| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Will translating, as a job, survive ? Thread poster: kistengeist224
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go to repair cars. One hour 80 euros  ) here
just a joke
[Redaguota 2015-11-08 22:46 GMT]
| | | | | Robot will replace any human works | Nov 9, 2015 |
kistengeist224 wrote:
Machine translating becomes better and better each day, what do you think will happen to translating in 5,10,15 years ?
IMO, future robot will replace all human works. Not only translation, but also banking, doctor, analyst, mechanics, seller, doctor, teacher, .... all and any. The question is only "when?".
In 20 years, translation robot, such as Google's, Bing's, and Yandex's translation bots, will meet general translation need, particularly in LOW-context languages (LOW > LOW, HIGH > LOW). It will be longer for them to satisfy translation market in HIGH-context languages (LOW > HIGH, HIGH > HIGH).
Will translators exist? Yes, in a little number.
| | | | | I don't think it will | Nov 9, 2015 |
I don't speak from a language evolution analysis, just from what person does in life considering they have 24 hours a day. You will have to invest lots of time, money for it but the return is barely enough for you. For that much time and effort, you better find some other things to do. Many clients think that now with GG translate, it is funny for translators to charge such high rate and that is the same thought of many translators while I try to differ. But for the differences you can make and ... See more I don't speak from a language evolution analysis, just from what person does in life considering they have 24 hours a day. You will have to invest lots of time, money for it but the return is barely enough for you. For that much time and effort, you better find some other things to do. Many clients think that now with GG translate, it is funny for translators to charge such high rate and that is the same thought of many translators while I try to differ. But for the differences you can make and the input of time and what not, it is not worth it. I also found that many translators are without sel-esteem and business skills, which doesn't do any good. That shows in how they ask what they should charge and they don't even think about the minimum charge. Look at the plumbers and cleaners, they always have their minimum rate while translators are so obedient to charge for per source word for a less than 100 word text or for an advertising to be charge per source word. Also, please remember that those who answer here are those with years of age and from a difference era to younger generations like you and me, so their results will be different. You seem to be young and I don't think you want to spend many decades trying to outrun the rat race in this profession. Not to mention, I think translating is a job that sometimes cut you off from the world. Do something else. And remember to pay decent rate to translators when you need a translation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zhihua Liu
China
Local time: 20:06
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Good question | Nov 9, 2015 |
Everything evolves, so do translation.
Maybe translation would be a basic skill in the future, but the difference is besides that, what you have integrated it with.
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| When you find | Nov 9, 2015 |
a machine willing (and able) to to decipher doctors' poor handwriting, be sure to let me know! 
| | | | ChananZass
Italy
Local time: 14:06
Italian to English
+ ...
In memoriam | Can Google Translate make sense of Joyce's Ulysses? | Nov 9, 2015 |
I doubt it. As long as there are good writers/translators, human translation will survive.
| | | | Roy OConnor (X)
Local time: 14:06
German to English
| It is not just MT that is the problem | Nov 9, 2015 |
I agree with most of the comment so far. MT will certainly get better some time. But if you are contemplating a future as a translator, MT will not be the only competitor. You have to take into account the global human competition too.
In pre-Internet days it was possible to earn a good living as a translator even in the popular languages. Now every Tom, Dick and Harry from Chile to China who has done an evening course in a foreign language can offer their services for a couple of c... See more I agree with most of the comment so far. MT will certainly get better some time. But if you are contemplating a future as a translator, MT will not be the only competitor. You have to take into account the global human competition too.
In pre-Internet days it was possible to earn a good living as a translator even in the popular languages. Now every Tom, Dick and Harry from Chile to China who has done an evening course in a foreign language can offer their services for a couple of cents per word. Their own ability is limited, but they are backed up by the very same Internet resources which we all use. I think the quality of very cheap translations supplied by these inexpensive translators in various parts of the world will increase and be a bigger problem for you than MT competition.
Certainly translating will survive as a job, but will you and I in Germany be part of it? ▲ Collapse
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...which will be able to translate like a human, would be of similar intelligence like a human and therefore will find a better paid job than translating...so no reason to worry about.
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| | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 13:06
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Very interesting! | Nov 10, 2015 |
I see that typist and legal secretary are right at the top of the list to go, whereas personal assistant, translator and journalistic editor are all much more secure. It's that more intangible skill that will keep up in our jobs.
Great to see some of the others that are on the way out: cold callers, accountants, tax advisers, local government paper-pushers... Bye, bye!!
Also nice to see that they think we're going to continue to see human faces when we have health problems, and in the one place that seems guaranteed to keep a friendly, personal welcome: the pub!
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:06
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Sheila Wilson wrote:
..... nice to see that they think we're going to continue to see human faces when we have health problems.....
Alas, any time I go to see my doctor s/he sits facing the computer (i.e. not facing me), asking me questions and entering my responses. The old "bedside manner" has gone.
As for translating as a skill, I don't see how computers can really get on top of this, any time soon. I occasionally put some text into Google Translate, to see what happens, and the translation often says the *opposite* of what the text says.
Sometimes it's useful because it may suggest a different word from the one I was thinking of using, but most of the time its choice of words and its decisions about sentence construction are extremely poor and couldn't be used.
[Edited at 2015-11-10 16:26 GMT]
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 08:06
German to English
| Rates have probably peaked | Nov 10, 2015 |
I have no doubt that human translation as we now know it will continue for a long time. Machine translation will crowd out the lower (gist) segment. Translators operating in that segment will be displaced and move into PEMT, without necessarily improving the quality of MT product. Skilled MT editors will be faced with price competition coming up from below, resulting in rate stagnation.
Based on my own experience, which may or may not be typical (I've been at it for a while), rates ... See more I have no doubt that human translation as we now know it will continue for a long time. Machine translation will crowd out the lower (gist) segment. Translators operating in that segment will be displaced and move into PEMT, without necessarily improving the quality of MT product. Skilled MT editors will be faced with price competition coming up from below, resulting in rate stagnation.
Based on my own experience, which may or may not be typical (I've been at it for a while), rates have not kept up with inflation. The only way I've found to increase my rate is to find new clients, leaving the old ones behind for the most part. Better-paying customers also tend to have more thorough quality controls, and it's not uncommon for an astute editor to question a term or turn of phrase. The consequence is that less-talented ("good enough") translators are not likely to advance to the next level of customer. These translators are also likely to be faced with rate stagnation
The current rate squeeze/reduction isn't going to go away as long as the floodgates remain open to anyone with a computer. There is also a limit to what an agency is able/willing to pay, due to overhead, price squeezing by the end client, resulting in ...
Taking on direct clients is a way to get high-end rates. However, there are some limitations. High-end clients also tend to have high-end demands, such as creation of graphics, DTP, etc. Managing several direct clients can be a headache if they all need complex work done "yesterday". Outsourcing in such cases can be difficult – in my case, most of my colleagues – all good translators – tend to be busy.
Gains in productivity have been achieved using CAT tools, but there are limits to how much a translator can produce in a day, week after week. In translation, as well as in many other market segments, rates have not kept up with increases in productivity.
I don't know of many translators who are making more money now than they did five years ago, given the same level of effort. I don't claim that the translation business is a zero sum game, but market forces appear to be tending toward rate stagnation despite increased productivity and growth in demand. ▲ Collapse
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Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 17:36
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Some market forces have been helpful | Nov 10, 2015 |
Kevin Fulton wrote:
I don't know of many translators who are making more money now than they did five years ago, given the same level of effort. I don't claim that the translation business is a zero sum game, but market forces appear to be tending toward rate stagnation despite increased productivity and growth in demand.
I agree with everything you say.
On a pedantic note, some market forces have had a positive effect on my earning, helping me to earn more than what I used to a few years ago. These have nothing to do with translation, competition, MT or technology, but with economics and finance.
The dollar has been appreciating against many currencies, including the rupee (INR), for the last few years and this has greatly boosted my income while the effort I put in has remained more or less the same. It would have had similar effect on translators located in no-dollar currency areas.
This positive effect would not be there for US-based translators, and they would have felt the smack of a downward trend in earning much more forcefully.
[Edited at 2015-11-10 17:49 GMT]
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 08:06
German to English
| I speak from the Western perspective only | Nov 10, 2015 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
The dollar has been appreciating against many currencies, including the rupee (INR), for the last few years and this has greatly boosted my income while the effort I put in has remained more or less the same. It would have had similar effect on translators located in no-dollar currency areas.
This positive effect would not be there for US-based translators, and they would have felt the smack of a downward trend in earning much more forcefully.
[Edited at 2015-11-10 17:49 GMT]
My perspective is based strictly from the perspective of someone with US and Western European clients. Even before companies looked to the East to have translation work done, data processing and manufacturing were outsourced to Asia. Indian manufacturers are also feeling the squeeze today while production is being shifted to Malaysia, Vietnam and other low-wage countries.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:06
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Kevin Fulton wrote:
Better-paying customers also tend to have more thorough quality controls, and it's not uncommon for an astute editor to question a term or turn of phrase.
Welcome or not, many of my agencies have very careful checkers who routinely question my diction. I have to be on my toes and not allow myself to be complacent.
I don't claim that the translation business is a zero sum game, but market forces appear to be tending toward rate stagnation despite increased productivity and growth in demand.
I think one has to keep firmly in mind the fact that the past 7 years constitute a true anomaly. A downturn in the business cycle hardly unusual, but the severity of the 2008 global financial crisis and its aftermath puts it into rarified territory. Probably only the 1930s depression can be put in the same category, although that wreaked even more havoc.
The cycle has turned and will turn again. I see a lot of this noise as cyclical rather than structural (MT, price competition etc).
Regards
Dan
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