The top 5 GPT translation advantages you need to know

What enables GPT to push machine translation to the next level?

The main advantage of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) translation over traditional machine translation lies in its use of deep learning algorithms and large-scale pre-training data, which allows GPT to excel in understanding context, grasping subtle nuances of language, and generating more fluent and natural translations.

1. Better understanding of document context

What is context understanding? Take Chinese-English translation as an example: 'I didn’t see her face because of the mask.'

Without sufficient context understanding, machine translation might miss contextual details such as what kind of mask 'the mask' refers to and why it is being worn, merely translating the surface meaning.

Models like GPT, on the other hand, can more reasonably determine that 'mask' here refers to a face mask used to prevent virus transmission during a pandemic, rather than a theatrical or masquerade mask, based on the current social context (such as the prevalence of masks during the pandemic) and clues within the sentence. This results in a more accurate and contextually appropriate translation.

GPT's superior contextual understanding is reflected in its ability to more precisely capture subtle nuances in language, including tone, metaphors, puns, and idioms, and to provide correct semantic interpretation and translation accordingly. Especially for contextually related document translation, understanding the relationships between different parts of the document, including long-distance dependencies, can provide more accurate translations.

2. Better natural language recognition and generation capabilities

When GPT generates text, it can better align with human language habits, producing translations that are more fluent and natural, unlike some traditional machine translations that may be stiff or not conform to the target language's expression habits.

For example, translating this sentence: 'Although he was tired after working long hours, he still decided to go to the gym, which his doctor had advised him to do for improving his health.'

Google Translate: 'Despite being very tired after working long hours, he still decided to go to the gym, which was recommended by his doctor to improve his health.'

GPT Translate: 'Despite feeling tired after working for a long time, he still decided to go to the gym, which was his doctor's advice to improve his health.'.

It is evident that for entire documents, the naturalness of the translated sentences is an important indicator of translation quality, and GPT performs much better in this regard compared to traditional machine translation.

3. Reducing translation bias

Due to GPT's more extensive and diverse training data, it can reduce biases that may exist in some traditional machine translation systems.

For example, when translating gender-neutral job titles, some machine translation systems might default to using gender-specific terms, whereas GPT can handle this issue more objectively.

4. Adaptability to Non-Standard Expressions

GPT is better at understanding and translating non-standard expressions, idioms, and even internet slang because it has been exposed to a more diverse range of language expressions during pre-training.

For instance, when translating sentences containing internet slang, GPT can more accurately grasp the semantics and provide appropriate translations.

5. GPT's Learning Ability

What is most noteworthy is that GPT is continuously learning and evolving. Even with its current demonstrated capabilities, GPT has advantages over traditional machine translation.