In the past several decades, translation has moved by leaps and bounds from translating literary works and an occasional document for private use into a bridge that facilitates international cooperation and a communication aide that moves the world. The shift in business interest, the global market expansion, and globalization efforts have fueled this welcomed change. In doing so, they have also created millions of jobs and increased the translation price.
Recent Developments in Translation
However, in the past two decades, another kind of stream has been surfacing: that of machine translation. Google Translate, DeepL Translation, and other similar services have invested incredible money into machine translation. Results are there, but the sheer volume of high-quality translation needed by far surpasses the mediocre quality that automated translation offers.
What used to be Antony Balch, Tom Milne, and Angus Macnab, as famous English translators of the 20th century, soon turned into Memsource, Unbabel, and Smart CAT. These products aim at exploiting the gap between human and machine translation. They offer a radical new approach of software that serves to speed up and aid translators as they do their work. It seems that, so far, this is the most fruitful approach.
Machine Translation
And while some translators fear losing their job to AI solutions that seem to be less than ten years away, others enjoy the benefits that tech has to offer. High-tech solutions have transformed the translation industry, making it into the booming business it is today. Just check out TheWordPoint translation reviews: there is hardly any sphere of life that is not touched by translation, from your supermarket experience to booking flights online.
Tech Benefits for Translators
There are many ways that translation has benefited from tech solutions:
- CAT software,
- Digital and Online Dictionaries,
- Online Research,
- Faster Communication, and
- Online Collaboration.
CAT software
CAT software or computer-assisted translation software is a way to denote software solutions that can help a translator do their job faster than before. The solutions range from simple to complex, from personal digital dictionaries to cloud-based solutions that compare millions of documents to find matching phrases. Once you start working on your translation, suggestions pop and make your job and life much easier.
Digital and Online Dictionaries
Digital and Online Dictionaries have revolutionized the way that translation is done. While the old-timer’s approach of having a printed dictionary with hundreds of thousands of entries had its perks, the more digital approach significantly reduced the time needed to find a word, and the ability to constantly update meanings and definitions as the language community changes them is of paramount importance in the current world that changes daily.
Online Research
The ability to have the world at your fingertips has never been so sweet. And while most people use the gift of the post-modern Prometheus to scroll their Instagram feed, in a more professional sense, the ability to research pretty much any topic has significantly improved the accuracy of any translation piece. After all, learning about the importance of financial translation meant a visit to a local library. Today, it means finding a 10-minute YouTube video that explains it all.
Faster Communication
Simple, instant messaging services in large part enabled faster communication. Push notifications, video, and audio chat have replaced telephones and emails. Snail-mail is so outdated it seems incredible that UPS used to deliver letters and not Amazon packages. The faster communication also enables quick communication with the client and a much faster approach to understanding what the client hopes to get.
Online Collaboration
In large-scale translation undertakings, when it is necessary to translate hundreds if not thousands of pages in a relatively short period, online collaboration and the ability to have a multitude of people work on the same document stored in the cloud is an incredible tool to have. Collaboration goes beyond a single document, as it encompasses monitoring and editing while the document is being made.
Final Remarks
In the globalizing world, it is necessary to acknowledge translation’s role in shaping it. A lot of this transformation both in and outside the translation industry comes from tech solutions that have enabled translators to work faster, smarter, and more efficiently to bridge or facilitate international communication.
Eric Wyatt
Eric Wyatt loves languages and history. He enjoys watching documentaries and trying to understand ancient civilizations. He enjoys reading the classics, preferably old translations, not adjusted to contemporary English.
