The definition of a translator corresponds to that of a person whose profession is to translate texts from one language to another. Also, it can refer to the applications that are responsible for translating pages or portions of text of a website or others. Translation, on the other hand, is the action of understanding a text written in one language and making an equivalence of meaning in another language. When this is done orally it is called interpretation and the science that studies the translation of texts is called traductology.
What is a translator
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In its most specific sense, it is a person who translates magazines, books and others from one language to another. To be a translator, it is necessary to know the linguistic culture of both languages, since if you translate each word separately, then the final translation would not be completely faithful to the original. As for automated translators (both online and offline), they are computational tools that translate one language into another. Translators are softwares that have databases of different languages, allowing millions of users to access the translation of texts almost immediately.
How a translator works
In general, it has a database of words and phrases typical of a country, so that when a person writes a sentence in the translation box, instead of being a word-for-word translation of a text, it is taken into account as a complete sentence, giving a more accurate meaning to the translation.
Many translators also use the comparison of millions of files whose patterns allow better translation of sentences and paragraphs. This is called statistical machine translation.
What is a translator in person
Given the concept of a translator in person, it refers to an individual whose job it is to translate texts that are in another language. Translating texts takes time, as the job of a good translator consists of translating as closely as possible to the original text. Also, after finishing the translation of the text, you should read it carefully in case of errors and compare it with the original text. If possible, many translators choose to contact the editor of the text to be translated, so that he or she can answer some questions that may arise during the translation.
The most translated book in the world on record is The Bible, with some 400 complete translations in different languages and 2000 translations by parts. The first translations of the Bible began by a group of Jews who spoke Koine Greek and Hebrew (the Bible was originally written Aramaic and Hebrew), making the translation of the Septuagint. It was translated into Latin by Jerónimo Estridón between 382 BC. C. and 420 a. C.
How to use an online translator
The preferred search engine opens (Google, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, among others) and keywords such as "English Spanish translator" or "Spanish French translator" are placed in the search bar. The server will automatically display the search results and enter the preferred page, and then place the paragraph that needs to be translated in the translation box. It is noteworthy that there are some online search engines that allow you to change the source language and the one to be translated at the top, this to make it easier for the user to access translation services.
When you want to change the translation of a complete web page, you can access the option "translate this page" in the URL bar. However, this option usually appears when it is in a different language than the web browser configuration.
What are the best online translators out there
It should be taken into consideration that they are not perfect translations, since they are automated services, and their information base is limited. The most reliable translators that can exist today are:
- Google translate. The best known among Internet users, it has in its database about 80 languages to translate. You have options to listen aloud, change the language to be translated and change the meaning as more content is added to the text to be translated. It can translate entire pages. It also has extensions, dictionaries and applications.
- DeepL. Unlike many translators, this online application uses artificial intelligence for language translation. It supports about 42 different languages, but its specialty from English to Spanish. It does not support full page translation.
- Babylon translator. This is another well-known web translation service. It allows translating texts in more than 70 languages and full pages in more than 33 languages. It has in its software around 34 own dictionaries and offers results based on famous publishers such as Oxford.
- Tradukka. Similar to Google, the translation is coupled as the sentence to be translated is written. Its language base is 44, and for those who want to improve the pronunciation of phrases, they have the option of listening.
- Im Translator. Like others, it has the function of listening to the translated text. Its best attribute is to compare the translations of several pages that offer this same service for more optimal results.
