| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21] > | translation is dead as a profession Thread poster: Daniel Rich
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I'm amazed I haven't seen anyone raise their voice yet amongst the widespread roll-out of "machine translation post-editing". Not only insulting, it's being paid at rates a translator from the 90's or the 00's would've considered a nightmare. Well, the nightmare is real, and nobody's m/uttered the slightest protest.
Current rates plus MTPE represent the death of a profession.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:21
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Daniel Rich wrote:
. and nobody's m/uttered the slightest protest.
People protest about it all the time, in these forums.
Anyway I don't think you're right. Certain kinds of translation can be done mainly by algorithms, but these then have to be checked, corrected, and if necessary rewritten to make sense. The algorithms can't do this, so it's done by translators who are desperate for any kind of work, at any price.
But there are other kinds of translation that algorithms just can't do, at least not yet, and probably never. So the translation industry isn't dying; it's changing.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 13:16 GMT]
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 11:21
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
The profession is indeed not dead. It will only be dead the day computers can think and feel like human beings do. But then soon everybody will be dead, not only translators.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 10:21
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| No, it's not, and it won't die | Jun 15, 2022 |
Daniel Rich wrote:
Current rates plus MTPE represent the death of a profession.
Don't blame the machines, blame the humans.
As long as the translation market is flooded with people who claim to be professional translators and provide poor translation quality and work for very low rates, our profession will fall sick, but it won't die - fortunately, because we still have excellent professionals in our industry, and we will always have.
But it is up to the clients to be aware of this and to know who offers a high-quality translation service - with or without MTPE - and pay the rates that professional translators offer.
It's best to pay for quality, because poor translations cost money!
Apart from that, I agree and endorse everything my colleagues say above.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 13:53 GMT]
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David GAY
Local time: 11:21
English to French
+ ...
expressisverbis wrote:
Daniel Rich wrote:
Current rates plus MTPE represent the death of a profession.
Don't blame the machines, blame the humans.
As long as the translation market is flooded with people who claim to be professional translators and provide poor translation quality and work for very low rates, our profession will fall sick, but it won't die - fortunately, because we still have excellent professionals in our industry, and we will always have.
But it is up to the clients to be aware of this and to know who offers a high-quality translation service - with or without MTPE - and pay the rates that professional translators offer.
It's best to pay for quality, because poor translations cost money!
Apart from that, I agree and endorse everything my colleagues say above. [Edited at 2022-06-15 13:53 GMT]
It has always been the case. So it doesn t explain why there are so few jobs and Kudoz activity on PROZ. If there were too many unskilled translators, Kudoz activity would be booming, which is not the case.
You should check the OP s resume. He s a seasoned professional, not a newbie, so I guess he knows what he s talking about. He specializes in complex patent translations so he works for the premium market.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 17:43 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 11:21
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Search the forums | Jun 15, 2022 |
Daniel Rich wrote:
I'm amazed I haven't seen anyone raise their voice yet amongst the widespread roll-out of "machine translation post-editing".
People on this forum regularly bitch about it.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 11:21
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| Perhaps Kudoz just isn't interesting. | Jun 15, 2022 |
David GAY wrote:
So it doesn t explain why there are so few jobs and Kudoz activity on PROZ.
I can't say much about the jobs offered here, except that in my opinion most decent translation agencies don't need Proz to find suppliers for a single translation request. But about Kudoz: who needs that when there is the internet? In 95% of the cases I find the terminological solution somewhere on the internet. And if it's so specific that I can't find anything, I ask the client for more information and propose a term myself.
Half of the Kudoz answers, even the 'approved' ones, are rubbish anyway.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 10:21
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Good to know that I'm not alone | Jun 15, 2022 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
In 95% of the cases I find the terminological solution somewhere on the internet. And if it's so specific that I can't find anything, I ask the client for more information and propose a term myself.
Half of the Kudoz answers, even the 'approved' ones, are rubbish anyway.
I have been adopting that strategy a couple of months after the pandemic outbreak, and when I post a question on Kudoz I can rely on very few colleagues only.
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David GAY
Local time: 11:21
English to French
+ ...
Lieven Malaise wrote:
David GAY wrote:
So it doesn t explain why there are so few jobs and Kudoz activity on PROZ.
I can't say much about the jobs offered here, except that in my opinion most decent translation agencies don't need Proz to find suppliers for a single translation request. But about Kudoz: who needs that when there is the internet? In 95% of the cases I find the terminological solution somewhere on the internet. And if it's so specific that I can't find anything, I ask the client for more information and propose a term myself.
Half of the Kudoz answers, even the 'approved' ones, are rubbish anyway.
But it has always been the case.
That s why lots of translators working for pennies used to ask a lot of Kudoz questions but these times are long gone.
MT has replaced them.
the number of jobs posted on PROZ has also plummeted so there must be an explanation...
Anyway I have noticed that a lot of translators with a diploma in translation have left the profession.
It shows that this industry is no longer attractive.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 20:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-15 20:57 GMT]
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[Edited at 2022-06-15 21:14 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-15 22:11 GMT]
| | | | | I agree with Tom | Jun 15, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote:
Daniel Rich wrote:
. and nobody's m/uttered the slightest protest.
People protest about it all the time, in these forums.
Anyway I don't think you're right. Certain kinds of translation can be done mainly by algorithms, but these then have to be checked, corrected, and if necessary rewritten to make sense. The algorithms can't do this, so it's done by translators who are desperate for any kind of work, at any price.
But there are other kinds of translation that algorithms just can't do, at least not yet, and probably never. So the translation industry isn't dying; it's changing.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 13:16 GMT]
The industry is changing, but also shrinking, for the obvious reasons mentioned above.
Another phenomenon I noticed, is that during a crisis (we had some the last 10 - 15 years!) we are doing good (at least I did). I always had more than enough work (Crisis? What crisis?), but when it was all over and the newspapers were full with the benifits of the growing new economy after such a period, we are being hit. Less jobs. Wonder about the mechanism behind it (????). Am I the only one?
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule |
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| The profession is not dead | Jun 15, 2022 |
The machine-assisted translation is indeed replacing and doing a lot, but not necessarily mean the translators will lose their jobs. I believe all translators must prepare themselves for better professionality in the future as they have to edit and supervise the machine's initial work, which may be precise but still lacks humanity and literacy.
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 11:21
English to French
+ ...
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Tom in London wrote:
Daniel Rich wrote:
. and nobody's m/uttered the slightest protest.
People protest about it all the time, in these forums.
Anyway I don't think you're right. Certain kinds of translation can be done mainly by algorithms, but these then have to be checked, corrected, and if necessary rewritten to make sense. The algorithms can't do this, so it's done by translators who are desperate for any kind of work, at any price.
But there are other kinds of translation that algorithms just can't do, at least not yet, and probably never. So the translation industry isn't dying; it's changing.
[Edited at 2022-06-15 13:16 GMT]
The industry is changing, but also shrinking, for the obvious reasons mentioned above.
Another phenomenon I noticed, is that during a crisis (we had some the last 10 - 15 years!) we are doing good (at least I did). I always had more than enough work (Crisis? What crisis?), but when it was all over and the newspapers were full with the benifits of the growing new economy after such a period, we are being hit. Less jobs. Wonder about the mechanism behind it (????). Am I the only one?
I think it s not too difficult to understand. 2018 is the year Deepl was released. Obviously, a lot of end clients use it and find it acceptable for their translation needs. They have their text translated in just nanoseconds and don t have to call a translation agency to have the job done. And, more importantly, they save a lot of money. It doesn t matter that much for them that the translation is not the best. All they want is to save time and money.The harsh truth is that the recurring question nowadays on PROZ forum is How do I install Deepl API in Trados
[Edited at 2022-06-15 22:32 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-15 22:45 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-06-15 22:59 GMT]
| | | | Sadek_A
Local time: 14:21
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Clinically dead, yes! | Jun 16, 2022 |
Translation -as a CONCEPT of a profession- is still around, but rendered completely lifeless.
I know of some physically-located companies changing activity altogether, not just because they can't find enough clients but also because they can no longer find enough translators willing to handle an absurdly bizarre project/tight deadline/extended payment term/peanut rate combination.
Can it be saved? Yes. How? By firmly undoing all that's currently happening in it.
<... See more Translation -as a CONCEPT of a profession- is still around, but rendered completely lifeless.
I know of some physically-located companies changing activity altogether, not just because they can't find enough clients but also because they can no longer find enough translators willing to handle an absurdly bizarre project/tight deadline/extended payment term/peanut rate combination.
Can it be saved? Yes. How? By firmly undoing all that's currently happening in it.
You will always notice some parties still insisting there is nothing wrong going on.
Don't be surprised by that. There is a full spectrum of other fields counting on generating money from the joiners of this one.
To name but a few, institutions that educate, entities that train, organizations that certify.
If joiners of Translation are convinced there is no point anymore, all that spectrum is then left without a dime.
Just a tinge:
https://www.reddit.com/r/TranslationStudies/comments/ttlsb9/impossible_to_find_work_in_translation/
https://www.reddit.com/r/TranslationStudies/comments/vaol8j/pretty_much_out_of_ideas_for_how_to_get_into_the/ ▲ Collapse
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