Recently, there are several brands of online dictionaries that offer easy translation of English or any other major language into the Thai language. How efficient are these online language translation in performing the promised job, and do they pose a real competition to well established Thai translators?

Well, aside from the paid Thai translation dictionaries, there are those that provide free translation, such as that operated by the search giant Google itself. Under Google’s translation service, there exist quite a number of other language translation brands, and their performance varies depending on what type of document you need to process-some excel in translating technical documents and perform poorly in other document types, for instance.

While we have always insisted that nothing beats human Thai translators when it comes to accuracy and proficiency in translating documents, but occasionally, innovations in software make us do a double turn and rethink our stand.

It is important to note that online Thai dictionaries are of course different from online machine language translations that have Thai translation capability.

Translators will just translate, whereas dictionaries also offer other language learning modules and extensive word definitions that can really help one who is earnest in learning the new language. Having said that, there are certain new online Thai dictionaries that have features that we think can help even one whose experience of the Thai language is limited to something like “overhearing a Thai sentence on the subway.”

There is one, for instance, that offers English to Thai translation and dictionary service that not only involves more than a hundred thousand Thai words and their clear definitions, but also thousands of audio clips to assist the learner with some of those hard to pronounce Thai words. Not only that, you can also search for a Thai word by sound-any Thai word you have just overheard and you have no idea how to spell-and the dictionary can return a list of most possible words. “Search by sound” is perhaps one of the coolest features we have seen so far, and would also benefit dictionaries or software specializing in other languages, such as Chinese.

Moreover, we still believe that while online or software-based Thai dictionaries have reached an advanced stage that finally provides a rich and comprehensive learning experience for the ordinary user, Thai translators remain seated on their proverbial “thrones” when it comes to providing high-quality translation services.

Human translators are better, especially when one realizes the many different fields translation jobs come from. Different types of documents require different professional expertise. If the document to be processed is of a legal nature, for example, then a professional human translator with in-depth experience in the legal field can best handle it. Indeed, the diversity of document types and complexities are such that no software has yet been created to cover every little consideration under the sun-and still be able to output anything actually usable.

So the answer is no: Thai dictionaries, despite their very recent advancements and the distinct learning experience they offer, are limited in terms of certain usage. Human Thai translators-especially those who are in the employ of highly reputable language translation agencies-still have our two thumbs up when it comes to translation of mission-critical documents that are so important, you do not want machines to be touching them.

Charlene Lacandazo is a marketing executive for Rosetta Translation, one of the leading translation agencies in Shanghai, China and London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified Thai translators to provide translation services worldwide.

Charlene Lacandazo is a marketing executive for Rosetta Translation, one of the leading http://en.rosettatranslation.com.cn/ translation agencies in Shanghai, China and London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified http://www.rosettatranslation.com/thai-translation/ Thai translators to provide http://www.rosettatranslation.com/ translation services worldwide.

Author Bio: Charlene Lacandazo is a marketing executive for Rosetta Translation, one of the leading translation agencies in Shanghai, China and London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified Thai translators to provide translation services worldwide.

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