Who is the best language translator?

 Translator

 Translator. With Google Translate, changing any sentence into over a hundred languages ​​is a breeze, but people who use it often recognize that there may be room for development.

In theory, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT should usher in the next era of language translation. They devour huge volumes of entirely text-based educational statistics, plus real-time feedback from tens of millions of users around the world, and quickly discover ways to “communicate” a wide variety of languages ​​with coherent, human-like sentences.

Although we’ve heard the phrase “ChatGPT is going to update everything” before, all we can find is that it’s usually wrong: a worst-case scenario for translation. So we put it to the test and asked fluent speakers of eight languages ​​other than English to rate the translation results of some AI offerings in a blind test.

First, we compare ChatGPT (the free version) with Google Translate, as well as competing chatbots Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. Next, we take a closer look at ChatGPT, comparing the free and paid versions and custom AI vendors in OpenAI’s new GPTStore.

Please note that this is never a complete practice. “Do not forget that blind evaluations are insufficient; more rigorous tests are needed to properly evaluate and examine these teams with statistical significance,” says Federico Pascual, an AI industry veteran. Still, the results are pretty consistent and offer an interesting look at how AI shapes work.

This first test took place in June 2023, making PCMag one of the first to test these new, supposedly all-encompassing chatbots for language translation.

We asked bilingual speakers of seven languages ​​to blindly rate paragraph interpretation via Google Translate, ChatGPT, Gemini (then known as Bard), and Copilot (then Microsoft Bing Chat). When they finished the exercise, we revealed which carrier produced each.

Languages ​​tested: Polish, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, Amharic

Translation services: Google Translate, Google Bard, ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing

check paragraph 1: “Hello! Do you speak English? I want help with directions. I’m looking for a place to eat vegetarian since my sister no longer eats meat. What do you suggest? We also want to stay.” It’s just a few miles from here and I don’t want to spend more than $50. If they have cocktails, that might be a plus. We’ve had a long day visiting and we need to let off some steam. ! You are welcome to register with us. Health!”

take a look at paragraph 2: “How do I buy tickets for the ship’s birthday party? Do we want to pay beforehand or can we buy them on the dock while we arrive? I need to be on the upper deck because I occasionally get seasick when I’m too close to the water. Also, I need to be as far away as possible from the young hooligans who want to constantly drink champagne during the trip. That’s dangerous and not my type of activity. Laugh!”

Result 1: AI Chatbots Outperform Google Translate

The results were surprisingly consistent. Of the 12 examples we sent to our contributors, all of them wanted AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Google Bard, or Microsoft Bing) to be included in Google Translate. ChatGPT outperformed them all, expertly turning colloquialisms into examples like “vent,” while Google Translate tended to provide more literal translations that fell flat across cultures.

 

The following table includes the classification of our members for each operator. people who acquired both sample paragraphs are marked with a (1) and (2). The others only acquired the first one. Some languages ​​do not rank fourth because Google Bard rejected the translation project and recommended the use of Google Translate, probably an attempt by Google to not cannibalize its own products.

“In my opinion, [ChatGPT] is the closest thing to an everyday conversation,” says Ana Romero, who rated the Spanish translations. “The level of formality between the two key questions is constant (informal) and the appropriate translation of ‘let off steam’ is used.”

Romero also highlighted that ChatGPT translation offers the option to leave certain phrases in masculine or feminine, instead of choosing one for you. For example, he wrote: you are welcome to join us (“you are welcome to sign up for us”), which can vary depending on the gender of the speaker’s guest.

A constant mistake for Google Translate is its literal interpretations. For example, in French, Google Translate saved the word “hooligans” in English, while chatbots knew how to use the culturally appropriate slang voyous.

“The name of the game for chatbots like ChatGPT is RLHF, which is reinforcement learning with human feedback,” says Nazneen Rajani, study lead at Hugging Face, creator of AI-based Hugging Chat. “[They] acquire human choices in version responses for dimensions such as truthfulness, harmlessness, usefulness, etc. Human preferences help choose those that might be more culturally appropriate, especially for non-native speakers.”

But none of the AI ​​chatbots had been an individualized replacement for a fluent speaker. However, all chatbots occasionally suffered from awkward and erroneous word preference; They just had it less times. For example, in Polish, Microsoft Bing translated “you can register for us [at the restaurant]” as “Zapraszamy Cię do nas,” which is actually an invitation to “come to my house,” says Barbara Pavone. , Senior Content Distribution Supervisor at PCMag.

Google Translate outperformed ChatGPT in the least common languages ​​we examined: Tagalog (Philippines) and Amharic (Ethiopia). They have the smallest projected global population of speakers: Tagalog has 33 million speakers worldwide who consider it their native language, and Amharic has 25 million, according to WorldData.info. (Spanish has 450 million for Spanish and Korean is at 80 million.)

Colin Salao, who rated the Tagalog translations, mentioned that ChatGPT uses words that can be “very formal” and reserved for public bulletins. He noted that Bing was “the most literal translation” and ranked it lower compared to ChatGPT and Google Translate.

“[AI models] would not generalize well to languages ​​with few resources or for which there are no longer enough human options accruing,” Rajani says. For Amharic and Tagalog, we suspected that the chatbots lacked sufficient data to give a nuanced response that matched the context of the paragraph. rather, they seemed more literal than Google Translate, the alternative to what we saw in the other languages.

Microsoft Bing had even more problems with Amharic. He left a part of each paragraph in English. This was the time when neither service attempted a translation, even for other script-based languages ​​like Korean and Arabic:

Paragraph 1 – ሰላም! Do you have health problems? በመፈል ጋሉ? You have $50 and you have cocktails? ከ 2-three ሜ. We’ve had a long day of travel and we want to let off some steam! You are welcome to join us. Health!

Párrafo 2 – How to use the utility? ¿Tienes problemas con el muelle? In the size of the cubierta superior and left more champán drink the jóvenes hooligans from more per day? ¡Eso es peligroso y no es mi tipo de diversion!

Take a look at 2: Is ChatGPT Plus really worth translating?
Seoul, Korea
(credit: fotoVoyager/Getty Images)
Knowing that AI chatbots often outperform Google Translate in translation, a new question arises: Which version of ChatGPT is great?

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24x7offshoring offers a free plan, which runs on a version called GPT-3.5, as well as a paid Plus plan for $20 per month. With a Plus account, you can use the most advanced version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, as well as have access to a new offering called GPT. those personalized AIs are educated in specific tasks, like translating a language (or even being a romantic companion).

 

 

In February 2024, eight months after the initial test, our trusty translators did another blind test, this time comparing ChatGPT’s many differences against each other. We also looked at Google Translate results to see if it still ranks lower, given how quickly that technology is evolving.

Languages: Polish, French, Korean, German, Arabic, Tagalog (Note: German was no longer tested in the first round and we did not include Spanish or Amharic in this second test due to availability issues).

Translation Offers: Google Translate, Free ChatGPT (GPT-3.5), Paid ChatGPT (GPT-4), Paid ChatGPT (GPTStore trained to be a translator for each particular language)

Test Paragraph: From Harry Potter – “Harry felt as if he had barely gone to sleep in Ron’s room when Mrs. Weasley shook him awake. “It’s time to go, Harry, dear,” she whispered, turning away. to Wake up Ron. Harry reached for his glasses, put them on, and sat up. However, it became dark outside. Ron muttered indistinctly as his mother woke him up. At the foot of Harry’s mattress he noticed large, tangled shapes emerging from tangles of blankets. “Is it time?” Fred said dazedly.

ChatGPT presented a GPT for each language we examined. The chat interface looks almost the same as the main ChatGPT web page, with the exception of a few prompts to get started, including “translate to German” or “convert PDF to Italian.” This shows extra advanced language skills.

Almost always, ChatGPT Plus provided a pleasing translation. Our testers ranked both GPT-4, the most advanced and most useful version with a Plus account, and a single-language GPT as number one for five out of six languages. Although it is not yet a definitive solution due to the small sample length, the consistency of the consequences seems to mean that more superior and tremendously trained models do make a difference.

“[The GPT for Tagalog] is easily the most enjoyable for me this time,” Salao says. “Most of the grammar was correct and the main idea of ​​each sentence was well translated. There were some elements that would be considered errors, such as the use of ‘gusot’ as an interpretation of both ‘tangles’ and ‘tangled’, but those They are minors.”

Google Translate worked incredibly well, but better than the first test eight months ago. It ranked first in German and second in Tagalog and Arabic.

“If we compare this to the nonsense that Google Translate used to offer in the afterlife, this is night and day,” says our German tester Sandra. “I’m very inspired.”

The free version of ChatGPT, GPT-3.5, also ranked relatively low. It took the top spot for the Germans, reaching 2d, but for everyone else it became 1/3 or a useless close. It’s doubtful that OpenAI could intentionally limit the capabilities of the free version to force users to pay for a Plus account, but overall, the free version of ChatGPT and Google Translate did something similar in this modern test.

Integrated travel is an enriching experience, but the language barrier can cause a number of situations, from problems preparing meals in to communication problems with your host and security concerns. Of course, conventional translation apps can be used, but there are built-in apps where you may want to leave your phone properly hidden (or you won’t have access to local information for built-in online deals). For that reason, a specialized translator is an excellent investment that you can be sure will work in any environment.

These handheld devices are wireless for simple conversations, integrated directions, integrated road signs and symptoms, and integrated public transportation navigation. some are very simple and others are very sophisticated, with touch screens, cameras, pronunciation help, built-in help, and accurate translation for dozens of dialects. We incorporate world-class virtual translators to help you meet your genuinely integrated needs.

This device relies on AI generation to translate 136 languages ​​with ninety-eight percent accuracy while offering instant two-way interpretations to keep conversations flowing. It also supports forty languages ​​in photo mode, with OCR (optical individual recognition) that quickly scans and reads menus, symptoms, labels, newspapers and other text.

The Raviad Language Translator device offers access to sixteen offline languages. But keep in mind that advanced features, such as real-time message translation and up to 60 minutes of voice recording with multi-language translation, can only be accessed with an Internet connection, whether while on vacation. hotspot or your phone’s hotspot while traveling.

Although this virtual tool is not always as compact as others we find, the slightly larger screen can make the text easier to study. We appreciate that the rechargeable design runs constantly for 10 hours on a full battery, and recharging only takes about an hour with a USB-C connector.

Although algorithms are improving, one aspect that has been difficult for a long time and continues to be difficult is the form of phrase vs. sentence.

Translating from Swahili to English is better than translating from English to Swahili, because Google Translate doesn’t seem to be well configured to rely on many English phrases to compress them into long, single Swahili words. This is just a couple of languages ​​I’ve used myself, but it applies to others. It seems to be doing better now than it was a couple of years ago, but it’s still a bit behind.

Google Translate is getting amazing (unusually speaking) at its handling of syntax (sentence form), but word structure is still catching up. It is very exciting that the problem is asymmetric for Swahili.

It also seems like the reason why reading a device translated into Thai is often hilariously absurd: it’s always the language in which I usually have no idea what the original text is broadly about! Daniel Ross’s solution to Why are Google Translate and other translators so bad at translating Thai? In the case of Thai it is not because the sentences are long, exactly, but because spaces are not written, so Google Translate sees everything as one long sentence, and it comes up with gibberish while it guesses what the phrase probably has limitations.

(Honestly, this is much worse on Facebook, which I rely on using a translation version of Bing, and whenever my Thai friends write in Thai, which I don’t recognize, I love reading something like “translation” which shows how it doesn’t have sense: Yesterday my friend apparently wrote “Chris is in for hugs!” if you’re okay with the translation. And when one of my Thai friends writes Thai poetry? Let’s just say something is wrong in the translation!).

The good news is that because these things are getting a little better now (they used to be categorically bad), that indicates that the problem can be solved statistically if the version is now allowed to make complex associations between translations from one to several sentences.

In short, the ruleset is now basically gaining knowledge to redesign itself: not only statistical correspondences, but also the perfect styles of statistical correspondences to apply. This is the next step in Google Translate’s AI capabilities and it’s interesting to see how it evolves.

SPRING HAS ARRIVED, summer is quickly approaching, and most importantly, the world tour will be returning in the coming months. This means the chance to immerse yourself in special places, languages, and cultures, and we’re here to help you with that endeavor.

While learning some local slang before you go, or learning something along the way broadens your thoughts, a language translation app can be a great tool to help you along the way, whether it’s helping you with a problem or helping you get to know the language.

Language translation apps are a dime a dozen these days, and many are offered alongside some premium alternatives. In some cases, you may not even need to download a new app, and Google and Apple are joining the game with their own versions. Microsoft has its flexible offering and lesser-known companies like SayHi and iTranslate are also making their case. We’ve tested them all to find the high-quality one you can take with you as you fulfill your 2021 wanderlust.

Translation Apps – Examined

To prove this, we delved deeper into each app, focusing on the user’s taste for a beginner in the language, as well as discovering the unique capabilities that the apps display as a key promoting factor. That’s not all, though: we’ve enlisted the help of language professionals to provide an informed view on the joy of translations themselves, as well as a translator’s view on how each app is used.

Our specialists come from 24x7offshoring, an online language tutoring provider that has also worked with companies such as Amazon High, HBO and the BBC on translation initiatives. Check the permission on the first application.

Google Translate is comprehensive and easy to use, but it is not the best

While the apps from the big names on this list keep it especially simple, the user interface is much more complicated compared to services from Apple and Microsoft. However, the slightly cluttered top of the home screen doesn’t infringe on overall usability, with functions and tabs certainly labeled. You won’t have any trouble deciding what to do if you open this app looking for a short answer.

The home screen begins with the simple option to select the languages ​​you want to translate from and to, accompanied by a text box to type words. There is also an alternative to writing by hand.

You will then see the “digital camera”, “conversation” and “Transcribe” alternatives actually provided. the camera allows you to take a photo of a text to translate it; the verbal exchange is for live translation, since you and another person speak in different languages; and Transcribe serves to translate audio in progress from a single source. Once you have completed any translation, you can share it and store it.

More complex settings allow for unique adjustments, including allowing offensive words, selecting specific regions for certain languages, and turning on offline translation.

Google Translate is feature-rich, mostly for a free app. However, what use are these features if the translations are not always up to par? My Language Lab determined that Google Translate’s translations were very accurate, however, it detected some errors, especially related to morphology (the structure and composition of phrases in the sentence) and word gender.

During testing of these applications by My Language Lab, the company used an excerpt from The Art and Structure of Islam 650-1250 with the help of Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar for evaluation purposes, focusing on translation capabilities. Italian and Spanish. In the Italian translation, Google made an error in the gender of some phrases, while in Spanish it confused the meaning of some phrases.

Despite these qualms, My Language Lab rated Google Translate as very easy to use and of a high enough standard to be able to keep the overall meaning of the translation close. This should make it an excellent travel companion, but less true for interpreting longer portions of text or audio.

Translate (iOS)
proper syntax and easy to use app

Like Google Translate, the translation app dedicated to iOS users, Translate, focuses on a simplistic design, although this does not perfectly equate to being easy to use.

In case you are simply looking for an unusual translation, then it is easy to navigate. The overall design is even simpler than the already fairly simple Google Translate design. You choose your languages ​​at the top, there’s a large space to enter text and a blue button at the bottom for voice translation. The only different visible detail within the application is the “Favorites” to save translations after the fact.

However, there is something more to this app, and that is where a certain level of annoyance arises. As with other iOS apps made by Apple, you need to exit the app and go to Settings to modify some more complex elements.

Admittedly, there aren’t many similar features available here, which really allows you to allow Translate to work using mobile statistics and the option of an on-device mode. The tool mode is perhaps the biggest frustration, as being able to download languages ​​so you can use Translate offline is extremely useful. But casual users may not recognize this exists without stumbling upon it.

In terms of modern accuracy, our experts noted that it is quite true for defining sentence form, but can often present some puzzling results from having too standard a vocabulary.

For example, the text used for translation verification uses the phrase “court file” to refer to a type of location within a building. however, Translate interprets this to the courts in Italian, a phrase used in the context of courts of law. He also had trouble with the compound word “throne rooms” and chose to simply translate half of it.

The Translate app goes a long way in resolving any contextual errors, like the one mentioned above, by allowing you to click on any phrase to expose its meaning. however, those with a basic knowledge of the language would probably not recognize for which phrases such revision might be essential.

This makes it a wonderfully easy-to-use alternative for basic single-sentence translation while on tour, but, for academic or more complex tasks, you may run into some obstacles.

Platform: iOS

professionals: simple format; effective for basic translations; first class with sentence structure

Cons: Too extensive vocabulary; problems with compound words

score: 7/10

Microsoft Translator
A dated look doesn’t prevent this full-featured app

 

As soon as you open the Microsoft Translator app, you may feel like you’ve stepped back a decade, especially compared to offerings from Google and Apple. However, this in the long run enables the app from a usability perspective, presenting a very good range of features with a user interface that is easy enough for absolutely everyone, including people who may not be as smartphone savvy.

The main layout offers large buttons that fully distinguish between text, voice, talk and camera modes. There’s even something about the placement of those appropriately sized buttons (within thumb reach for easy activation) that makes this app feel like a dynamic translation tool. Comparatively, opponents do not provide this sensation and experience a more involved and interest-sapping experience.

All modes work as intended, with photo and voice translations being especially beneficial. The conversations mode is the most complicated component of the application, since it requires the person you are speaking with to “be part” of the communication through the use of their own device; therefore, this is reserved for specific situations rather than outside of it. use of the bracelet.

Below are icons for history, phrasebook, and settings. Important settings, available in the app unlike its rival Apple Translate, include having your smartphone read translations, increasingly slowing down audio translations to make them clearer, getting access to language translation without connection and the ability to delete your translation history.

Even if the phrasebook once again increases the feeling that this tool is a great travel companion, offering quick access to a large number of basic phrases in a designated language.

In terms of translation quality, My Language Lab found that the Microsoft Translator app had solid vocabulary, accurate text translation, even if it requires personal review, and had no notable issues.

The Microsoft Translator app is easy to use and should be the app of choice for people who want digital translations, but aren’t a regular or regular phone consumer. The app also has an excellent range of features, making it scalable for people who also need to do more with their translations.