What to check before sending a translated document

You can check a lot without speaking the language. Start with the things a machine gets wrong in ways your eyes can catch: names, numbers and dates. Then add a second reader for the rest.

Checks you can do yourself

Proper names and places. A reference on machine translation says names must be identified first;¹ if not, they "may be erroneously translated as common nouns". They "may be omitted from the output translation" too. Look at your business name, product names, street names and people's names. Each should appear the same way as in the original.

Numbers, dates and money. Match every figure against the original, one by one. Write months as words in both versions, so a date can't be read two ways. Check that currency symbols and units haven't been changed unless you meant them to be.

Nothing missing. Count the paragraphs, bullets and table rows in both versions. If the counts differ, find out why.

Words that could mean two things.² Google's help notes that "Some words may have different meanings." Look in your original for words like these, and rewrite them as full phrases before you translate again.

Tone.³ These tools "tend to produce fairly literal translations." A direct sentence may sound blunt or odd in another language. Ask yourself whether the original was a request, an apology or a warning, and whether the translation still reads that way.

Checks that need another reader

You can't judge fluency in a language you don't know. A bilingual staff member, a trusted customer or a freelance translator can. Give them both versions, the original and the translation, and ask for these things:

1. Does the translation say the same as the original?
2. Is anything odd, rude or confusing?
3. Would a local reader use these words?

Tell them to mark changes rather than rewrite everything. A reviewer answers better when the questions are this specific.

Match the check to the stakes

The table is a suggested routine, not a rule from a source.¹ The one fixed point from the research is that neural output typically needs human editing.

Keep a record

Save the original, the machine version and the checked version together, with the date and the name of the tool. If a customer later questions a sentence, you'll know what was sent and what was checked. If the tool or its settings change, you'll also know which version of the process you used.