Forum: SDL Trados support
Topic: How to hide usage of machine translation in Trados Studio 2009.
Poster: Mihai Badea
Post title: Hiding may not be good for business
I understand the point of view of colleagues who criticise the way Studio was designed as regards the marking of machine translated segments. It can look like SDL takes good care of the agencies while forcing things on translators. On this other hand, if one knows how to use machine translation in an efficient way and without compromising on quality, I can see no reason why the client's knowing about the use of MT would create a problem in the relationship with them. In case the client asks, the translator can have a carefully worded message at hand, where he/she explains honestly how machine translation helps him/her to be more efficient.
I think we sometimes need to put ourselves in a client's shoes. When a professional tries to hide his ways of working to the client, there is a high risk trust will be broken. And people will start believing the marketing exaggerations that for-profit organisations sometimes use, without even wanting to hear the explanations from the professionals. Unfortunately, SDL is among the companies that convey exaggerated claims to the public. First, there was "You'll never have to translate the same sentence again" (any translator knows this is not true for all identical sentences, and for others it is only true for a limited time; and sometimes, in order to establish whether a sentence can stay the same or not, it can take some time).
The latest marketing exaggeration from SDL is that the machine translation they provide can double productivity: [url removed] . I know of a study that showed that, in certain conditions, a productivity increase of 25% can be obtained. To me, at the current stage of MT, 100% increase seems impossible. I'd be curious to know whether their is any independent study to support that claim.