Translation as a Profession (Benjamins Translation Library)

120 Translation as a Profession5.5 Multilingual, multimedia communication engineerIt should by now be clear that job definitions in the field of translating areessentially characterised by what translators actually do. The whole translation‘profession’ is moving more and more rapidly towards a redefinition of what a‘translator’ is. The ‘new’ translator must in fact be ready to undertake as manyof the tasks listed and described above as he can, thus becoming an informationmanagement expert, technician, terminologist, phraseologist, translator, adapter,proof-reader, reviser, quality control expert, post-editor, editor, graphic designexpert and Web page designer, technical writer, Web site designer, Web pageintegrator, file manager, macro command writer and in some cases, IT specialist,all rolled into one. . .. If you add the skills of the video technician, in certaincases, and those of the subtitler, overtitler, localiser, linguist with a smatteringof sociology and ethnology (because good communication requires a knowledgeof the cultural background of the target group) plus the ability to plan andmanage projects, to carry out quality control, general management skills, and,last but not least, the ability to use a wide range of software, then this ‘good allrounder’is ready for the new multilingual, multimedia communication markets.What is more, these markets require specialist skills in a number of domains andtranslation tool or source material types. These different combinations of skillsand competences, which can command varying levels of remuneration accordingto distribution and demand, now make up the profile of what is becoming knownas multilingual multimedia communication engineering. It is increasingly obviousthat the translation-localisation process calls for all of those skills. What remainsfor every translator to decide is where he or she stands in that respect. That meanseither the translator decides what share of the workload he can take on and findsout what share of the cake he can get, or he decides what share of the cake he orshe wants and what cost will have to be paid in terms of investment, training orretraining.6. The organisation of supply6.1 The freelancers’ offerFreelancers operate at two levels in the market: as front line operators, in directcontact with their clients, on the one hand, and as sub-contractors (or ‘partners’)for translation companies or agencies or brokers, on the other.Prospecting for clients requires a lot of time and energy when translators, particularlythose new to the profession, have little of either to spare. The freelancertherefore naturally tends to start out by carrying out work commissioned by trans-