Microsoft Bing Translator and Google Translate are continually improving their results. In September of 2011, the differences in quality between Microsoft’s Bing Translator and Google Translate were compared using eight test phrases taken unaltered from Italian tourism websites. Each phrase was automatically translated using both tools. The original phrase is shown first (in the Italian language) along with the original and new translations into English.
- Original phrase: La città ha anche un bellissimo centro storico, visitabile anche in bicicletta grazie alle sue tante piste ciclabili.
- Original Google Translate Translation: The city also has a beautiful old town, accessible by bike due to its many bicycle paths.
- New Google Translate Translation: The city also has a beautiful old town, visited by bike thanks to its many bicycle paths.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: The city also has a beautiful historic centre, open also by bike thanks to its many trails.
- New Bing Translator Translation: The city also has a beautiful historic centre, open also by bike thanks to its many trails.
Original Evaluation: Both translations are nicely done, although Bing’s “open also by bike” is a strange sounding-construction. Also, The British English “centre” spelling was chosen even though no region was specified.
Update: Both translators still chose “centre”, while Google Translate now chooses “visited by” instead of accessible, which is not correct.
Verdict: -1 Google
- Original phrase: Ambiente piacevole,elegante e pulito; queste le doti fondamentali del B&B Le Terrazze. Il Bed & Breakfast è la vera alternativa per soggiornare a Taormina in pieno centro storico.
- Original Google Translate Translation: Nice atmosphere, clean and elegant, these are the essential qualities of the B & B The Terrace. The B & B in the real alternative to staying in Taormina historic center.
- New Google Translate Translation: Pleasant environment, elegant and clean, these are the essential qualities of the B & B The Terrace. The Bed & Breakfast is the real alternative to staying in the historic center of Taormina.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: Nice atmosphere, elegant and clean; These are the fundamental qualities of the B & B Le Terrazze. The Bed & Breakfast is the real alternative to stay in Taormina historic centre.
- New Bing Translator Translation: Nice atmosphere, elegant and clean; These are the fundamental qualities of the B & B Le Terrazze. The Bed & amp; Breakfast is the real alternative to stay in Taormina historic centre.
Evaluation: Google’s “The B & B in the real alternative” is not correct although neither is Bing’s “to stay in Taormina historic centre.”
Update: Google Translate has corrected “The B & B in the real alternative”, replacing it with “The Bed & Breakfast is the real alternative” and “elegant and clean” is now in the same order as the source, and now “in the historic center of Taormina.” sounds much better than the original translation.
Verdict: +3 Google
- Original phrase: Il servizio, attento e cortese contribuirà a rendere speciale la vostra permanenza qui coccolandovi ed esaudendo ogni vostro desiderio.
- Original Google Translate Translation: The service is attentive and courteous staff will help make your stay here special pampering you and fulfilling your every desire.
- New Google Translate Translation: The service is attentive and friendly service will help make your stay here special pampering you and fulfilling your every desire.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: The friendly and attentive service will make your stay here special pampering and satisfy your every desire.
- New Bing Translator Translation: The friendly and attentive service will make your stay here special pampering and satisfy your every desire.
Evaluation: Bing’s “pampering and satisfy your” is grammatically incorrect and Google’s “the service is attentive” sounds strange.
Update: Google has changed “and courteous staff” to “and friendly service”, which is worse.
Verdict: Google -1
- Original phrase:
Invitiamo il viandante a intraprendere il percorso di illuminazione e di sapienza, per intendere i linguaggi dei fiumi di pietra e ascoltare la voce dell’acqua che prorompe dal grembo della terra. - Original Google Translate Translation: We invite the traveler to embark on the path enlightenment and wisdom, to understand the languages ??of the rivers stone and listen to the voice of water that burst forth from the womb of the earth.
- New Google Translate Translation: We invite the traveler to take the path of enlightenment and wisdom, to understand the languages ??of the rivers of stone and listen to the voice of the water that burst forth from the womb of the earth.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: We invite the Wayfarer to embark on the path to enlightenment and wisdom, to understand the language of stone rivers and hear the voice of the water that comes from the womb of the Earth.
- New Bing Translator Translation: We invite the Wayfarer to undertake the path of enlightenment and wisdom, to understand the languages of the rivers of stone and listen to the voice of the water that breaks forth from the womb of the Earth.
Evaluation: Google gets confused and produces the following grammatically incorrect phrases: “path enlightenment”, “rivers stone”, and “voice of water that burst”.
Update: Google Translate has corrected the errors and now correctly translates “path of enlightenment”, “rivers of stone”, and “voice of the water that burst” is still wrong, but a bit better with the article added.
Bing has chosen “undertake” instead of “embark”, and has corrected the phrases “the languages of the rivers of stone” and “listen to the voice”.
Verdict: Google +2 Bing +2
- Original phrase: La sua ubicazione lo rende uno dei ristoranti più confortevoli e caratteristici della zona, grazie proprio alla vicinanza a luoghi di carattere storico-culturale e religioso.
- Original Google Translate Translation: Its location makes it one of the most comfortable and quaint restaurants in the area, thanks to its proximity to places of historical, cultural and religious.
- New Google Translate Translation: Its location makes it one of the most comfortable and quaint restaurants in the area, thanks to its proximity to places of historical, cultural and religious.
- Original Bing Translator Translation:
Its location makes it one of the most comfortable and quaint restaurants in the area, thanks to its proximity to places of historical, cultural and religious. - New Bing Translator Translation:Its location makes it one of the most comfortable and characteristic restaurants of the area, thanks to the proximity to places of historical-cultural and religious.
Evaluation: Strangely, both Google and Bing get confused with “places of historical, cultural and religious.”
Update: Google and Bing still struggle with the phrase “places of historical, cultural and religious”, and Bing has chosen “characteristic” instead of “quaint” which could be considered more accurate.
Verdict: Bing +1
- Original phrase: Le campagne verdi e rigogliose di Corleone vi inviteranno a fare lunghe passeggiate nel cuore della tradizione agricola siciliana e corleonese, dove in ogni angolo il contatto con la natura suscita forti emozioni.
- Original Google Translate Translation: The lush, green countryside of Corleone invite you to take long walks in the heart of the traditional agricultural and Corleone Sicily, where in every corner of the contact with nature arouses strong emotions.
- New Google Translate Translation: The lush, green countryside of Corleone invite you to take long walks in the heart of the Sicilian Corleone agricultural tradition, where every corner in contact with nature arouses strong emotions.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: The lush, green countryside of Corleone invite you to take long walks in the heart of the traditional agricultural and Corleone Sicily, where in every corner of the contact with nature arouses strong emotions.
- New Bing Translator Translation: The lush green countryside of Corleone invite you to take long walks in the heart of Sicilian agricultural tradition and corleonese, where in every corner of the contact with nature arouses strong emotions.
Evaluation: Similarly, as in the last example, again both Google and Bing get confused with “green countryside of Corleone invite you”, “agricultural and Corleone Sicily”, and ”corner of the contact with”.
Update: Google Translate has corrected the phrase “agricultural and Corleone Sicily” by using the phrase “of the Sicilian Corleone agricultural tradition”.
Verdict: Google +1
- Original phrase: I pavimenti in cotto, i tappeti, le tende ricamate, così come tutte le decorazioni della camera, sono elegantemente ispirate alla tradizione dell’arte sarda.
- Original Google Translate Translation: The tiled floors, carpets, embroidered curtains, as well as all the decorations of the rooms are elegantly inspired by the tradition of Sardinia.
- New Google Translate Translation: The tiled floors, carpets, embroidered curtains, as well as all the decorations of the rooms are elegantly inspired by traditional Sardinian art.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: The terracotta floors, embroidered rugs, curtains, as well as all the decorations of the room are elegantly and folklore-inspired art.
- New Bing Translator Translation: The terracotta floors, embroidered rugs, curtains, as well as all the decorations of the room are elegantly inspired art tradition sarda.
Evaluation: Google in this case got confused with “rooms” which should be only one “room”, while Bing incorrectly writes “elegantly and folklore-inspired art”.
Update: Google corrects “the tradition of Sardinia” with “traditional Sardinian art” while Bing still stumbles by producing “inspired art tradition sarda”.
Verdict: Google +1
- Original phrase: Un soggiorno nel nostro albergo è un esperienza emozionante per la particolarità delle camere e delle suite, l’esclusivo ristorante per gourmet, la Green SPA e le tante altre prestazioni offerte.
- Original Google Translate Translation: A stay in our hotel is an exciting experience for their special rooms and suites, the exclusive gourmet restaurant, the Green Spa and many other services offered.
- New Google Translate Translation: A stay in our hotel is an exciting experience for the particularity of the rooms and suites, an exclusive gourmet restaurant, the Green Spa and many other services offered.
- Original Bing Translator Translation: A stay in our hotel is an exciting experience for the specialties of the rooms and suites, exclusive gourmet restaurant, the Green SPA and many other services offered.
- New Bing Translator Translation: A stay in our hotel is an exciting experience for the specialties of the rooms and suites, an exclusive gourmet restaurant, the Green SPA and many other services offered.
Evaluation: Both Bing and Google incorrectly produce “the specialties of the rooms” and “their special rooms”.
Update: Google Translate has corrected the phrase “their special rooms and suites” with “the particularity of the rooms and suites”.
Verdict: Google +1
Final score:
- Bing Translator: +3
- Google Translate: +6
Conclusion: Microsoft with its “Bing Translator” product, launched in June of 2009, has appeared to put up a good fight against Google’s Translate product, but Google has shown once again that it is winning the overall battle. Google, who has been maintaining its “Translate” product since 2007, continues feeding training data and using its crowd-sourcing approach to improving its algorithm. This has proven to be efficient in increasing the amount of human confirmed phrases. Machine translation, which only several years ago produced laughable results, is quickly approaching 99% accuracy and will ultimately reduce the cost of translation services and most importantly increase the the volume of text that is translated.
January 30th, 2012