The Evolution of the Translation Industry

Over the last few years, technology has inevitably remodeled the practice and overall concept of human translation in various aspects. So much so, that the notion of machine translation has become an integral part of the professional translation process. Indisputably, human translation remains the best method of choice when it comes to offering top-quality translation services, but it doesn’t mean that machine translation is useless in all fields and industries.

The Translation Industry – 10 Years Ago

A decade ago, professional translation agencies and freelance translators were forced to work exclusively on unambiguous source texts with limited help from dictionaries and resource materials. If that wasn’t enough, specialists were called upon to fill in the research gaps. Amidst all this, there were rare instances when the translators got the opportunity to develop fluency with the content in the source text, which in turn aided them to become experts in their own fields.

At that time, the to-be translated content was thoroughly planned, unlike today where translators are compelled to finish their work within shorter turnaround spans. In simple words, the expectation from contemporary translators is to perfectly amalgamate speed and quality.

Furthermore, previously translation wasn’t valued as a full-time, serious profession as majority of the translators took it up as a side-profession or a part-time job. Also, while people were gradually transitioning from typewriters to computers, we witnessed the local market switch from a need for translations in English to demand for a host of foreign languages that people weren’t even aware of.

Translation Industry – Today

Today, the translation services are a whopping $18-20 billion industry in the US and is growing and how. If similar trend continues, it will eventually turn into a $30-40 billion industry. Just as the world is becoming more and more globalized, the need for effective communication between cultures is becoming increasingly important.

Today, even universities are inclining towards offering translation courses as a result of students’ interest and demand. Moreover, for businesses today, it is far more economical to outsource their translation needs to a reliable and reputed translation services provider. Therefore, businesses are spending ample amount of time and energy in finding translation companies they can trust. Once a sense of loyalty develops over time, businesses start considering them as an essential pillar of their company’s being and survival.

In fact, translation companies have become a critical pillar of the society, specifically the business world. Without them, most businesses cannot even think of engaging in international transactions. Undoubtedly, the translation industry is one of the most competitive, thriving and viable industries we have today.

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