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The Guide to Translation and Localization: Fast Forward - The Future of Translation and Localization
[ Table of Contents ] Chapter 21: Fast Forward - The Future of Translation and Localization by Laurel Wagers Translators and localizers work, like all of us, in an environment where demands are changing and the tools with which to meet those demands are changing as well. In this book, Lingo Systems team members have described the state of their art, shared their experiences and generously given the kind of advice that will help clients plan, conduct and evaluate projects. This solid information can remove hesitation, clear up uncertainty and provide a foundation for successful business efforts.
Language technology has changed enormously in recent years. Users of major operating systems select their language from a menu; fonts are available that include all the characters in the Unicode encoding scheme; and the PDF format with embedded fonts has made multilingual documents and websites not only possible but practicable. Windows, Macintosh, and Linux users all have the tools to work in the world's major languages and scripts as well as many that are less commonly used. Developers around the world have the means and motivation to create software in their languages of choice for use, not just on desktops but on mobile devices. Translation tools are developing to keep up with the constantly increasing flood of information being shipped around the world in ever-more-varied formats. Internationalization and support of multiple languages are no longer "nice to have" software options but necessities. Many clients require these technologies, and if the major software companies don't provide versions for their languages, independent developers will. Multilingualism is rapidly becoming a "given," a quality that is assumed, and a product will be considered deficient without it. Translation The fundamentals of transferring information and ideas from one language to another are simple. Speaker or writer in language A reaches listener or reader in language B, C, or M through the work of an interpreter or translator who knows both the source (A) and target (B/C/M) language. This much stays the same, whether the tools are pen and paper, or digital displays. How that translation takes place, however, is changing rapidly, as this guide has made clear. Wherever the source-language speech, book, or electronic file (input) comes from, a translator works with dictionaries, writing instrument - pen, typewriter, computer - and a readable medium - papyrus, vellum, paper, electronic file - the output method. Working with electronic tools introduces a number of new elements in the workflow. Translation memory (TM) allows the translator to look back at a database of previous work. Now, using web-based tools and exchange formats, translators collaborate on global projects without leaving their offices or buying new software. The translator is often called on to work with machine translation software that "pre-translates" text before it reaches him or her, and the translator's role sometimes becomes that of post-editor. All this changes the specific steps in the process and may increase a translator's speed, but does not alter the time-honored flow: source-language text > expert translator + currendy available tools target-language text. Given that the basic equation remains the same, what trends are affecting translation and localization today? Here are a few: commodification; collaboration; and some interesting developments in niches, reverses, and "blowback." Commodities One trend at present is the commodification of translation - considering translation, a product or a standardized component of a project. Translation and localization typically require a fraction of 1% of a project budget for even the most complex software products and websites. Decision makers who understand language issues know that language quality is worth the investment; good localization typically results in revenue increases many times greater than the cost of the work. But some clients emphasize price above other factors. If language is a commodity and if quality is irrelevant or actually can be standardized, then perhaps price is a major factor. But short-term savings from using free online translation engines or dictionary lookup may be offset by long-term losses if products or services are poorly represented in the second language. And while outsourcing and offshoring are sometimes seen as ways to save money, skilled translators must be paid fairly wherever they are. Good translation software requires an investment in "training" with specialized dictionaries, rales, and databases to produce translations that people then can post-edit. One aspect of translation that has positive potential as a commodity, however, is the material in TMs, previously translated text that could be licensed somewhat like a specialized dictionary. Technologies The devices people carry with them are shrinking, and more of them combine functions - making phone calls, surfing the internet, taking pictures, watching videos, and listening to music, for example. At least one 2006 camera model includes a program to translate photographed words. Standards and exchange formats such as HTML, XML, SGML, and TMX reduce the friction between operating systems. The development of the Semantic Web is expected to help computers read and write to one another, creating an electronic "global mind" that analyzes, sifts, and recombines information on its own - in any language. Handheld personal phrase translators are in use in military and medical situations - not replacing interpreters, but filling in for them in emergencies. The Star Trek universal translator is not just science fiction: it is in development. Only a few years into the cell-phone/pager/SMS evolution, increasingly sophisticated language technology is embedded in our lives. Multilingual instant multimedia messaging is launching through several wireless phone companies. A few years ago that was a goal; in 2006 it's a new feature; and by 2008 it will be a basic part of phone and text message service. Text a note to the Tokyo office in your language of choice, say, English; your counterpart reads it in Japanese or Russian or Hindi and replies in that language; and you read the reply in English. The Star Trek universal communicator draws closer to reality. Another factor in this changing workscape is enormous volumes of material to be translated. As countries have joined the European Union (EU), keeping up with translation of official documents has created some new ways of working. In some cases, translators work through pivot languages - Estonian > French or English > Greek, for example - rather than directly between Estonian and Greek. An important aspect of dealing with massive amounts of documentation to be translated is writing with translation in mind. This begins with clear, concise, well-written source-language text. Documentation that is hard to understand in one language is not likely to be improved by a faithful translation into another. Strategies include use of controlled language, collaboration, use of TMs and the use of ever-more-sophisticated translation tools to process the source-language content. Business How will the translation-localization-internationalization-globalization industry change and develop? First, individual translators will always have a place. They will work independently, in teams, through agencies, or directly with clients. They will continue to work with all the tools available, such as TM, which reduces repetitive work; content management and workflow technologies, which help organize large projects; and speech-to-text, which helps its user to produce documents with less physical effort. Second, while mergers, acquisition and consolidation will undoubtedly continue, "bigness" has its own limitations. Innovative and specialized companies and individuals will find niches in which they can build careers, serving what has been called the "long tail" - the relatively small number of customers who need particular languages for specific businesses. Again, the internet allows specialists and their potential clients to find each other, which means that even microbusinesses can have major exposure. Collaboration One of the most important recent developments, thanks to the internet, has been the rapid increase in collaborative business and development efforts. Open-source software development is a well-known example that has produced all kinds of software from the Linux operating system down to time-card programs. Other forms include networked translation projects, web seminars, web-based meeting applications, wikis such as Wikipedia, multiplayer games, movies, terminology databases, preservation of endangered languages, an open subtitling application, and all manner of file-sharing networks. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination and bandwidth of potential co-creators. Reverses Another trend that's probably as old as trade is what Reinhard Schaler of the Localisation Research Centre in Ireland calls "reverse localization" selling products with an appeal to customers' desire for the exotic and strange: French perfume, Scotch whisky, German cars, Chinese silk, Australian sunscreen, Brazilian bikinis, and Hawaiian sport shirts. When the marketplace seems to be full of goods that are all the same, that foreign label (Australians know harsh sun, so the sunscreen should be excellent) is a differentiator. But if you are in Portland, Oregon, making Australian-style sunscreen, you need to get your Aussie lingo right - especially if you want to sell it in Australia. Time to call in the translation/localization team! For a number of years localization seemed to be in one direction: United States/Europe to the rest of the world (ROW). But as a result of open-source development, new training and business opportunities, widespread wireless access, and other factors, a counter-trend, or what Schaler calls "blowback" localization, has developed. People in ROW are building the applications they need at the cost they can afford and with the capabilities they desire. Some of their products may well be localized for U.S. or European customers and will be popular there for the same reasons they are successful at home. They'll need translators and localizers, too. Essentials Some people in the industry use the acronym GILT (globalization, internationalization, localization, translation). We don't use the term at MultiLingual, partly because the word gilt refers to surface embellishment, a thin layer of gold over something less valuable. In this wireless, broadband, web-connected world, multilingual presentation and support are not "gilt" at all. They are essential components. And just as a business would not hand responsibility for accounting support or web page design to just anyone, neither should it settle for less than professional language work where clear communication is needed. This means having people with language skills, technical expertise, and a commitment to excellence in their work. The client is unlikely to know all the languages of his or her website well enough to tell the difference between professional and amateur translators, but the client's customers will know. Their perceptions will affect the client's business, and eventually their response (good or bad) will come back to the translation and localization team in some form. English is used worldwide as a business lingua franca, but that doesn't mean that English is going to be the only language of world business. People who use French, Polish, Chinese, or Spanish - not to mention Catalan, Thai, Malay, Ethiopic, or Farsi - each produce and expect high-quality translation and localization, websites, communication tools, and products. Access to and sharing of information in the languages we prefer - that multilingual future is both the goal and the driver of fast-forward change.
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