by Adam Fuss
On the future of translation and global business communication
When I accepted a gracious offer to speak at the Institute of Translation and Interpreting’s conference this year in Sheffield, England, I could scarcely imagine the wealth of insights that would come from both the official programming and the wonderful encounters that make these events so much fun.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking through what I heard and experienced, especially as it relates to my own career as a translator and strategic communication consultant. I attended the ITI Conference to speak about how translators can prepare for an uncertain future by diversifying their careers into related communication disciplines, but I ultimately left with some broader takeaways on how the translation industry continues to evolve with advances in technology, how translators can and should adapt, and how translators and business communicators more broadly can work together to shape the future.
Part musings, and part call to action, what follows is by no means exhaustive. In fact, my sincere hope is that it will serve as a call for even more dialogue, research and concrete action by those of us who have a vested interest in getting this right!
1. Machine translation and artificial intelligence are here to stay, and their role will only grow and gain legitimacy as quality improves. With any gathering of translators, machine translation is bound to be the elephant in the room, but this year at ITI, I saw a lot of brave men and women talking about it quite openly and productively. Machine translation and AI are here to stay, and they will play an increasingly important role in all things language-related. I was glad to see that more and more translators recognize this. Rather than burying their heads in the sand on the issue, many are already planning for how they can adapt and even thrive in this new reality.
2. Premium, human-driven translation is more important now than ever. Perhaps somewhat paradoxically in light of my first takeaway, the need for humans who can think critically and creatively about a source language text and turn it into a communication fit for purpose in a target language will never go away. In fact, as translation technology plays a greater role in routine communication, the gap in quality between what machines and the most skilled humans are capable of doing will only become more apparent. Score one for the humans! On the flip side, the future looks decidedly dicier for human translators whose quality is not noticeably better than what machines can produce.
3. Machines and humans can coexist and even thrive together. If it’s not already obvious, takeaways 1 and 2 above are not mutually exclusive, at least in my view. One conference session I attended saw a vigorous and robust debate (to put it politely) about whether editing machine-generated translations was a legitimate activity for translators. In another session, the speaker claimed that translators who choose to edit machine translations by definition cannot be premium translators given that such editing activity gradually degrades their native language skills (i.e., they become extensions of the machines rather than humans who can think critically and creatively about a text). Provided that translators approach their work thoughtfully, strategically and in a balanced way, I would argue that machines and humans can work together.
I am by no means the first to raise the issues in the three takeaways above. Translators have been debating them for years and will continue to do so for some time. That said, they’re helpful context for the meat of this article, which is takeaways 4 through 7 below.
4. It is critical that the broader communication profession understand this new translation environment. Choices being made by a variety of actors – translation agencies, people in organizations who commission translation services, corporate procurement departments, and translators themselves, among others – have a very real impact on how messaging is ultimately shared and received by global audiences. Communicators in large global organizations have a huge stake in this game, whether they know it or not.
5. Communication practitioners must recognize translation as a core communication discipline. Yes, translation is a tactic and a skill – much like copywriting and graphic design – but it is also a core discipline in the same way that public relations, investor relations, internal communication, marketing, etc. are all core communication disciplines. The impact that translation can ultimately have on reputation, risk management, employee engagement, profitability and growth prospects – to name just a few business concerns – should not be underestimated. Additionally, to paraphrase a business associate I met for lunch in London following the conference, translators who are good at what they do are also good at lots of other things related to communication, so communicators should engage them as partners!
6. Translators need to develop much better business acumen. Like a lot of communication practitioners, translators are notoriously quite poor at understanding their clients’ or employers’ businesses. To succeed and contribute meaningfully, they need to think critically about why a client or employer may want to use technology for certain types of translations (or not translate a text at all) and how they can be a constructive part of that conversation. More broadly, they should also be able to demonstrate an understanding of the issues and data points that drive such decision-making in businesses. Doing so will help translators move from being mere service providers (by no means an unimportant role) to being business partners and even true business drivers in some cases.
7. The future is bright. If we approach these issues thoughtfully and with optimism, the future offers significant opportunity for translation to play a prominent role in driving strategic global business communication. But the future will be merciless to those who cling stubbornly to old models and stereotypes. Yes, change is difficult and unsettling, but recognizing and embracing change is the first step that translators and business communicators more broadly can take to prevent themselves from becoming obsolete.
An afterthought: So why does all this even matter?
Apart from the reasons stated or implied above, this discussion matters because not only does getting translation right make extraordinarily good business sense, it’s also critical for maintaining global connections in our increasingly fragmented and polarized world.
If it’s not obvious anecdotally, a quick look at this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer shows just how much trust is waning in traditional institutions like government, the media and international organizations. There is a bright spot in this year’s Trust Barometer, however: people are placing increased trust in their employers. This means that getting translation right with internal communication is a good and indeed critical first base to cover. Business communicators (including translators) can play an important role in maintaining and even building on this trust.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on May 24, 2019.