Situation: Something needs to be translated — a contract, a webpage, a booklet, a book. What do we choose? Do we take a translation engine, or do we prefer a human translator?
The translation engine (from here on, simply the “engine”, to save time – you know: “Time is Gold” and all that) will deliver the result much faster and for free. No doubt about that. Ergo: We are saving time and, therefore, money.
However, if we look closely at what the engine considers “worthy”, we bump into literal translations, wrong word choices (especially with polysemy), or a lack of grammatical coherence — just to mention a few flaws that could ruin a translation.
So, is time really gold in this case?
The human translator will take longer, undoubtedly, but in return you receive a result without grammatical errors, with carefully selected vocabulary, adapted to the context, backed up by reliable sources, plus coherence and cohesion. In other words, everything the engine has not been able to provide.
Now, let´s assume, we have chosen the engine. Regarding the result, it still requires one of these two options:
A) Passing the text to a human, either translator or editor, to revise and correct the text.
B) Asking the human to start from scratch.
Well.
In case A, the human must not only correct grammar and style, but also compare the translation with the original to guarantee accuracy. Time becomes gold. The time and money saved at first with the engine is lost twofold, through additional work and higher costs.
In case B, you pay the agreed price for the translation. It is not free, but you save the time wasted on the engine. In other words: the money you invest in a human translator turns into saved time. Hence, Time is gold.
It is up to you: is money gold or is gold money?