. Through an in-depth study of these

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issues, we endeavor to provide more comprehensive and objective guidance for translation practice
and promote the healthy development of the translation industry.

2. Machine translation overview

2.1. Definition and principle of machine translation

Machine translation is a method of realizing automatic conversion between languages using

computer technology or artificial intelligence technology. It uses complex algorithms and models to
conduct in-depth analysis and understanding of the source language text, and then generates the
corresponding text of the target language. This process involves knowledge and technology in various
fields, including natural language processing, computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence.
The principle of machine translation is to simulate the human understanding and transformation
process of language. Through a large amount of corpus and training data, the machine can learn and
internalize the patterns and conventions governing language conversion, thereby achieving fast and
accurate translation. With the development of deep learning technology, the performance and quality
of machine translation are constantly improving, providing strong support for cross-language
communication and information dissemination[2].

2.2. Technical classification of machine translation

2.2.1. Regular-type machine translation

Regular machine translation is an early form of machine translation, which is translated based on
predefined rules and dictionaries. These rules are often written manually by linguists based on the
syntactic and semantic features of the language, while the dictionary provides the lexical
correspondence between the source language and the target language. In the process of translation,
the regular machine translation system will parse and transform the source language text according
to these rules and dictionaries to generate the translation results of the target language. The advantage
of this approach is the high controllability of the translation results, since the rules are defined by
human experts. However, the disadvantages are also obvious, namely, the writing and maintenance
of rules require large human and time costs, and it is difficult to cover all language phenomena and
translation requirements.
2.2.2. Statistical type machine translation
Statistical machine translation is based on statistical learning, which uses a large number of
bilingual corpus to automatically learn the correspondence between the source language and the target
language. Unlike regular-type machine translation, statistical machine translation does not rely on
predefined linguistic rules; instead, it analyzes large amounts of parallel text data to discern statistical
patterns and probabilities of word and phrase translations. The advantage of statistical machine
translation is that it can automatically learn translation rules from data without the need for manual
writing. In addition, with the continuous expansion of the corpus scale, the performance of statistical
machine translation can also be continuously improved. However, statistical machine translation also
has some limitations, such as sparse data problems and limited processing power of long-distance
dependencies[3].
2.2.3. Neural network machine translation
Neural network machine translation is a new machine translation technology emerging in recent

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years. It realizes automatic translation from source language to target language based on deep learning
and neural network language model. This approach is to construct a large-scale neural network model
that can automatically extract feature representations between the source and target language, and
generate high-quality translation results. Compared to traditional machine translation methods, neural
network machine translation has stronger representation learning ability and higher translation quality.
In addition, with the continuous development of deep learning technology, the performance of neural
network machine translation has also been greatly improved, and it has become the mainstream
technology in the field of machine translation[4].

3. Human translation for an overview

3.1. Definition and characteristics of human translation

The definition of human translation is relatively direct, that is, translation activities by translators
with professional language ability. It is characterized by the complexity of the translation process and
the accuracy of the translation results. Because human translation depends on the language ability
and expertise of the translator, it is able to handle a variety of complex linguistic phenomena and
cultural contexts, ensuring the accuracy and readability of the translation results. In addition, human
translation also has the characteristics of flexibility and creativity, which can be flexibly adjusted and
processed according to different translation requirements and scenarios. In human translation, the role
of the translators is crucial. They need not only to have a solid language foundation, but also a deep
understanding of the cultural background of the source and target language. In this way, they can
accurately understand the meaning of the source language text, and express it in the target language,
while maintaining the integrity of the original meaning. Therefore, the results of human translation
tend to have high confidence and readability[5].

3.2. Process and method of human translation

The process of human translation typically comprises three main stages: the preparation,
translation, and proofreading stages. In the preparation stage, the translators need to carefully read
and analyze the source language text to understand its meaning and context relationship. At the same
time, they also need to consult relevant information and literature to ensure an accurate understanding
of the text. In the translation stage, the translators should choose the appropriate translation methods
and skills for translation according to the content and characteristics of the source language text.
Factors such as cultural background and linguistic conventions of the target language are considered
to ensure the fidelity and readability of the translation. In the proofreading phase, the translators need
to carefully review and refine the translated text to eliminate grammatical errors and ambiguities, and
compare the translation with the original text to verify accuracy and completeness. There are various
methods of human translation, including literal translation, liberal translation, transliteration and so
on. Literal translation means to translate the text according to the literal meaning of the original text
and keep the form and structure of the original text as much as possible. liberal translation refers to
the flexible translation according to the meaning and context of the original text, and it is not confined
to the form and structure of the original text. Transliteration refers to translating the proper nouns or
special words in the original text according to their pronunciation. Each of these methods has
advantages and disadvantages, and translators need to choose and apply them according to the specific
situation[6].

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4. Comparative analysis of machine translation versus human translation

4.1. Comparison of the translation quality

In terms of accuracy, human translation usually has higher accuracy. This is because human
translation relies on the professional knowledge and language ability of translators, who can
accurately understand the meaning of the text in the source language, and accurately express it with
the target language. While machine translation has significantly improved in accuracy in recent years,
it still has some limitations in dealing with complex contexts and specific fields. In terms of fluency,
human translation also has advantages. Translators can adjust and process flexibly according to
different translation requirements and scenarios, resulting in smoother and more natural translations.
Machine translation remains to improve in processing language fluency, especially in dealing with
long sentences and complex sentence patterns. Cultural adaptability is another area where human
translation excels. Translators can adjust according to the cultural background and expression habits
of the target language, ensuring that the translation aligns with the reading habits of the target
language readers. Machine translation, on the other hand, is relatively weak in cultural adaptability,
occasionally producing translations with improper literal or idiomatic expressions..

4.2. Comparison of translation efficiency

Machine translation uses advanced algorithms and powerful computing power to process large
amounts of text data in a very short time to achieve fast translation. This efficiency is critical for
handling urgent tasks, large volumes of documentation, or real-time translation requirements.
However, the speed advantage of machine translation can sometimes compromise translation quality,
especially when dealing with complex linguistic structures and specific cultural contexts. In contrast,
human translation, although slower, is generally of higher translation quality. The translators are able
to deeply understand the meaning and style of the source text and accurately communicate it to the
target language readers. Human translation performs well in handling complex, professional or
culturally meaningful texts, ensuring the accuracy and fluency of translation[7].

4.3. Cost-benefit comparison

In terms of labor costs, machine translation has significant advantages. Once established, the
machine translation system can be used for a long time without additional human input. Human
translation needs to pay the salary and welfare of translators, and the labor cost is high. In terms of
time costs, machine translation also has its advantages. Machine translation can complete the
translation task in a short time, saving a lot of time cost. However, human translation takes a long
time for translation and proofreading, and the time cost is relatively high. In terms of economic cost,
the cost-effectiveness of machine translation and human translation varies from case to case. For
long-term, large-scale translation tasks, the economic cost of machine translation may be lower,
because large labor costs and time costs can be saved. However, for short-term, small-scale translation
tasks, human translation may be more cost-effective, as there is no need to invest heavily in building
and maintaining machine translation systems[8].

5. Complementary study of machine translation and human translation

5.1. Application scenarios of machine translation-assisted human translation

In practical translation work, machine translation can be used as an auxiliary tool to help human

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translation to enhance the efficiency and quality of translation. For example, when dealing with a
large amount of repetitive text, machine translation can quickly generate initial translation results,
and human translation can proofread and modify on this basis, thus saving a lot of time and energy.
In addition, in translation tasks involving professional terms or specific fields, machine translation
can provide a terminology base and expertise support to help human translation more accurately
understand and express the original meaning.

5.2. Strategies and methods for optimizing machine translation

Human translation plays a pivotal role in enhancing machine translation effectiveness. Firstly, it
serves as a crucial step for proofreading and refining the initial machine-generated translations,
addressing grammatical errors, unclear expressions, and other issues. This process significantly
enhances the accuracy and readability of the final translated content. Secondly, human translation can
supplement and improve the limitations of machine translation in specific fields or context, so as to
make the translation results more in line with the culture and conventions of the target language. In
addition, human translation can also provide the modification opinions and suggestions to the
machine translation system through the feedback mechanism, helping the system to continuously
learn and improve the translation algorithm, and enhance the quality of future translation. In the
process of optimizing machine translation, human translation needs to master certain strategies and
methods. For example, they can use terminology base and professional knowledge base to improve
the accuracy and consistency of term translation; they can also use translation memory tools to
manage and reuse historical translation data to reduce duplication; in addition, they can use various
translation options provided by machine translation to compare and analyse the most appropriate
translation results[9].

5.3. Mode and practice of machine translation and human translation working together

The mode of machine translation and human translation can be flexibly adjusted according to
specific requirements and scenarios. A common pattern is machine translation as a preliminary
translation tool, generating preliminary translation results after being proofread and revised by human
translation. This model is suitable for scenarios demanding high translation quality with tight
timeframe. Another mode is to work with machine translation and human translation in parallel to
complete the translation task together. In this mode, machine translation can provide rapid translation
support, while human translation focuses on dealing with complex contexts and domain-specific
translation problems. This pattern is suitable for scenarios with high requirements for both translation
quality within limited time. In practice, the collaborative work of machine translation and human
translation has achieved remarkable results. Many translation companies and institutions have
adopted this collaborative working model to improve the efficiency and quality of translation. For
example, when dealing with large projects or emergency tasks, they can use machine translation to
quickly generate preliminary translation results, which are then finely proofread and modified by
human translators. This mode not only ensures the translation quality, but also significantly shortens
the translation timeline, improving overall efficiency[10].

6. Conclusion

After a comparative study of machine translation and human translation, we find that each o
approach possesses distinct advantages. Machine translation is fast and efficient, and suitable for
handling large-scale text; while human translation is accurate and flexible, better at handling complex
contexts and cultural differences. Looking forward to the future, machine translation and human

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translation will show a development trend of integration. With the progress of technology, the quality
of machine translation will continue to improve, providing increasingly valuable support to human
translation. At the same time, human translation will focus more on the high-end and professional
fields, and give full play to its unique value. For the translation industry, we suggest making full use
of the complementarity of machine translation and human translation to improve the efficiency and
quality of translation. In addition, we should pay attention to the development trend of technology,
strengthen talent training and technological innovation, in order to cope with the challenges and
opportunities of the future translation market.

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