How to Turn Machine Translation into Natural English

Have you ever looked at a machine translation and thought, "This feels a bit word-for-word," or "I get it, but it doesn't quite sound right"? The translation appears in an instant, but as-is it can read stiffly. That word-for-word feel is fixable—there are just a few things to watch for. Here's a step-by-step way to take a mechanical translation and shape it into natural English, with concrete examples.

Why the "word-for-word" feel lingers

Machine translation tries to carry the source sentence's word order and structure across as directly as it can. The result: English that repeats subjects unnecessarily, packs too much into one long sentence, or keeps connective phrasing that reads like a direct rendering. The meaning gets through, but the rhythm isn't quite what a native writer would produce—and that's the source of the "unnatural" feel.

The upside is that the causes are few and specific: needless repetition, wordiness, and sentences that run too long. Fix those three with intent and the translation reads far more smoothly.

Example: from word-for-word to natural English

Machine translation: We are pleased to be able to inform you that your order has been shipped.

Before … Wordy and over-formal—"are pleased to be able to inform you" is a mouthful, and the sentence reads like a direct rendering.
After … "Good news—your order is on its way!"

Cut the padding, trade a heavy clause for a plain one, and match the phrasing to the situation. Same meaning, but now it's natural English.

Steps to make it natural

Paste in your source text and view the translation one sentence at a time.
From the candidate translations—standard, formal, concise—pick the most natural one.
Fix anything that bothers you on the spot: trim padding, prune repetition, and shorten long sentences.
Use read-aloud to hear it, and fix any spot where you stumble.
If you're worried the meaning has shifted, confirm with back-translation, then approve and move on.

Tips for natural English

Cut the padding — Phrases like "we are pleased to be able to" can usually be trimmed to a few words without losing anything.
Prefer the active voice — "We shipped your order" lands better than "Your order has been shipped by us." Say who does what.
Shorten long sentences — Split a long one at the natural break in meaning. A pile-up of commas is a sign it's gone on too long.
Rephrase translationese — Swap heavy constructions like "in order to," "it is possible to," and "the fact that" for plainer wording.

Frequently asked questions

Why does machine translation come out sounding word-for-word?

It tries to carry the source word order and structure straight across, so the English can end up wordy, over-formal, or oddly phrased. Choose from several candidates—standard, formal, concise—and tidy it up on the spot to make it natural.

I find it hard to judge whether something sounds natural. Any tips?

Listening with the read-aloud feature makes awkwardness much easier to notice. Any spot where you stumble as you read is usually a spot worth fixing.

Can I do this on a phone?

Yes. Just open it in your browser—no installation and no account required.

With BirdSing, you can pick from candidates, tidy on the spot, and check by ear with read-aloud.
Free, no account needed, right in your browser.

Open BirdSing →