A. Translation programs produce draft translations. These draft translations should be edited and checked for accuracy before distribution. Some manufacturers claim an accuracy level of 90 per cent or above. But it all depends of how complex the original text is. Complexity is measured in words not available in dictionary, structural simplicity of sentences as well as the use of idioms, slang, expressions etc.

A. Translation programs produce draft translations faster than a human translator and therefore they are indispensable where there is a need to know the gist of a large document such as a book, a contract or a tender.

A. No. Source text must be accurate and correctly written.

A. No. More expensive programs may be faster, include more languages, include more words in their dictionaries or simply allow the user to modify them by creating their own dictionaries or adding third party ones for instance.