When conducting research work for any project, having a language translation software on hand is indispensable for many people. This is especially true when you’re trying to draw from as much information as you can, which often requires going through materials about the subject in other languages.
Many businesses, in fact, use machine translators this way. When researching old patents, for instance, they usually employ a language software to go through old filings, trying to see if anything of significance will turn up. In the event that they do find one that’s particularly sensitive, they usually then send it to a human interpreter who can do a more thorough and detailed translation.
Without the aid of a translation tool, researching foreign documents can become an “either-or” proposition, instead of the flexible process it now is. Researchers will have to choose between completely ignoring them (since they can’t understand the language) or bringing in someone who can translate for everything (a serious expense).
This is the main reason why many professional translators also encourage the use of translation software. While some will argue that machine translators can harm their business, they actually do the reverse – it makes it easy for companies and individuals to identify which documents need to be translated. As such, they can allocate proper resources, instead of having to choose between passing on the activity or wasting a good chunk of money on translating documents they may not need.