The growing capabilities of automatic translation tools have led to their increasing use across business, administration, and education. Although translation algorithms have become highly advanced, they still struggle with idioms, stylistic nuances, and specialized terminology. For this reason, machine translation post-editing is gaining importance. It is a process in which a human linguist gives the machine-generated text a professional and natural form.
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What Is Machine Translation Post-Editing?
Post-editing is the process of revising and adapting text produced by an MT (Machine Translation) system. The goal is to ensure that the content is linguistically correct, logically structured, and easy to read.
A post-editor reviews the translation, corrects mistakes, removes awkward calques, and verifies whether the terminology aligns with the specific industry. The editor also ensures that the text meets the communication standards and expectations of the target audience. As a result, the client receives a text indistinguishable from a traditional human translation, delivered in a shorter time.
Types of post-editing
Post-editing does not always involve the same level of work. There are two main types of post-editing services, depending on the client’s needs.
Full post-editing
Full post-editing involves a detailed review and correction of the entire text. This includes linguistic and stylistic editing, consistency checks and proper terminology alignment. The result is a translation ready for publication and suitable for use in promotional materials, official documents, and corporate reports. Professional translation agencies recommend this type of service for texts intended for a broad audience and representing a brand or institution.
Light post-editing
Light post-editing is a faster verification of the text, focused on removing the most important errors. The linguist ensures that the translation is clear and faithful to the source but does not refine all stylistic details. This variant is ideal for internal documents, notes or analytical materials that do not require a polished style.
Post-Editing vs. Traditional Translation – Differences and Similarities
Although both post-editing and traditional translation processes are intended to produce a correct and coherent text in the target language, they differ in how this goal is achieved.
In traditional translation, the linguist creates the target text entirely from scratch. In post-editing, they work on content generated by a machine, refining and improving it where necessary. Both processes require high linguistic and subject-matter expertise, but post-editing is usually faster and more cost-effective.
It is important to note that post-editing does not always replace traditional translation. For medical or legal documents, where absolute precision is critical, specialist translations performed by experienced professionals remain the safer option.
Benefits of Machine Translation Post-Editing
Post-editing provides a range of advantages for both companies and individual clients. It helps save time and reduce costs, provides higher quality compared to raw machine output, ensures industry and audience-specific adaptation, allows flexibility in service level, and supports a professional image.
This makes post-editing a practical compromise between technological speed and human expertise. In practice, it is particularly useful for organizations that manage large volumes of text and require content to be prepared quickly. E-commerce platforms, international institutions, and technology companies that rely on MT tools and human refinement commonly use post-editing.
Summary
Automatic translation systems are powerful and convenient, but they still need human support. Machine translation post-editing allows businesses to harness technology while maintaining quality and consistency. It is a solution that successfully bridges automation and human intelligence, ensuring clarity, naturalness, and reliability across industries.