If you’re up to date on the language industry, you’re used to seeing the words “Technology” and “Translation” in the same sentence. The two words are closely linked given rapid developments in machine translation (MT), artificial intelligence (AI), and computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools.
Such developments have greatly increased translation productivity and quality, and have proven to be in constant demand to solve the age-old problem of language barriers. These tools have led to a redefinition of the traditional concept of “translation,” but also pose challenges and uncertainties for professional translators.
In this world of machine translation, new professions and profiles have begun to emerge. However, it doesn't mean that existing roles should be forgotten. As previously reported, translators are prime examples of experts-in-the-loop. They are familiar with working in the gaps between language and culture, while also being able to navigate the chasm between what technology can do with language and what language can do for us.
More importantly, translators are actually at the start of this loop, acting as the source of machine translation (MT) data. At the end of the day, it is the translator's intelligence that MT aims to replicate.
Each day, innovative sectors come up with new concepts and products, and this means new terminology. This calls for translators to act as terminologists by collaborating with product designers and researchers to identify or coin target terms, or even to leave them untranslated.
Translators are also regarded as researchers, as the gap between MT researchers and translators is now slowly closing. Researchers have identified translators as one of MT’s biggest users, and listening to the advice of their biggest users helps developers improve the MT system further.
So which new roles are emerging in the industry and are you qualified to fill them? With post-editing becoming an industry standard, Slator has put together a list of key skills for Post-Editors, MT Engineers, and PE Consultants. Error-handling, good programming skills, and risk assessment were some of the key requirements highlighted.
Following the growth in digital video consumption and localization demand, audiovisual translation (AVT) has been receiving more attention than ever. We are now entering an era of commoditization for certain types of AVT content, as Yota Georgakopoulou put it. Therefore, project managers specializing in the integration of language technologies, ASR, and MT into traditional localization workflows will be in high demand.
And in the world of subtitling, the following jobs have emerged: subtitle post-editor, ASR & MT engineers, and MT consultants for subtitling. Check out the detailed job description for each role.
