subject: Three Main Groups Of Translation Demand [print this page] It is plausible to divide the demand for translation into three main groups. The first group is the traditional demand for translations of publishable quality: translation for dissemination. The second, emerging with the information explosion of the twentieth century, is the demand for translations of short-lived documents for information gathering and analysis which can be provided in unedited forms: translation for assimilation. The third group is the demand for on-the-spot translation - the traditional role of the interpreter - which has taken a new form with electronic telecommunications: translation for interaction.
Translation for dissemination has been satisfied with mixed successes and frequent failures by the large-scale MT systems which are most familiar to translators. Cost-effective use of relatively poor quality output, which has to be revised by human translators, is difficult to achieve without some control of the language of input texts. It has been an option for only the largest multinational companies with large volumes of documentation, which cannot be dealt with except by automating parts of their total documentation processes. In recent years, translation workstations have offered a feasible and probably more attractive route for professional translators: translations of publishable quality can be made at higher productivity levels while maintaining translators' traditional working methods. In the future, we can expect the majority of professional translators to be using such tools - not just from commercial expediency, but from personal job satisfaction.
Translation for assimilation has not been undertaken by professional translators. The work has been done in organizations often by secretaries or other clerical staff with some knowledge of languages as an occasional service, and usually under time pressures. Those performing the work have naturally been dissatisfied with the results, since they are not professionally trained. In this function, MT has filled a gap since the first systems were available in the early 1960s. It is believed that most of the use for the cheaper PC-based translation software is translation for information assimilation, mainly for personal use but sometimes within an organization. Rarely, if ever, do professional translators see this output. Undoubtedly, there will continue to be a large and growing demand for this type of translation need - one which the translation profession as such has not been able to meet in the past.
Translation for interaction covers the role of translation in face-to-face communication and in correspondence, whether traditional mail or the newer electronic, more immediate, form. Translators have often been employed occasionally by their organizations in these areas, e.g. as interpreters for foreign visitors and as mediators in company correspondence, and they will continue to do so. But for the real-time translation of electronic messages it is not possible to envisage any role for the translator; for this, the only possibility is the use of fully automatic systems.
Translation will itself receive a much higher profile than in the past. People using the crude output of MT systems will come to realize the added value of professionally produced translations. As a result, the demand for human produced translation will rise, and the translation profession will be busier than ever. Fortunately, professional translators will have the support of a wide range of computer-based translation tools, enabling them to increase productivity and to improve consistency and quality. In a word, MT will be the source of greater business and will be the means of achieving considerably improved working conditions.
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