$40 Billion and Rising: Translation on a Global Scale
Think Globally. Act Locally.
In 2013, I went to Europe to participate for a study abroad program in Graz, Austria through International Summer School Seggau. 95 students and 21 educators from 35 countries gathered under our umbrella theme “Collective Identities: Nationalism, Transnationalism - Europe and Beyond." Schloss Seggau, a 12th century castle turned hotel and conference center, was our homebase for two weeks.
“Schloss" means “castle” in German. Pronounce it like this.
The interdisciplinary program featured collective morning and afternoon lectures and breakout classes during the day. I was one of 11 in the Media, Society and Culture course. My class looked at how living in a tech-focused, networked world shapes the ways nations, communities and individuals experience and organize daily life.
The program was equal parts work and cultural enrichment. I think on some level, every participant shared an interest in exploring languages and cultures. We learned about each other over lunch, during field trips and through presentations. That’s how I met Teresa Schicho. Teresa is a translator. As a Graz native, her first language is German. She's also fluent in English and Spanish.
In our increasingly connected world, speaking multiple languages is a asset. Translating ability is also a sought-after skill. And so talk about tech and language remains current events. As our study abroad program theme suggests, political and geographical boundaries stay relevant. But, digital tools are blurring those lines.
It seems I can't watch YouTube videos without a seeing an ad for the editing app, Grammarly; I decided that my Korean Drama habit should be a bit more productive so I've turned to language learning app Memrise to help me learn Hangul ( I was too excited the first time I recognized and read the Korean language option at the ATM!); And then there's Google Translate- the most used digital translator on the globe. In 2016, Google said that over 500 million people were using their translation services. And that more than 90% of users lived outside of the United States. These are just a few ways that technology and the Internet continue to redefine how we play, learn and work.
Technology definitely helps, but it's a two-edged sword. Is it going to cut more jobs? Yes. We've already seen that played out in many industries. We also see people creating around tech. Being able to bridge language barriers is a powerful position to stand in. Will machines ever do it justice?
Continue reading to get a glimpse into Teresa's life as a translator in the digital age.
“In my opinion (and I’m an optimist), human translators won’t ever be obsolete, as language in its fluid and oftentimes poetic, imaginative form isn’t something that software can properly translate.”
Teresa Schicho, Translator
How many languages do you speak?
I speak German (my mother tongue), English and Spanish, which are my working languages. In my home country, Austria, English is the first foreign language taught in schools. At age 13 or so, kids can usually choose between either Latin or Italian as their second foreign language and at age 15 between French and Spanish. Since I was part of an integrated class – we had classmates who were hard of hearing – I had to take the Latin Proficiency Certificate first, because it was easier for these kids to learn a language that isn’t spoken. I later chose Italian as my third foreign language, but lost it almost completely as soon as I started to learn Spanish.
After I had earned my high school diploma, I left for Spain (without speaking the language) in hopes of learning more about the world and myself. I did learn Spanish, at least.
Which language was most difficult to learn?
The most difficult language for me to learn was Latin, because it’s only half the fun to engage oneself in a language that’s dead/static and in which it’s impossible to hold conversations.
How did formal schooling prepare you for your career?
After one year and my return to Austria, I decided to study Transcultural Communication at the University of Graz, which made it possible for me to combine two of my greatest interests, languages and culture. After completing my bachelor’s degree, I started my master’s in Translation (I’m currently writing my thesis about the German version of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Americanah) and another degree in Global Citizenship Education. According to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), both my levels of English and Spanish are C1.
Tech is stealing human jobs?
What are some of the challenges of working in your field?
The boon and bane of the translation process is technology, and especially the internet. The various attempts to automate translation via software (e.g. Google Translate) tend to both scare and amuse me. In my opinion (and I’m an optimist), human translators won’t ever be completely obsolete, as language in its fluid and oftentimes poetic, imaginative form isn’t something that a software can properly translate. Until we find a way to teach these tools about connotations, culture-specific aspects/standards and so on, they will only be able to transfer technical texts (e.g. software) into another linguistic system.
Courtesy of Teresa Schicho
However, I’m thankful that answers to any questions I might have regarding the source text are only a quick google search, email or Skype call away, and I enjoy having access to an infinite number of different dictionaries and thesauri online. The company I work for uses so-called computer-aided translation or CAT-tools, which include a translation memory (a database of text segments and their translations in different languages) and facilitate the translation process. Their output, however, requires editing by us “human translators”.
How are translators leveraging technology and looking to stay relevant while doing this work?
In my company, we also offer services that go beyond mere translations in order to stay relevant in the face of new technologies (“TRANSservices"): These include localization [adapting web content for regional and cultural consumption], terminology work [standardizing technical terms for company-wide clarity and consistency], subtitling, desktop publishing and native content authoring.
It does take A LOT of effort and creativity to stay relevant when 1) anyone fluent in two or more languages can offer their translation services (the profession is not protected by any laws in my country) or use Google Translate or any other software online 2) machine translation is a lot cheaper - albeit not better - than human translation. (This means that a freelancer holding a degree in translation has to be an expert in marketing as well in order to stay relevant/build a solid client base).
What do you and your fellow translators think about how improvements in translation technology is impacting your work?
Most of the translators I know (including myself) believe in a future where machine translation and human translation is combined for the best results. This type of translation is already used by most companies today.
What don’t most people know about working as a translator?
The first thing I explain to people who ask me about my work is the difference between translators and interpreters. As a translator, I work with written texts that I transfer from one of the two foreign languages that I studied (source languages) into my mother tongue (target language), and seldom if ever vice versa. I would have to ask a native speaker of English/Spanish – in my case – to proofread any text I translated into these languages. An interpreter, however, works with the spoken word. They are two completely different fields of work and study, carried out by very different types of personalities: While translators tend to be more introverted, interpreters need to be more outgoing by necessity of their work.
You got married recently. How do you balance home and work life?
Courtesy of Teresa Schicho
I'm in the lucky position to be able to work from home as a telecommuter. The company I work for uses a certain type of online workplace that allows for all remote co-workers to communicate via webcam and chat. While in principle I’d prefer the face-to-face interactions of a physical office, the current solution makes it possible for me to study, work, continue to write my thesis and, most importantly, enjoy the company of my husband (and plan our church wedding together)! All in all, my work-life balance is not ideal right now, but I know that everything is temporary and I’m thankful for all these possibilities to learn and grow personally and professionally!
What’s your advice to aspiring translators?
Read as much as you can in every language you speak, travel as often as possible, listen to radio stations/watch the news of countries where “your” languages are spoken, decide for a field of expertise you want to work in (technical/legal/literary/medical translation, etc.) and most importantly, dare to translate. Even if you feel you aren’t ready just yet, the written word is your raw material, and it will be patient until you feel it’s perfected.
To Infinity & Beyond
As the roughly $40 billion global language industry continues to race forward aided by technological developments, many in the field are looking to meet the demand for services and address the trends. Among them:
1. Video Translation - Telecommunications titan, Cisco, reported that in 2021, “it would take an individual more than five million years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month." We already see video production and sharing happening at viral speed. As people seek to be informed and entertained by others from all over the world imagine the demand that translators will be tackling in the coming years.
2. Expanding into Africa - The African continent is 11.73 million square miles and the second most populous continent -behind Asia- with 1.2 billion people. And the population is expected to double in the next 32 years. This Globally Speaking podcast digs into why translation companies should anticipate young African's swelling thirst for information in their own languages.
3. Post-Editing of Machine Translation - Most in the industry agree that translation work yields the best results when tech and human translators do their part. Machines finish the first round translations faster, but people do a better job of finessing the text into linguistically and culturally sound products.
I want to read your interesting thoughts on tech and language! Leave them in the comments.
“Dare to translate.”
Courtesy of Teresa Schicho
