Translation as a Profession (Benjamins Translation Library)

286 Translation as a ProfessionIT has therefore generated and opened up whole new markets. It has also to acertain extent cleaned up the same markets – because the complexity and cost ofthe software and the equipment needed is making it more and more difficult foramateurs to operate. Moreover, the Internet has provided a convenient means tomanage supply and demand. Last but not least, IT has led to the developmentof translation software aids (generally known as CAT or ‘Computer-AssistedTranslation’ tools), which have generated both productivity gains for translatorsand profits for the software designers.2. The not so friendly revolutionBut the ICT revolution has also had its down sides. In the translation community,even its most ardent supporters have to acknowledge five major drawbacks:1. Computerisation has changed translation from an amateur pursuit into acottage industry and now, into an industrial process. IT has in fact encouragedand probably induced the industrialisation of the translation profession by(a) significantly increasing the volumes of translatable material, (b) providingthe tools needed to process such large volumes and (c) accelerating theimplementation of standardised procedures.For all translators, this now means increasingly heavy investments if they wantto meet their work providers’ requirements and deserve the ‘technologicallyefficient’ label. Anyone pulling out of the race for ever more technologywould be relegated to the position of the ‘pure text translator’, who can nolonger aspire to the added value that goes with using sophisticated software orcomputer code processing.Not so long ago, translators were faced with the choice of ‘sticking with texttranslation’ or investing in the hope of being able to aim for the more lucrativeIT-related markets. Today, the standard is word-processor + desk publishing +translation memory management + terminology management + full Internetfunctionalities. And the choice is either to stick with that standard or go forimage processing, voice recognition, HTML, XML, XHTML, XSL editors, andwhat not so as to have a (lucrative) go at the new types of translation marketswhich are already in the pipeline.2. Globalisation, the logical outcome of computerisation, mainly means thatwhoever can offer the lowest rates anywhere in the world has a good chance ofgetting the contracts, or at least that competition is now putting pressure onrates the world over.3. IT may have freed translators from certain repetitive and tedious tasks, but ithas also made them slaves to their workstations, even though voice recogni-