This year, I started working for a new client: the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA), an organisation that advocates “for policies that enhance the well-being and respect the dignity and rights of people across the Americas”. They needed me to translate their brief “Costa Rica: Access to Protection”*, a sensitive, complex report about the dire situation of the Costa Rican asylum system, with legal references, research findings and recommendations to the country’s Government and the international donor community. The job was right up my street!

Some other organisations might have thought that a machine translation would suffice. But my contact at CEDA knew better. She realised that I could ensure the translation’s accuracy, sensitivity and cultural relevance when addressing complex topics such as asylum, human rights and legal pathways.

The brief discusses intricate legal frameworks, statistical data and specific regulations, which requires a deep understanding of both the source and target languages, while international protection and migration are deeply embedded in socio-cultural contexts, with nuances a machine cannot transfer adequately.

On top of that, a human translator, particularly one with expertise in human rights, can accurately translate specific legal terms and references to international treaties, ensuring that the translation remains legally sound and precise. Would a machine have such specialised knowledge?

Moreover, a human translator can adapt and solve translation challenges, such as providing context and clarity that a machine cannot, preserving the document’s intended meaning, impact and credibility. Will a machine spend hours looking for the correct terminology, reviewing literature, recommending alternative references, pointing out issues in the original text, and even suggesting improvements for impact?

While machine translations are useful for quick, rough drafts, they fall short when it comes to complex, sensitive documents like the one CEDA entrusted me with. It was hard work, but the client’s feedback made my day: “Thank you so much for your thorough attention to detail and great work. We look forward to working with you again!”.

*You can see my translation here.