1 min readfrom Machine Learning

Best Text to Text Translation Model? [D]

Our take

When working on a project aimed at translating various languages into English, choosing the right text-to-text translation model is crucial. Despite experimenting with Neural Machine Translation (NMT) models like NLLB, MADLAD, and SeamlessM4T v2, challenges with proper nouns—such as names, places, and organizations—persist. Even Large Language Models (LLMs) like Gemma 4 and Qwen 3 4B struggle with entity fidelity. This raises the question: how do production systems effectively tackle these issues?

The pursuit of effective translation systems has become increasingly critical in our interconnected world, especially as global communication expands across languages and cultures. The challenges encountered when translating languages into English—particularly with proper nouns such as names, places, dates, and organizations—highlight significant limitations in current neural machine translation (NMT) models like NLLB, MADLAD, and SeamlessM4T v2. As shared in a recent discussion, these models often falter in accurately handling these entities, which can lead to misunderstandings and a loss of context in translations. This issue is compounded when employing large language models (LLMs) like Gemma 4 and Qwen 3 4B, which also struggle to preserve the integrity of entity names, further complicating the translation landscape.

The implications of these challenges extend beyond mere technical difficulties; they raise essential questions about the future of multilingual communication. In a world where information flows freely across borders, the ability to accurately translate and represent names and organizations is paramount. For instance, a misinterpretation of a place name can lead not only to confusion but also to cultural insensitivity. As highlighted in related discussions, such as [Should I attend ICML as a junior? [D]](/post/should-i-attend-icml-as-a-junior-d-cmppszm6i0rkrs0gl41ry7c5l) and [UK GDPR Small Business Q&A — 5,000 synthetic pairs with article-level citations [D]](/post/uk-gdpr-small-business-q-a-5-000-synthetic-pairs-with-articl-cmppszdjt0rk7s0gl343rhw4t), the importance of precision in data interpretation and translation cannot be overstated, especially as we navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes and collaborative environments.

Moreover, the exploration of multilingual named entity recognition (NER) approaches presents a promising avenue for addressing these challenges. The need for robust NER models that can reliably function across 100+ languages, particularly low-resource languages, is a pressing concern. As the original inquiry notes, many existing NER models exhibit limitations when applied to diverse datasets. This gap not only hampers translation accuracy but also highlights the need for innovative solutions that can enhance the capabilities of translation technologies.

Looking ahead, the significance of this conversation cannot be understated. As AI-driven translation systems continue to evolve, the ability to effectively manage and translate proper nouns will be a key factor in their success. There is a pressing need for collaborative efforts among researchers and developers to create more comprehensive multilingual translation models that can effectively handle the complexities of language. As we anticipate advancements in this space, we must consider how these innovations will shape the future of cross-cultural communication and data management. Will we see breakthroughs that enable seamless translations, or will the challenges of entity recognition continue to present barriers? The answers may redefine how we interact with and understand global content, making it vital for stakeholders in the field to remain engaged and proactive in seeking solutions.

I'm working on a project that translates any language into English.

So far, I've tried NMT models like NLLB, MADLAD, and SeamlessM4T v2.

The main issue is that they struggle with proper nouns such as:

- names

- places

- dates

- organizations

I also tried LLMs like Gemma 4, Qwen 3 4B, and Aya Tiny Global, but the issue still persists. The LLMs sometimes partially translate or modify entity names as well.

I even tried NER masking / placeholder replacement before translation, but multilingual NER itself becomes a bottleneck. Most NER models only work reliably for a limited set of languages, while my dataset contains 100+ languages, including many low-resource ones.

How do production systems usually handle this problem? Are there better multilingual translation models, multilingual NER approaches, or decoding techniques for preserving entities properly?

Requirements:

- Support for 100+ languages

- Runs locally on an RTX GPU

- Model size under 7B

- English is always the target language.

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