Poll: Have you gotten requests for “light MPTE”? Лице кое објавува дискусија: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you gotten requests for “light MPTE”?".
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| | | | Lucy Hill 
Обединето Кралство
Local time: 04:50
кинески на англиски
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I can't really understand how you are supposed to 'half-edit' something. You spend more time deciding whether an edit is serious enough to require making than you would just doing a proper job.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Босна и Херцеговина
Local time: 05:50
англиски на француски
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Lucy Hill wrote:
I can't really understand how you are supposed to 'half-edit' something. You spend more time deciding whether an edit is serious enough to require making than you would just doing a proper job.
Well those cutting the budget didn't think about it, and they don't care.
If I go to a bakery and ask to have a half-baked cake at a 10% of the price, what will the outcome be? Shall I actually get it?
[Edited at 2025-10-08 09:20 GMT]
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So far, I had just one request and I rejected it. Light MTPE is just a pretext to pay even less…
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Alex Lichanow
Германија
Local time: 05:50
англиски на германски
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"Yes" and "No idea what that is". Honestly, would somebody care to explain?
The way I see it, I either edit MTPE output or I don't. But that's just my own sad, old-fashioned, quality-oriented ass, I guess.
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Lucy Hill wrote:
I can't really understand how you are supposed to 'half-edit' something. You spend more time deciding whether an edit is serious enough to require making than you would just doing a proper job.
Think of it as "good, fast, cheap -- pick two". And they picked "fast and cheap". As long as it's understandable, it's acceptable to them, even if quality is not very good.
| | | | Jon Hedemann
Данска
Local time: 05:50
англиски на дански
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Do you mean 'MTPE'...? (Machine Translation Proof and Edit)
| | | | | Faster and cheaper | Oct 8, 2025 |
M. Anna Kańduła wrote:
Lucy Hill wrote:
I can't really understand how you are supposed to 'half-edit' something. You spend more time deciding whether an edit is serious enough to require making than you would just doing a proper job.
Think of it as "good, fast, cheap -- pick two". And they picked "fast and cheap". As long as it's understandable, it's acceptable to them, even if quality is not very good.
So, if they pick "fast and cheap," why ask a human to do it when AI is already faster and cheaper?
I really don't know what "light" means here. I've seen jobs stating it, but I always and only quote for MTPE (no need to use "full" as MTPE is just a complete whole task that can't be split into "lighter/smaller" pieces; it isn't a Lego®).
All these new BS terms, meaning absolutely nothing, are part of the AI hype that downgrades languages to erase all meaning. Soon enough, all this will create meaningless texts that will be completely unintelligible and useless, so the need for human translators will rise again.
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Zea_Mays
Италија
Local time: 05:50
англиски на германски
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| yes (if MTPE is meant) | Oct 8, 2025 |
But I only accept to do it for one long-term client and on a project where I know the quality of the MT output. The end client asks for different types of post-editing, with light MTPE being used for massively repetitive and stylistically non-sensitive content. In May, I've light post-edited around 80,000 words within a few weeks, for a word rate that other agencies pay for full translation if you're lucky enough.
As for what light MTPE is, you can break it down to: minimal corrections to ... See more But I only accept to do it for one long-term client and on a project where I know the quality of the MT output. The end client asks for different types of post-editing, with light MTPE being used for massively repetitive and stylistically non-sensitive content. In May, I've light post-edited around 80,000 words within a few weeks, for a word rate that other agencies pay for full translation if you're lucky enough.
As for what light MTPE is, you can break it down to: minimal corrections to make sure it is understandable, factually accurate and grammatically correct, without caring about style and often even syntactic structure.
When starting doing light MTPE, experienced translators may find it difficult to just look after those little things, as they'll tend to seek perfection. Doing only light MTPE may therefore lead to less attention and accuracy in the long term, so I'd advise against doing only this type of post-editing. Only do it from time to time, on MT output of good/consistent quality and for a reasonable word rate that covers the time spent. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daniel Jeory
Local time: 04:50
Член (2003)
германски на англиски
| More marketing | Oct 8, 2025 |
It just gives them one more flashy-sounding service to put on their websites and offer clients. I had to submit rates for 'Light MPTE' to a client, but I don't recall ever being offered a job for light MTPE. Presumably, it's supposed to cover output that's so good that hardly any changes are deemed necessary.
| | | | IrinaN (X)
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 22:50
англиски на руски
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| Sorry, Daniel | Oct 8, 2025 |
Daniel Jeory wrote:
Presumably, it's supposed to cover output that's so good that hardly any changes are deemed necessary.
Noble thinking, but this is the other way around. It means "quick and dirty", no worries about style, better terminology, polishing. Just the utmost principal things like X must pay to Z and not vice versa, Yes vs No, give vs take and the likes.
AI knows the answer
Light post-editing (LPE) in Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) involves making only minimal changes to a machine translation to ensure it is understandable, grammatically correct, and factually accurate, focusing on the most critical errors to correct or rewrite confusing sentences. This cost-effective and fast process is suitable for internal communications or lower-priority content, although the resulting text may still sound robotic or like a literal translation of the source.
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IrinaN wrote:
Daniel Jeory wrote:
Presumably, it's supposed to cover output that's so good that hardly any changes are deemed necessary.
Noble thinking, but this is the other way around. It means "quick and dirty", no worries about style, better terminology, polishing. Just the utmost principal things like X must pay to Z and not vice versa, Yes vs No, give vs take and the likes.
AI knows the answer
Light post-editing (LPE) in Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) involves making only minimal changes to a machine translation to ensure it is understandable, grammatically correct, and factually accurate, focusing on the most critical errors to correct or rewrite confusing sentences. This cost-effective and fast process is suitable for internal communications or lower-priority content, although the resulting text may still sound robotic or like a literal translation of the source.
LOL, AI knows its "stuff" for sure. That's what makes the BS Index go up and accuracy go down.
“Bullshit Index” Tracks AI Misinformation. Common training techniques loosen AI’s commitment to the truth
In a recent paper, his group introduced the idea of “machine bullshit” to encompass the range of ways that LLMs skirt around the truth. As well as outright falsehoods, they found that these models often use ambiguous language, partial truths, or flattery to mislead users. And crucially, widely used training techniques appear to exacerbate the problem.
It's a long read, but a very interesting interview.
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Zea_Mays
Италија
Local time: 05:50
англиски на германски
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IrinaN wrote:
AI knows the answer
Light post-editing (LPE) in Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) involves making only minimal changes to a machine translation to ensure it is understandable, grammatically correct, and factually accurate,
AI seems to rely on the same source (a translation agency) as me for the first part of the sentence, it's on the first SERP. I'm using this explanation for some years now when getting light MTPE requests, as very often the requesters don't even understand what it implies.
Is light MTPE worth the effort? As said, for a decent per word rate, if the output is of good quality and if the end client is happy with a just understandable translation - yes. In moderation.
| | | | | Not attractive, but not impossible either | Oct 9, 2025 |
I wouldn't accept light MTPE when it's just an excuse to pay lower rates, but as a professional, I am able to spend the amount of time that's available. In review and rating jobs, I'll also have to triage the severity level of errors.
IrinaN wrote:
AI knows the answer
Light post-editing (LPE) in Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) involves making only minimal changes to a machine translation to ensure it is understandable, grammatically correct, and factually accurate, focusing on the most critical errors to correct or rewrite confusing sentences. This cost-effective and fast process is suitable for internal communications or lower-priority content, although the resulting text may still sound robotic or like a literal translation of the source.
Indeed, I have done light MTPE for internal communications. For example, I edited MT-translated answers to open questions in a recurring multilingual market research survey. Spelling and style were of no consequence, while I did correct translated brand names and grammatical errors which changed the meaning. I only stopped doing that because of scheduling issues.
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