Ortsbo and Google Translation:

Everybody is talking about translation apps so we did some research on Ortsbo and Google Translate.

Ortsbo and Google Translate are two of the biggest names in the production of translation software specialized for mobile devices and referred to as ‘apps’.

Ortsbo and Google Translate work on the same premise. They use a central database on proprietary servers to compare the text inputted with the words and patterns related to it. In order to narrow the choices down to one result, it compares the preliminary results with a point system which counts the occasions the words have been used correctly.

Ortsbo and Google Translate cover over 50 languages. Ortsbo claims an accuracy of 85-95% and Google states, “not all translations will be perfect.” (Source: Google.Inc)

Let’s take an example:

English -  “I’m stepping up the ladder to screw in a new bulb.’

This sentence in German (translated by a professional translator) - “Ich gehe auf die Leiter um eine neue Birne einzuschrauben.”

We put the German sentence into the two programs to check the results:

Google Translate - “I’m going to screw up the ladder to a new bulb.” Acc. 8/10

Ortsbo - “I’m going on the ladder to screw a new bulb.” Acc. 8/10

Both Google and Ortsbo state the accuracy as 8/10 but show different results. In conclusion, even the most minimal changes can make a huge difference in the translated text’s meaning.