Will Google replace translators? - How technology is transforming the translation industry

EUATC, the European association of associations of translation companies, held its annual T-Update conference in Lisbon at the end of April. Participants heard from leading European companies and suppliers of technical solutions about the latest technology on offer, and the difficulties of integrating it into existing companies and business models.

- Like it or not, technology is taking over human jobs - said Sonja Babić-Lythgoe, who took part for her company Halifax Consulting.

- If we do not keep up with it, we will lose competitiveness on the European market.

- Fortunately , she added, translation is such a complex art that the technology has to be used by a skilled translator, so we are not looking at an impending demise of the profession. The translation industry is the only one that has grown continuously throughout the recent economic crisis.

The technical solutions presented included translation management systems, computer-assisted translation tools, e-business skills, HR management and motivation, and machine translation.

- We were pleased to see that the translation, document and quality management system that we have developed ourselves lives fully up to the best European standards”, said Sonja. “On that point they have little to teach us, but on others like machine translation we need to be abreast of the latest developments. Software can't replace a human, but it will increasingly make the work faster and more consistent, bringing prices down, just like technology has done in so many other industries.”

The conference was followed by EUATC's twice-annual General Assembly, in which the Serbian Association of Translation Companies SATC participates. Common problems were discussed, including public procurement, in which several national associations have worked to assist their governments develop procedures that can ensure quality and value for money.

The UK Ministry of Justice, for example, last year tendered all of its translation services in a single contract on a price-only basis. This provided a cheap contract, but the resulting lack of quality cost far more than was saved. Now, they are consulting market participants in a collaborative effort to devise better procedures.

SATC has been examining Serbian practice, after observing that many institutions are dissatisfied with the quality of translation services. It intends to develop recommendations with the help of best practice in more advanced countries.