Translation Trends in 2014 and Beyond

Despite troubled times worldwide, and major economies of the world crumbling like a pack of cards, the translation industry has managed to come out unscathed. In fact, the industry is reported to be rising by 5.13% per year. Many major businesses across the world view the translation industry as the potential way to get connected to every corner of the globe by communicating with the local population in their native language. Hence, businesses look towards the translation industry to assist them in extending their business to new audiences.

Breaking Communication Barriers

The fact which speaks volumes in regards to the growing popularity of internet, is the fact that web users have grown by 800% in Asian countries and a whopping 300% in African countries. Consequentially, 2014 is all set to provide the translation industry the opportunity to bloom, as corporate businesses attempt to expand their boundaries and reach out to larger audiences. The world is giving due importance to the developing countries and is considering them as one of their major customer bases. This leaves businesses with no option but to avail services of the translation industry in order to speak the language comprehensible by the local population. Therefore, the demand for translation business is growing, and all set to grow even more in the future.

Machines are Moving In

Yes, you heard it right, with the demand for translation services; automated translation is gaining ground within the industry. Machines are being brought in and are predicted to increase by 20% between 2012 and 2015. The expansion of internet websites, and the renovation of existing ones, has increased the workload of translation business which has resulted in the increased use of machine translation.

These machines are making their footprint in the translation industry. Innovation is a never ending process, and that rings true with the use of machine translation. As you can expect, the machine providers lend their services to their clients in standardized pre-packages. These packages come complete with terminology and translation units, which are specialized to different industries allowing them to read words in the right context. Automated translation may be cheaper, but not yet competent enough to work well in all scenarios. For now, machines are best used for non-critical content, or content which is not to be made public.

Innovative Project Management

With the surge in demand for translation work, apart from the services that the automated machines provide to the clients, human translators need to do the larger share of the work. They will be on their toes, working against the clock, to meet the tight turnaround times. The increased amount of work will put the project managers to the test, needing them to use innovative solutions and dedicate long hours. The ‘cloud’ based tools are set to become helpful for project managers to enable efficient online collaborations for their projects. The translators will have to keep upgrading themselves with the latest software and tools necessary for the work. Virtual online training sessions, like YouTube tutorials and webinars, will continue to gain popularity.

Screens

The world is rapidly integrating their smart phones and tablets deeper into their daily lives. Users cannot resist playing games, banking, shopping online, searching information, and more on their hand-held devices. What this means for translation is a demand for new customized content that offers better readability on smaller screens.

Conclusion

The approach towards the translation process is expected to change in the coming times, as we will see companies paying more attention to it. They will be trying to get quality and cost-effective services. We predict companies will unify their translation projects to ensure faster turnaround time at cost effective prices. One thing is for sure, 2014 is looking like a year of growth for the translation industry and the businesses demanding their services.