Translators of The Future: Going Forward with Language Technologies
American Translators Association (ATA) Talked About Artificial Intelligence:
The organisation released the statement on 8 November 2023, less than two weeks after the ATA’s October 2023 annual conference in Miami. A significant number of sessions focused on technology, from machine translation and technology-enhanced translation quality management to large language models and generative artificial intelligence. More specifically, sessions for translators covered live subtitling, machine dubbing and ChatGPT. One of the statements that caught our attention was the following: “Translators and interpreters […] are a step ahead when it comes to language AI,” ATA asserted, citing the profession’s exposure to MT beginning in 2016. “As a result, they have developed creative ways to integrate [MT] into their toolkits while simultaneously coming to terms with its shortcomings.” The statement contrasted instances in which “automated translation” has already proved a helpful tool for human translators in high-stakes situations that require human involvement. Reactions to these statements were mostly positive, but there were some who felt that the explanations fell short.
Another explanation came from Brian Mossop, a full-time translator, reviewer and in-house trainer for the Translation Bureau of the Canadian Federal Government from 1974 to 2014. In 2011, he made the following remarks: ‘’I believe that in my lifetime automated translation will replace translators and translation as we know them today. Translators’ incomes will drop dramatically as we become revisers, and translation work will be concentrated in the hands of a few large, primarily non-Canadian agencies that have the resources to invest in expensive technology and networks. I believe the Canadian industry will be bought out by multinational interests (i.e., TM software firms) unless it has legislative protection. Ironically, the big money is in automated translation equipment and software, not translation itself. I therefore view TMs as a major change that will constitute “progress” for many and the demise of the profession for some.’’
So which one it is, Artificial Intelligence is a Friend or a Foe?
There are, of course, not just two schools of thought on this issue, many opinions and statements have been debated for many years, and these disagreements are unlikely to end in the foreseeable future. The Language Services Industry will continue to be in a “wait and see” mode for artificial intelligence for a while longer. Before expressing our opinion on the subject, we would like to show you how this situation is reflected in the world with statistics.
Language Industry with Statistics
We have discussed the importance of localisation and the use of artificial intelligence in this regard in our previous articles. The 2023 data shared by Redokun by compiling sectoral data draws attention to this issue again:
1. Businesses that invested in translation were 1.5 times more likely to observe an increase in revenue.
2. Creating social media content that is visibly localized improved organic performance by 2500%.
3. 84% of marketers said that content localization has helped grow their revenue.
4. In one study, most online shoppers agreed that it is important for the following pages to be in their home language: product descriptions (67%), product reviews (63%), checkout process (63%), and home page (62%).
5. Fortune 500 companies were reported to be 2.04 times more likely to improve profits and 1.27 times more likely to generate more earnings per share when they invested in translation. (CSA Research)
The use of translation software was also very high.
1. A survey shows that 88% of full-time professional translators use at least 1 CAT tool. Out of them, 76% used more than 1 CAT tool.
2. Among those who use translation software, the 3 main areas of expertise were reportedly Tech/Engineering (34%), Business/Financial (15%), and Marketing (12%).
3. Translators estimate that using translation software can boost their productivity by at least 30%.
4. In another study, 70% of the translators surveyed said that translation software is essential to their work, with the main benefit being improving productivity.
5. Using the right software can help cut translation costs by 90% that stem from human errors, unnecessary email communication, and time spent on uploading content and searching databases.
6. More than 50% of translators reported that most or all of their agency clients request or require them to use a specific CAT tool when working together.
Machine translation statistics are also on the rise:
1. The global machine translation market has reached over USD 1.1 billion in 2022. (Unbabel)
As a refresher, the global machine translation market was valued at USD 650 million in 2020. It is expected to reach USD 3 billion by 2027.
2. According to Global Market Insights, the US market for machine translation can be found in the following sectors, and the market size of all sectors is expected to grow in the next 5 years:
3. Over 70% of independent language professionals in Europe said they use machine translation to some extent.
4. 39% of marketers said they use machine translation in their localization strategy. Among them, 83% said they are confident in the quality of their translations.
5. Machine translation is the third most used technology by independent linguists in Europe, after translation memory and terminology management. Slightly more than 70% reported using MT for their work, albeit half of them only on occasion.
6. Language service providers reported that the percentage of projects for end-clients using machine translations climbed from 13% in 2019 to 24% in 2020.
In Summary:
The world of translation has entered a period of evolution driven by technological advances. In this change, the role of translators goes beyond being professionals who only know languages. The translator of the future is emerging as a qualified and creative individual who utilises technological tools. In this rapidly changing modern world, we believe that it is the duty of a qualified translator to keep abreast of technology. We are sure that this will benefit him/her when used correctly.
The translator of the future is an individual who needs to have a deep knowledge not only of the language but also of various translation tools and technologies. Academic programmes and sectoral workshops should offer translators the opportunity to specialise in these areas. Although work has already begun in this area, we believe that in the future, we should also focus on the support of academia. Translators who can use technology effectively should be able to successfully integrate tools such as (neural) machine translation and translation memories. This allows the translator to reduce the workload while at the same time improving the quality of the translation. The translator of the future should be characterised by the ability to control technological tools. However, this control should involve much more than a mere mechanical operation. The translator’s autonomy should be measured by his/her ability to understand the subtleties of language, to grasp cultural nuances and to add an emotional context to texts. The so-called translator’s touch must always be present. By adding a personal perspective to the text, the translator should establish a connection beyond language. This increases customer satisfaction and enhances the translator’s value.
Translators can use the power of machines and artificial intelligence to improve translation quality. Ultimately, by going through a validated terminology and a customised output, the translator will save time and can use that additional time for quality, so MT can assist translators and help improve translation quality. It can also be used to speed up the translation process, maintain terminology consistency and minimise translation errors.
We are pleased to offer our services with our translation memories and customised machine translation, which have been carefully processed by our translators working in this field. You can contact us for answers to your questions and discover machine-assisted translation more closely.
