Place your translation order or request a free price quote in five steps.

Light or Full Post-Editing of machine translations?

Language industry insights from the Linguarum survey on MTPE projects among professional translators, conducted in fall 2024.

Was bedeutet das Sechs-Augen-Prinzip?

In the machine translation industry, the terms Light and Full Post-Editing are often confused, making it difficult to clearly distinguish between the two concepts. MTPE stands for Machine Translation Post-Editing, but it is to bear in mind that post-editing itself is carried out at different levels by translators.

What is Light Post-Editing?

As the name suggests, Light Post-Editing refers to a light and quick revision of a machine translation. The translator’s focus is on ensuring that the target text is fluent, clear, and grammatically correct. In contrast, Full Post-Editing is a more in-depth editing process of the machine translation: the text is comprehensively checked for accuracy, style, tone, and terminology to create a final product that is nearly equivalent in quality to a fully human-produced translation.

Differences between Light and Full Post-Editing

‘Light Post-Editing is not possible for Finnish, as its grammar does not lend itself well to MT (machine translation) solutions. Everything is therefore treated as Full Post-Editing. At times, Full Post-Editing can take even more time than a simple translation.’

Translator into Finnish

‘Bei Finnisch ist Light Post-Editing nicht möglich, da die finnische Grammatik keine gute MT (machine translation) ermöglicht. Alles wird daher wie ein Full Post-Editing behandelt. Zeitweise kann Full Post-Editing sogar mehr Zeit in Anspruch nehmen als nur eine reine Übersetzung.’

When is Light Post-Editing (not) sufficient?

To answer this question better, we conducted a survey among 100 of our dedicated translators. Our aim was to gain deeper insights into their experiences, working methods, and the tools they use when post-editing machine-translated texts, so that we can offer our customers tailored and the most suitable services.

The survey focused on the following aspects:

differences between Light and Full Post-Editing,

the most common types of errors that translators correct during post-editing,

the handling of terminology in Light Post-Editing vs. Full Post-Editing,

as well as the tools that enable the best results in post-editing.

When is Light Post-Editing an effective solution?

Light Post-Editing offers clear advantages, especially when it comes to quickly and cost-effectively revising machine-pretranslated texts for internal purposes, simple reports, or standardized content. During the Light Post-Editing process, translators often have to correct basic errors such as grammatical inaccuracies, incorrect sentence structures, and literal translations that appear unclear or inappropriate in the target text. Additionally, it is necessary to enhance the style of machine-generated translations to ensure a smooth and natural expression.

Our survey confirms that Light Post-Editing often takes more time than originally expected, especially for texts with sensitive or culturally demanding content. In such cases, machine-translated texts must be extensively revised, which often requires more effort than translating the document manually from scratch.

Conclusion

Light Post-Editing is inadequate when style, cultural nuances, or accurate terminology are key aspects of the translation. Specialised texts usually require a higher level of human intervention to ensure the desired quality.

‘Light Post-Editing: for me, it is more like skimming through the translation, requiring little time and only correcting very rough errors. No value is placed on consistent terminology, and minor errors are left unaddressed. I have little experience with it so far, because I also find it difficult not to correct even small mistakes. Furthermore, I do not see the point – if you are already sitting down to edit a text, you might as well do it right.’

Translator into German

‘Light Post-Editing: ist für mich eher ein Überfliegen der Übersetzung, wenig Zeitaufwand und nur sehr grobe Fehler werden korrigiert. Es wird kein Wert auf konsistente Terminologie gelegt und nicht schwerwiegende Fehler werden gar nicht korrigiert. Ich habe bis jetzt wenig Erfahrung damit, weil es mir auch schwerfällt, auch kleine Fehler nicht zu verbessern. Außerdem sehe ich den Sinn nicht, wenn man sich schon hinsetzt und einen Text bearbeitet, kann man es auch gleich richtig machen.’

Machine translation with Full Post-Editing: almost like a human translation?

Full Post-Editing, on the other hand, involves a more in-depth editing of a machine-translated text, bringing the end product closer to a human translation. In contrast to Light Post-Editing, Full Post-Editing involves adapting the text to the client’s requirements in terms of terminology and style, as well as tailoring it to the target audience. Customers who attach great importance to ensuring compliance with industry-specific terminology often choose this option.

Companies expect not only precise translations, but also a tailored adaptation to specific target groups and contexts. This approach is crucial to meet the different requirements of our clients. For this reason, we recommend for your projects the MTPE and MTPE Plus levels, that is to say our Full Post-Editing levels. These allow you to save time and money while getting a translation that is of the same quality as a human translation.

‘I tend to lean towards Full Post-Editing, as otherwise the text can end up sounding forced or unnatural. With Light PE I almost do too much, because, after all, my name is on the translation.’

Translator into Dutch

‘Ich neige eher zu Full Post-Editing, da der Text sonst noch zwickt oder künstlich wirkt. Bei Light PE mache ich fast zu viel, weil schlussendlich mein Name unter der Übersetzung steht.’

MTPE (Full Post-Editing) in accordance with ISO 18587

Machine translation checked and corrected by a qualified MTPE translator. With the help of a native speaker, a high-quality, linguistically and grammatically correct translation can be produced more quickly and cost-effectively. MTPE costs 65% of a Business translation and is recommended if speed and cost-effectiveness are your top priorities.

MTPE Plus (Full Post-Editing with additional revision)

To further ensure quality, the translated and edited version is checked by a second independent translator. The cost amounts to 90% of the Business price, but two translators are working on the text.

Are you currently planning an MTPE translation project?

If you are not sure which option is more suitable for your project – Full Post-Editing or human translation – feel free to contact us.

We will be happy to advise you and create a tailor-made offer based on your requirements.

Projektleiterinnen bei Linguarum

We will help you find the ideal solution to ensure the right balance between quality and budget.

We will also be pleased to present our quality level by offering you a free sample translation. You can call us on +44 20 3139 9070 from Monday to Friday between 07:00 and 16:00 (UK time) or write us an email at [email protected].