Speed and Efficiency:
MTPE accelerates the translation process by quickly processing large volumes of text through a trained engine, followed by human revisions and refinement.
EnglishMachine Translation Post-Editing
Reduce translation costs by up to 50% and speed up turnaround times.
What Is MTPE?
Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) combines machine translation with expert human editing for fast and accurate multi-language content translation. The merger of technological efficiency with linguistic expertise offers businesses quick turnarounds, a broad language range, cost savings, and various levels of edit to make sure the quality meets your program goals.
I've worked with Alconost for several years now, and I've always been impressed with their professionalism and attention to detail. They consistently deliver high-quality translations that are accurate and culturally appropriate. I highly recommend their services to anyone looking for a reliable localization partner."
Case studies
We have localized over 1,500 projects and produced 1,000+ videos. Let's make something special for you too!
Vizor
Learn more- Services: Continuous localization, MTPE
- Languages: ES-ES, NL, PL, ZH-CN, ZH-TW, PT-BR, IT, KO, FR, DE
eSIM Provider
Learn more- Services: Localization, Linguistic QA, MTPE
- Languages: SQ, AR, HU, IT, IS, NL, FR, DE
- Volume: around 30 000 words when requested
Benefits
Faster than translation from scratch by linguists.
Up to 50% more cost efficient than traditional localization.
The translation quality is fit-for-purpose and can be at the level of native speakers.
Packages
Raw MT
A GenAI or NMT (Neural Machine Translation) engine that fits your project
Dedicated project manager
Light Post-Editing
A GenAI or NMT (Neural Machine Translation) engine that fits your project
Dedicated project manager
Essential editing made by professional linguists to spot inaccuracies
Engine evaluation
Full Post-Editing
A GenAI or NMT (Neural Machine Translation) engine that fits your project
Dedicated project manager
Essential editing made by professional linguists to spot inaccuracies
Meticulous editing made by professional linguists to ensure high-quality, fluent, and contextually correct content.
Access to the Localization Management Platform
Engine evaluation
Custom Scenario
Everything in Full Post-Editing, plus:
Personalized service for custom needs, such as engine training, terminology management, and meeting other specific requirements.
Here's how MTPE at Alconost works
Preparation:
During the preparation stage, the project manager (PM) reviews the content and collects additional context if required (e.g., type of content, audience, tone of voice, quality expectations, etc.). In the preparation stage, the PM:
1
Selects a sample from the text (typically ~2000 chars, up to 2 languages) that will be used in engine evaluation.
2
Pre-selects 7-9 Neural Machine Translation (NMT) engines or GenAI for evaluation.
3
(Optional) Conducts prompt engineering if GenAI is used.
4
Sets up a test project on the localization platform.
Evaluation:
The PM performs the following actions to determine which engine(s) perform the best for the given project. There are 2 types of evaluation Express and Deep:
5
Pre-translates the text into all project languages using the pre-selected NMT engine or GenAI. Express Deep
6
Sends the output translation samples to native-speaking human linguists for evaluation. At this stage, the translation outputs generated by each NMT engine or GenAI are reviewed and holistically evaluated. Express Deep
7
Determines the translation sample with the highest evaluation score, which will then be post-edited by human translators. Deep
8
Requests engine scoring. Each translation sample is assigned a score derived based on industry-accepted metrics used to compare sample translations against the post-edited translation (COMET, CHRF, BLEU, hLEPOR, WER). Engines with the highest scores will be used in the project going forward. Based on our experience, NMT/GenAI perform differently for different language pairs and types of content. Deep
9
Based on the holistic evaluation and metrics above (in case of Deep evaluation), the PM prepares the project estimates (budget, turnaround time).
Continuous Translation:
10
The project manager builds the localization workflow, pre-translates content using the NMT/GenAI selected above, allocates tasks to linguists on the localization platform, and monitors deadlines and translation quality.
11
If translators have questions, they ask them on the localization platform. Discussions are visible to the whole project team.
12
The completed translations are automatically exported in the same format as the original files using an API or manually.
13
The PM also conducts recurring QA checks to validate that the output quality is continuously high and that the NMT/GenAI perform as expected. Depending on the project requirements, the NMT/GenAI can be regularly retrained based on glossaries and translation memory accumulated during the project.
MTPE Service Packages
Raw Machine Translation
Receive immediate raw translation output produced solely by advanced machine translation engines, without any human intervention. Benefit from a Managed Service, supported by a dedicated project manager who ensures that your localization process runs smoothly from start to finish.
It’s best for large-scale projects demanding fast and efficient translation, such as:
- Product descriptions (e-commerce)
- News articles
- Corporate blogs
- Internal documentation
- Support content
Light Post-Editing
Build on the advantages of RAW MT with essentials-only editing by professional linguists to render the translated content comprehensible, addressing any inaccuracies that could misconstrue meaning or trigger confusion.
For non business-critical content, including:
- Blog posts/SEO content
- Software development and API documentation
- User-generated content
- Documentation
- E-commerce descriptions
Full Post-Editing
A comprehensive review and correction of machine-generated translations by professional native linguists. The objective is to produce a final product that is the same quality as a human translation, with proper attention to style, tone, and context or culture-specific nuances.
Track process and progress to ensure high-quality, fluent, and contextually correct content with access to our Localization Management Platform.
For high-volume urgent tasks and mission-critical content, such as:
- Legal documents
- Game descriptions
- Finance documents
- Educational textbooks and complex academic articles
- Online course descriptions
Custom scenario
Request a unique solution for your specific project needs, integrating advanced MT with customized workflows and human expertise.
We will tailor your translation service to match the nuances of your content. Pricing depends on your particular needs.
This is a comprehensive package for solutions like:
- Content profiling
- Style guides
- Engine training
- Terminology management
- Quality checks
- Meeting specific requirements
MTPE vs Traditional Translation
When deciding between Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) and traditional human translation, several factors come into play. MTPE offers notable advantages over traditional methods:
Cost-Effectiveness:
With less intensive human input when compared to traditional translation, MTPE often leads to lower costs while leveraging advanced machine translation technology.
Scalability:
MTPE scales well for high-volume multilingual projects, quickly providing base translations across various languages for subsequent post-editing.
Consistency:
Machine translation maintains consistency in terminology and style, which is particularly beneficial for large volumes of text, such as in traditional localization. Human editors then refine it to match specific guidelines.
Choose MTPE for projects prioritizing speed, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Quality is guaranteed by the post-editing process, in which human linguists review content to make sure the quality meets expectations. Traditional translation remains ideal for projects that focus on detailed, high-quality content, demanding deep cultural understanding, like creative and marketing materials and sensitive or confidential documents that require human accuracy and security.
FAQ
How does MTPE work?
MTPE begins with an automated translation which is generated by a machine translation (MT) engine. The raw translation is then sent to a specialist linguist called a post-editor, who reviews and checks the translation for accuracy and consistency. This may involve making corrections or amending the translation in order to make it as accurate and clear as possible.
How do I pick the right MTPE package?
There are several Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) options and it is important to choose the best fit for your business. To simplify your decision-making process, we've outlined 4 key considerations to help you select the most suitable package for your project:
Quality expectations
Raw MT output may or may not meet your requirements for quality. The level of translation quality you need depends on the visibility, level of nuance, and importance of your content. For example, user generated content is neither sensitive nor of critical importance so is a viable candidate for MT + light post-editing. However, website content is of high importance, highly visible, and often has an emotional nuance. The more sensitive to quality the content is, the more advanced MTPE package you'll need to ensure a polished, error-free translation.
Time constraints:
More advanced packages provide more thorough editing that may take more time in comparison to simpler ones.
Complex languages:
Some languages are more viable for MT processes than others because machine translation engines are not yet well-trained enough to accurately translate content into them. This results in the need for more careful post-editing for those language pairs.
Sensitive, highly-branded or nuanced content:
If your content deals with sensitive information, requires a nuanced understanding, or contains humor, then you should consider more advanced packages. It’s this advanced level of post-editing that ensures every translated word aligns perfectly with your original intended message.
Every project is unique, and so are its translation needs. Depending on the project, you may combine different MTPE packages. For instance, you might blend Full MTPE for critical content with RAW MT for support materials. We will work with you to tailor the solution to suit the specific needs of your project.
What is MT Engine Evaluation?
Engine Evaluation is the process of assessing the performance and accuracy of various machine translation engines. It involves testing and analyzing how well the engine translates different content types and evaluating its strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation helps determine the suitability of the engine for specific translation tasks, languages, or content types and allows for optimization or customization to improve translation quality.
Is MTPE more cost-effective than traditional translation services?
MTPE, or Machine Translation Post-Editing, is often more cost-effective than traditional translation services because it combines the speed and efficiency of machine translation with the expertise of human editors. Additionally, MT is quicker, and depending on the level of post-editing required timelines can be substantially condensed. However, it’s important to note that MT is not free: customizing and fine-tuning the engine bears a cost.
What is the difference between Generative AI and Neural Machine Translation (NMT)?
Generative AI (Large Language Models) excels at creating new content by learning from diverse data, ideal for tasks that need innovation and cultural adaptability. NMT, however, is focused on accurately translating text from one language to another and is better suited for industries where precision is critical, like healthcare or law. Regardless of the technology, integrating human oversight can boost translation quality. Choose Generative AI for creative flexibility or NMT for precise translation, based on your project's requirements.
Who are your translators and how are they selected?
All translations at Alconost are performed by professional translators who are native speakers.
We have approximately 700 professional native-speaking translators on our team, who specialize in a broad range of fields. We always try to assign one or more dedicated translators to your project and work specifically with these translators on a continuous basis. This is useful if you have a large project that is updated periodically, you need to use consistent terminology, or you simply like a particular translator's style. If the translator changes for some reason, they will provide the glossary and translation memory to the new translator to ensure consistency of terminology and style in future updates.
What localization TMS (translation management systems or platforms) are you working with?
Our first choice is the cloud-based translation platform Crowdin. It allows us to manage localization projects in real-time. You can:
- Upload string resources in any format (.resx, .po, .strings, etc.) either manually or through the API
- Assign translators and editors
- Track the translation and editing process for your project
- Leave comments and discuss questions directly with the translators and editors
- Create glossaries
- Manage the translation memory
- Export string resources once the translation is complete
We also work on other localization platforms, such as GitLocalize, Phrase, Lokalise, Memsource, memoQ, Smartcat, WebTranslateIt, Transifex, OneSky, POEditor, Trados, and many more.
What file formats do you work with?
We can work with any file type including:
Android .xml, iOS .strings, .stringsdict, Windows .resx, .po, .pot, .php, .json, .ini, .csv, .js, .plist, .xlf, .xliff, .stf, .dita, .ditamap, .toml, .gotext.json, .arb, .vdf, .wxl, .nsh, .properties, .dtd, .ts, .rc, .resw, .resjson, .yml, .htm, .html, .xhtml, .haml, .txt, .md, .xht, .idml, .docx, .svg, .pdf, .xaml, .srt, .vtt, .sbv, .mif, .idml, .rtf, .ppt, .odt, .ods, .odg, .odp, .wiki, .flsnp, .flpgl, .fltoc, .md, .xht.
We also work with other file formats and proprietary systems. Let's discuss your project!
What languages do you translate into?
We translate into more than 100 languages, including the most popular (English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish), and rarer ones, and even dialects of one language such as Spanish for Spain versus Spanish for Latin America.
We can find a translator in almost any language that you need, depending on your product and goals. Sometimes localization into niche languages can offer better prospects than localization into mainstream languages.
To help us calculate the cost of localization, please request a quote with the target languages that you would like to localize your website into.
What our clients say
We have localized over 1,500 projects and produced 1,000+ videos. Let's make something special for you too!
During the rapid growth phase of any startup, you appreciate anything that saves you time. And with a growing international user base, translation quality affects the way people feel about the reliability of your company.
With Alconost + Crowdin we loved the way translation is guaranteed to be accurate and context-appropriate.
Nitro is extremely helpful when it comes to localisation for us. Allowing for quick turnaround, with great support, the results are of high quality. It's a core part of our process.
Given the volumes we need to translate weekly and the number of languages we localize our website and apps into, Alconost offered us the best solution in terms of flexibility, pricing, and quality among the translations agencies we were considering. The quality of the translations is quite high with the proofreading service that Alconost provides.
I really appreciate the speed and quality of work provided by Alconost team professionals. Thank you and keep rockin' !
We used to work with freelance translators via a crowdsourcing platform, but the process was lengthy and complicated. With Nitro it’s easy for us to translate texts for our games into multiple languages simultaneously: we just copy the text, specify the languages needed, and receive our translated texts within 24 hours!
We have been working with Alconost team for many years and never had an issue and with the time the quality of localization services only increased.
Fast, quick, and responsive to our changing requirements for various projects.
Alconost has an exceptional and highly skilled team that diligently and swiftly handles tasks with high attention to detail. We are delighted that we have successfully resolved the intricate multilingual structure of our website and other written materials. With a partner we have complete trust in, our confidence is unwavering!
We are a global company and require high-quality translations in multiple languages. Alconost did an excellent job for us. Their communication was fast and convenient, and the translation quality was top-notch. We will definitely turn to Alconost again for our future projects.
We’ve worked with Alconost for many years now. The fact that we can go to the same company to translate a website, an interface, or technical documentation, create a video clip, or record a voice-over isn’t just convenient — it’s extremely convenient.
Working with Alconost has been a very positive experience. Our Project Manager is very helpful and quickly responds to our requests and questions. The translators are very thorough; they often ask questions and submit valid suggestions and feedback. The recurrent translation process we have in place has been working perfectly and saved us a lot of time.
I sincerely thank the Alconost team for their work translating Conf.app. Their professionalism, patience, and attention to detail throughout the process were impressive, and the final results were of the highest quality. I highly recommend Alconost to anyone seeking professional translation services and look forward to working with them again.
A team of professionals with whom it is always pleasant and convenient to work. Their approach to work and interaction processes instill confidence in the result.
With tight deadlines to release app updates, we could not ask for a better translation partner than Alconost. Reliable, accurate, fast, and willing to go above and beyond. We've never found better value for our money!
I really enjoyed the collaboration that has been established from the very beginning of the localization process. The communication has been smooth and both translators and the project manager have proved to be attentive to all aspects of our software, from character limitations to glossary and stylistic guidelines.
The translation team Alconost established for us was quick to grasp what the HUD App was about and since then, it's been a very straightforward and easy partnership for us. We know our app is unique, and we love working with Alconost because their team gets it. They have made offering our app to a worldwide audience as trouble-free as possible.
We are happy how the processes are working with Alconost: smooth and flexible. We do recommend the company as your translation partner.
To be honest I was very surprised at the quality of the work considering the time and cost, I had heard that the value for money of the localization services was very good, but it was actually much better than I expected, I would definitely work with Alconost again, in fact I am recommending them to colleagues in the industry.
Picking a localization service with a strong understanding of the games industry was critical for us, as the mod.io platform is used by a diverse range of game studios and their mod creators and players. Each of these have a different usage pattern, so catering for this is important, which Alconost understood and was able to deliver on.
Translations are always professional and of high quality. The project managers are willing to solve unusual or difficult problems (such as finding a rare language translator or advising about regional variations in the same language in different countries). It’s a pleasure to work with Alconost.
Over the past few years of cooperation with Alconost, we have had absolutely no issues and always received translations within our preferred time frame. Communication is as simple as possible; Alconost fully takes care of all possible nuances that may arise during the translation process. We are very pleased with the cooperation. Keep it up!
I contacted Alconost when I needed to translate a game into ten different languages. The translation was completed very quickly and in a format that was convenient for me. I’d also like to mention their managers, who are very friendly and always willing to help. They were very kind and helpful, and I enjoyed interacting with them. All in all, my experience working with Alconost was extremely positive.
Pleasant and knowledgeable professionals. I liked the structure of the translation process from a technical point of view, especially work with the glossary. Native translators, skillful work with the program, and the ability to observe the process are definite advantages of Alconost.
You are a team of professionals, it is pleasant to work and get excellent results on time. My expectations from cooperation were fully justified. Thank you!
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