Translation

Translation is the act of making a given work accessible in a language other than the one it was originally created in. In the context of visual novels, this means localizing text (dialogue, images, and menus), and possibly recorded voices.

Machine translation

Machine translation (sometimes shortened to MTL) is when a program takes one written language and converts it (often literally, poorly, or both) into another language. This is considered a bad way to handle translation for entertainment, since automatic translation tend to omit puns, euphemisms, and other literary nuances from the original language and/or culture. It can, however, be useful for translating manuals and documentation.