This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Covid-19 has greatly influenced businesses around the world. From 2023-24 till date, things have changed a lot for the translation industry just like any other sector. Fortunately, unlike other industries that suffered great losses during the pandemic, things are going well for the translation business.
The translation market has experienced great growth in 2023, and the future seems even brighter. So, what should we expect from the translation industry in 2023-24?
New opportunities are opening up for translation business on a global scale. Businesses are investing in translations, and the demand for localized brands is higher than ever before. It seems like translation industry trends are going to dominate the business world in the coming years.
In this blog post, we’ll analyze the translation industry trends, demands, market size, innovations, and future predictions. So, let’s get right into it.
How Big Is the Translation Industry?
Market Size
In 2023, the global translation market size is valued at around $39.37 billion which is expected to increase to $46.22 billion by the year 2028. Global expansion of businesses leads to higher translation service demand worldwide.
Today, doing business is all about communicating and content publishing – that too in multiple languages. To be able to efficiently communicate with your customers, employees, and business partners internationally, it is important for companies to translate their content into multiple languages.
Fall 2024 was irrefutably the season for Dan Da Dan fans. Not only was the Science Saru anime wowing folks every Thursday, its ongoing manga was showing out every Tuesday, giving fans of both reasons to wake up in the morning with a pep in their step at the beginning and end of their week.
Seeing as we’re still a way out from the anime’s second season and the manga is currently on hiatus, we decided to follow up on our interview with the anime’s director by chatting with Dandadan (the manga is spelled without spaces, unlike the show title’s stylization) manga translator Kumar Sivasubramanian to learn how its literary sausage is made for English-speaking sensibilities.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: In the manga translation industry, do translators have to audition or pitch themselves for series like Dandadan, or do publishers arbitrarily assign series to translators they work with?
Sivasubramanian: In my case, series have always been assigned to me by editors. I wouldn’t say it’s completely “arbitrary” though. If you have a past working relationship with that editor/publisher, then they might have an idea of your strengths or weaknesses, or even what kind of material you like to translate, and assign jobs accordingly. Also, I’m a freelancer, so they’re more “offers” than “assignments.” If I was offered, say, a baseball manga, I would probably say no, because I know nothing about baseball.
Translation is often perceived as a passive act, a mere transposing of meaning from one language to another. Yet, beneath this supposedly tranquil surface lies the tangled undergrowth of power, ethics, and professional tethers around every decision taken by the translator.
Conventional ethical frameworks note loyalty to clients and fidelity to the source text, but what happens when these principles conflict with a translator’s intellectual and moral agency?
In this discussion, Abderrahman Boukhaffa contests traditional notions of translation ethics, advocating for a self-care approach that empowers translators to navigate the industry on their own terms.
For Boukhaffa, translation is more than a mechanical act of transferring words from one language to another. It is an intellectual and ethical endeavor shaped by power configurations, professional constraints, and the translator’s agency.
Artificial Intelligence is gaining an increased presence in the world of anime and manga localization. While many believe that its usage poses an existential threat to the existence of translation jobs, others, such as official Kaiju No. 8 translator David Evelyn, feel that AI is threatening worker livelihoods in other, equally problematic ways.
In a recent interview conducted by Gizmodo, David Evelyn joined fellow manga translation veterans Stephen Paul (One Piece, VinlandSaga) and Casey Loe (Spy x Family, Kill Blue) to discuss various issues related to the industry. Evelyn focused heavily on the topic of AI and how publishers are increasingly looking to AI-powered tools like Novelous to speedily generate translated manga and light novel content for the masses. However, Evelyn does not believe that AI is a practical replacement for human staff. “Translation is way more complicated than ‘source language A’ into ‘target language B.’ I don’t feel like A.I. is threatening anyone’s jobs right now because it’s so useless at what its doing,” he stated.
AI Manga Translation Is Causing People to Take the Same Jobs for ‘Pennies on the Dollar’
Evelyn argues that AI is incapable of advancing beyond the ‘mechanical translation’ of language and performing the tasks essential to creating an appealing and ‘consistent’ narrative for readers. “…it won’t be able to create unique and consistent voices for each character, come up with equally entertaining versions of puns and references, smooth over uniquely Japanese concepts that would be confusing to international audiences.” However, A.I. is gradually changing the structure of the industry.
With the introduction of six new languages, the translation services are now available in 16 languages in the Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran objected to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s announcement.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced the extension of translation services to six new languages in Parliament, including Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Urdu, and Sanskrit.
Addressing the House, Birla said that previously, translation services were available in 10 languages—Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu—along with Hindi and English.
“Now, we have included six more languages—Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Urdu, and Sanskrit. Additionally, as human resources become available, we are working to provide simultaneous translations in 16 more languages,” he said.
“India’s parliamentary system is a democratic framework that offers translations in multiple languages. When I discussed at the global level that we are making efforts to provide translation services in 22 languages in India, it was widely appreciated on international platforms”, the Speaker highlighted.
The government of Nunavut, a territory in northern Canada that speaks a variety of endangered Native Inuit languages, has reportedly already signed up for the program.
Meta is partnering with world heritage organization UNESCO in a move that could lead to lesser-known Indigenous languages being incorporated into Meta AI, TechCrunch reports.
The Language Technology Partner Program is currently looking for contributors who can provide more than 10 hours of speech recordings with transcriptions. Contributors will also need to provide pre-translated sentences and a significant body of written work in the target language, which will then be used to build Meta’s AI systems.
The government of Nunavut, a territory in northern Canada that speaks a variety of endangered Native Inuit languages, has already signed up for the program as a partner, TechCrunch says.
Meta’s contributions to the translation and transcription space might not be as universally well-known as Google’s omnipresent Google Translate, but the company is devoting a lot of attention to it at the moment. In January, the tech giant’s AI research division previewed a new AI model that could reportedly translate speech from 101 different languages, which it presented as a key step toward a widely available speech-to-speech translation model.
We are excited to announce that ProZ is Gold Sponsor of the 5th Africa International Translation Conference (AITCO 2025)! This premier event, taking place on February 7-8, 2025, at Hotel Verde, Zanzibar, brings together translation and interpretation professionals from across Africa and beyond for two days of networking, learning, and industry growth.
Why AITCO 2025 matters to the translation community
As one of the largest platforms connecting translators and outsourcers, ProZ is dedicated to fostering professional relationships, expanding career opportunities, and supporting industry growth. AITCO 2025 is a key event for translators and interpreters looking to expand their knowledge, connect with peers, and engage with key players in the language industry.
This sponsorship reflects our commitment to supporting language professionals and ensuring they have access to resources that help them thrive in the evolving world of translation and localization.
What AITCO 2025 offers translators & interpreters
With a focus on professional development, AITCO 2025 will feature:
Industry expert sessions – Gain insights from leading voices in translation, interpretation, and localization.
Workshops & training – Practical learning sessions on the latest industry trends, tools, and best practices.
Networking opportunities – Meet fellow translators, potential clients, and industry leaders.
Technology & AI in translation – Learn about innovations that are shaping the future of the industry.
Panel discussions – Explore the evolving demands in the language services sector and how to stay competitive.
Bryan Forrester, Co-founder and CEO of Boostlingo, returns to SlatorPod for round 2 to talk about the company’s growth, the US interpreting market, and the evolving role of AI.
Bryan explains how Boostlingo balances innovation with practicality, ensuring that new features align with customer needs. He highlights the company’s three-pronged strategy: retaining existing customers, enabling growth, and making long-term bets on emerging trends.
While tools like real-time captions and transcription enhance efficiency, Bryan stresses that AI alone cannot replace human interpreters in complex industries like healthcare. He highlights privacy, compliance, and the nuanced expertise of human interpreters as critical factors, positioning AI as a supportive tool rather than a replacement.
Despite advancements in AI speech translation, many so-called “real-time” systems may not be as real-time as they claim.
A new study finds that much of the research in simultaneous speech-to-text translation (SimulST) is based on unrealistic assumptions that do not reflect real-world conditions — potentially limiting the industry’s ability to deploy truly live, low-latency translation solutions.
In their December 24, 2024 paper, Sara Papi from Fondazione Bruno Kessler and Peter Polák, Ondřej Bojar, and Dominik Macháček from Charles University, reviewed 110 papers on SimulST and found that the majority focus on translating pre-segmented speech — where the input has been manually split into short utterances before translation — rather than continuous, unbounded speech streams.
The researchers argue that this “narrow focus” simplifies the problem by avoiding challenges such as latency, segmentation, and synchronization, ultimately hindering the development of systems that can work in real time without human intervention.
“Despite its intended application to unbounded speech, most research has focused on human pre-segmented speech, simplifying the task and overlooking significant challenges,” the researchers said.
Beware of scams and NEVER click on an unknown link.
From time to time members draw to our attention phishing and scamming emails naming the ITI and CIOL Directories. If you are worried about an email trust your instinct.
Check the company name – scammers use names that are real or similar to real companies, but it’s worth double checking for plausibility. If they say they work for a university or business but are using a gmail account for example, consider calling the organisation and ask to speak to the person who has emailed you. Always use contact details from a search engine and not from the email the scammer has sent you.
Is it just you? Ask your colleagues in any of the Networks you belong to as scammers often message multiple members in different languages pairs at the same time.
Fake emails – if they’re not from the company why not? Look out for gmail and odd endings on emails that don’t match web addresses.
Similar names or roles – passing a person off as someone who does exist.
Odd remuneration and ‘training periods’.
Flattery like “We have recently reviewed your impressive profile” or “your qualifications and experience seem to be an excellent fit for this role.” etc.
Too good to be true? Does the offer seem too good to be true? Then it probably is.
Citing ITI or CIOL as the source of the contact (‘…profile on ITI Directory etc.)
Poor English or English errors that are not credible given the purported country of origin/language pairs.
Promises that the full job description and additional details will be ‘provided during the interview’ so no actual information can be checked in advance.
There is a link, which is the REALLY dangerous part, allegedly to set up an ‘interview’ or register interest but which may draw down personal info and upload malware, etc.
On January 7, 2025, LinkedIn News UK published its “Job trends 2025: The 25 fastest-growing jobs in the UK” list, where the role of interpreter comes in at #22. LinkedIn calls the list “Jobs on the Rise” and considers them indicators of areas of career opportunity based on data collected over the previous three years.
Mentioning both spoken and sign language interpreters, the ranking cites interpreting, translation, and consecutive interpretation as the typical skills required for these professionals. Interpreters are most in demand in translation and localization, museums, historical sites, zoos, and interestingly, transportation equipment manufacturing.
The LinkedIn data points to London, Manchester, and Glasgow as the top UK locations where interpreters are being hired. The average experience required is 2.2 years, with most interpreters working remotely (73%) or in hybrid positions (8%). The rest can be assumed to work on-site, but this figure is not included in the list.
Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry’s help.
Translators are the Clark Kent of the publishing industry. By day, they translate just as their name suggests. By night, they set out to save the world. Their work exceeds the name: the actual act of translating is only a part of what translators really do.
The stereotypical – and very misleading – idea of a translator might include someone who quietly collects a book, disappears to mysteriously convert it into another language and resurfaces only to deliver the now-translated book to a publisher. They are not seen or heard from again until the cycle repeats.
To test this stereotype, I conducted an informal survey. I asked around 80 respondents, people with an interest in world literature, to look through the following list of activities and, for each one, answer this question: “Who, in your opinion, is more likely to do this?” with the answer options being “translator” and “someone else”.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already revolutionised our interactions with the written and spoken word, but what about the uniquely visual medium of sign language? Liam O’Dell finds out more about ‘SignGPT’, an initiative which plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve the “complex translation problem” with British Sign Language (BSL) and English.
This may sound familiar. A new project involving academics from Surrey, Oxford and University College London’s Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) is looking to translate BSL into spoken English, and vice versa. Tech – including wearable devices – has long sought to tackle this particular language barrier, producing little success, and a lot of consternation from the Deaf community.
So what’s the main stumbling block which has impacted previous translation technology?
“Fundamentally, people try and solve a problem that they don’t understand, right,” explains Professor Bowden, principal investigator of the SignGPT study. “Time and time again, you have hearing people that come along and they go, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be great if we build a system that would allow all these poor Deaf people to be able to communicate.’ But they don’t really understand what the problem is that they’re trying to solve. They know nothing about BSL or sign.
After uncovering a controversy in the captions of Russians at War, Rachel Ho digs into the art of translation
This is part of a new film column from Rachel Ho looking at Canadian cinema from a new point of view.
Debuting this column last month with an examination of the discourse around a film as complex and politically charged as Russians at War instigated a multitude of questions and opinions from readers, colleagues, and of course, from the interview subjects themselves. Those critical of the documentary labelled it an act of Russian propaganda, while its defenders levied accusations of knee-jerk censorship, declaring that the film deserved to be seen by audiences everywhere. But across all of the various issues I discussed with Anastasia Trofimova and Natalie Semotiuk, one point of contention raised a particular flag of interest with me.
In criticizing the film, Semotiuk asserted that derogatory slurs towards Ukrainians were used by Russian soldiers in the film and their translation into English via subtitling failed to encompass their pejorative nature. In response, Trofimova (the film’s director) stated her team had in fact provided a direct and literal translation of the words Semotiuk took issue with.
To be clear, I don’t seek in the slightest to re-litigate this specific issue; however, it did send me down a rabbit hole of thought regarding the power of translation, particularly in movies.
Back in the days of yore, language translation was a highly specialized profession, critical for coordinating diplomacy or international trade. The first bilingual dictionary book, Vocabularius ex quo, was a German-Latin set of words published in 1467, while clay tablets containing lists of works in Sumerian and Akkadian date back as early as 2300 B.C.
Language translation has become easier over the years in many cases thanks to the work of linguists and other anthropologists. The development of computers and eventually, artificial intelligence, has given a massive push to language translation, taking it out of the hands of specialists or weighty books and into our phones.
But how has translation applications like Google Translate developed over time, and what were their predecessors?
How Computer Translation Started
People have tried to use computers to translate languages since the mid-20th century.
“The idea of online translation was something that people strived for when computers began,” says Jaroslaw Kutylowski, the CEO of DeepL, a company that provides translation services using neural systems.
In fact, one of the first uses of computers for something beyond numbers was an experiment conducted in 1954 after several years of work by researchers at Georgetown University and IBM. The demonstration only translated around 250 words using six grammar rules — mostly brief statements in Russian about science, law and military affairs that were converted into English in a matter of seconds.
SignGPT – a five-year project with the aim of building ChatGPT-like technology to translate British Sign Language (BSL) into English and vice versa – has received more than £8.4 million of funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, it has been announced.
The team behind the initiative will also look to produce “the largest sign language dataset in the world”, using it to build a language processing programme or ‘large language model’ (LLM) to provide tools for the Deaf community akin to what is currently available for written and spoken languages.
SignGPT involves academics from Oxford and Surrey, as well as researchers from the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) and Deaf stakeholders.
Professor Richard Bowden, of the University of Surrey, stressed the artificial intelligence (AI) project is “not about replacing humans”, but is instead “about ensuring the Deaf community is not left behind” in the LLM “revolution”.
“By centring technology that serves the community, we’re enabling equal access to information, working towards seamless communication between the Deaf and hearing worlds, and demonstrating that AI can be a tool for inclusivity and empowerment.”
The scholar-translator says Kuvempu’s Bride in the Hills celebrates the sublimity in every person, especially women and Dalits.
Kuvempu (the popular name of poet, playwright, novelist, and critic Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa, 1904-1994) was a towering personality who profoundly influenced and shaped Kannada literature in the twentieth century. Through the corpus of his work, he scripted the development of modern Kannada society and became a cultural icon of Karnataka.
In a fitting tribute, scholar-translator Vanamala Viswanatha has translated his magnum opus, Malegalalli Madumagalu, into English as Bride in the Hills. Viswanatha is an accomplished translator from Kannada to English and has a vast repertoire that spans translations of several modern Kannada writers and translations of ancient and medieval Kannada classics. In an interview with Frontline, Viswanatha discusses the translation of this epic novel set in the Western Ghats in the late 19th century. Excerpts:
–For our non-Kannada readers, could you explain Kuvempu’s importance in Kannada literature and his impact on Karnataka’s society and culture?
V.V.: – Kuvempu, whose 120th birthday passed recently, is a household name in Karnataka. As a poet, playwright, novelist, and thinker, his writing represents the peak that Kannada literature had reached in the last century. Questioning the inhuman varna system, he offered a roadmap for the development of modern Kannada culture and society. With his formidable body of writing across all genres that reflects his progressive politics, Kuvempu has come to be seen as a phenomenon inalienably identified with the Kannada language and statehood. A poem he penned in 1928 (titled Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Tanujate) was chosen to be the State anthem of Karnataka in 2004. Inspired by Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi, and Tagore, he sculpted a humanism rooted in spirituality. He transcended the crippling binds of identity, social, religious, and political, to offer an inclusive vision of a vishvamanava, a “universal human being”.
– Several noted Kannada literary critics consider Malegalalli Madumagalu one of the greatest Kannada novels ever written. What motivated you to translate this work?
V.V: – In recent years, the translation of Indian literary texts has grown into a powerful cultural practice that brilliantly reveals the different histories and cultures of the many Indias. Hence there is a lot of interest in and demand for translations. When I started looking for a good work to translate some four years ago, Kuvempu’s novel Malegalalli Madumagalu was on everyone’s list as an all-time Kannada classic. And yet it had not been translated until 2020, when the Kuvempu Pratishthana brought out the first translation. Kuvempu is not widely known outside Karnataka. So, when I approached Penguin, they were happy to publish the book in their Modern Classics series. Classics the world over are translated and re-translated, read and re-read. Kuvempu’s text has come to enjoy that status.
An ineffective translation might cost organizations much more than they think in a world where communication helps bridge the gap between different cultures. The effects can be devastating, regardless of whether the misinterpretation of a legal document, a badly localized marketing campaign, or a mistranslation in user manuals is involved. The harm to one’s reputation and relationships may be long-lasting, in addition to the financial losses inflicted. In this article, we will discuss the hidden expenses associated with inadequate translation and how one may avoid these problems by using appropriate preparation and the experience of professionals.
Lost Revenue from Miscommunication
When clients are unable to connect with a company, translations fail. The inability to properly translate product descriptions or advertising campaigns might result in misunderstanding, making prospective customers less likely to trust your company. When a worldwide e-commerce business markets its items in several languages, buyers might be misled about the characteristics or price of the product if the translation is erroneous. This could result in customers abandoning their purchases.
Invest in experienced translators who are knowledgeable about your sector to avoid problems like these. They guarantee that the language is accurate, provide detailed translation review services, and that your message is communicated correctly, hence preserving the integrity of your income streams.
International (MNN) — The work of Bible translators can often be both dangerous and isolating. However, Wycliffe Associates has found a technological breakthrough that addresses the need for safety and connection — Starlink.
“Starlink is a tool that essentially allows someone to have an internet connection via satellite, that is similar to having a hard wire connection,” explains Mark Roberts. “So, the speed, the reliability, the consistency, is really a breakthrough technology that gives a comparable service to the internet that you and I have in our home.” And, Starlink, a satellite internet service owned by SpaceX, is the latest tool in the toolbelt of Bible translation services.
How does it work?
First, Starlink enables teams to communicate securely with translators in remote or persecuted areas, providing mentorship, encouragement, and fellowship.
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly sophisticated, but will it ever replace humans? Experts predict it will affect some industries and some roles more than others. Learn what you need to know and what you can do to prepare yourself.
As organizations across all industries increasingly integrate artificial intelligence into workflows, the technology is driving fears about the job market and the future of work. Will AI replace humans? The only clear answer is “maybe.” Some jobs are more likely to experience AI disruption than others, with those consisting mainly of rote tasks more at risk. Some white collar jobs are already seeing AI integrated into their workflows, while jobs that require complex physical movements and human judgment—think plumbing or construction—are unlikely to be replaced by AI anytime soon. And jobs that require social and emotional skills, like teaching and social work, may never be. So, will artificial intelligence replace humans at work? No one can be sure, but here’s everything you need to know to form your own opinion.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Artificial intelligence will not replace humans for all jobs but it will change the way we work as more workers use AI tools to increase productivity. (Jump to Section)
Jobs most at risk of AI disruption and replacement are those consisting mainly of repetitive tasks, while jobs least at risk are those requiring social, emotional and interpersonal skills. (Jump to Section)
Many AI experts predict that AI will open up more job opportunities than it removes from the economy, and that the technology will be a net positive for job growth in the near future. (Jump to Section)
Will AI Replace Humans? Not All of Them
Like any new technology, artificial intelligence will cause job displacement in the near and distant future. According to a YouGov survey, 48 percent of working Americans believe that AI will decrease the number of jobs in their industry, a figure that has risen from 29 percent in March 2023. However, it’s unlikely the technology will replace all humans in the workforce. AI’s primary long-term effect on the labor market will probably be one of job change and creation, not elimination.
The translation news daily digest is my daily 'signal' to stop work and find out what's going on in the world of translation before heading back into the world at large! It provides a great overview that I could never get on my own.
susan rose (X)
United States
I read the daily digest of ProZ.com translation news to get the essential part of what happens out there!
Share an article »
ProZ.com blog »
