Nowadays machines are replacing humans. What we humans are doing, machines can do a lot more, better than us. Machines are taking charge of all the easy, tough, and tiring work. Almost everything has become automated these days and so is the translation process. With machine translation services, translation processes have become fast and so easy. But still, there are certain areas where machine translation (MT) isn’t the right approach. The newer AI technology is making human effort less and less needed. For instance, when it comes to translating humor from one language to another, machine translation does not describe the full meaning. Now the question that arises is, why can’t MT fulfill that task?
Machine Translation Offers Many Benefits
Machine translation tools aren’t just for fast translation. These tools follow a certain algorithm that focuses on language learning models to translate the content from one language to another. There are several benefits these tools provide, for instance, translation memory which retains the translation the tools have done previously for future use. Fast translation solutions are provided by MT tools. The translation memory retains the pattern that it translates for later. Also, you can translate the content in multiple languages at the same time.
So if you have content in bulk amounts and less time, MT is the right solution for you. Also MT has become so advanced. Nowadays, it is so much more than just statistical machine translation, rather the technology in use today is neural machine translation (NMT). Hiring humans to translate content from one language to another can be expensive, so using MT tools is really cost-effective. Other than that, there is coherence and consistency in the translated text which is done by using MT tools.
But It’s Not Made For Humor Translation
Humor is a universal phenomenon we all humans use. In every language, humor is interpreted in a different way. There is really no compulsion that if one thing is humorous in one culture, it should also be humorous in another. It can be offensive which is why when the difference of languages arises, humor should be dealt with extreme care. Humor and MT are two things that don’t work together. Machine translation has a certain algorithm and systematic features that it follows and adheres to in all circumstances. It translates humor as it does other parts of the content. This is where humor changes into something unrecognizable. So when the concept of humor arrives, it is language translation services that should be used.
Not A Translation-Friendly Approach
Humor is totally a human experience and thing. Which is why it is humans who can describe it in the most appropriate way. For instance, a hotel in France when translating its slogan into English, went like this
- Original: Leave nothing but your footprints.
- Translated: Leave nothing but your feet.
In English, it doesn’t feel anything remotely similar to humor but in France the slogan makes sense. This is the perfect example of humor gone wrong due to using machine translation tools. So humor is surely not a translation-friendly approach.
Context Gets Lost
The original context in which one wishes to convey the message gets lost when MT tools translate humor. The translation of KFC’s slogan into Chinese is another example of translation that went wrong.
Fails to Depict the Cultural Meaning
Most of the time humor is a cultural thing. Our humor is based on the norms and the underdog world that we have. So when linguistic and cultural differences arise, we sound different and the humor gets lost. For example, if you tell an African American person a joke about colors, he/she is going to assume you’re being racist and the humor vanishes. But if you tell the same joke to an American, he/she is going to laugh.
So if the same joke is translated using MT tools, the actual meaning gets lost and you are showcasing an offensive image. Imagine you are a brand and your marketing content sounds offensive because of the translation mishap, the audience is going to stop using your products and you will get defamed in the consumer market.
Using Transcreation to Save the Actual Meaning
So to escape this humor misinterpretation, you should opt for human translators instead of relying on machine translation tools. Human translators are adept in both the source and target language and they know how to keep the context of humor despite the cultural and linguistic differences. And if money isn’t a problem for you, you can utilize transcreation services which are one level above human translation solutions. Here translators not only translate the content but also recreate it to adapt the original meaning and tone of the text.
Concluding Remarks!
It is true that MT tools provide translation tools much faster than human translators do. But when it comes to humor MT isn’t the right tool. Humor is a cultural thing that only humans can explain well. This is why humor should be translated by human translators because of their mastery of both source and target languages.
