There is a longstanding debate about whether translation constitutes an art, a craft, or a science. Indeed some purists take the attitude that true translation is something best learned in the absence of technology. However, the reality of the twenty-first century is such that the vast majority of practising translators need to be able to leverage the possibilities offered by computer tools in order to remain competitive and to meet the evolving demands of the marketplace. Indeed in 2011, a survey of employers in the European translation industry was conducted in the context of the European-Union funded OPTIMALE project (Optimising Professional
Translator Training in a Multilingual Europe) (Toudic 2012). This survey revealed that the ability to use translation memory systems is considered essential or important by over three- quarters of the 538 employers who responded to this question (2012: 9). Similarly, 74 per cent of the 526 respondents viewed more general information technology skills, such as the ability to process files in and convert files to different formats, to be essential or important (2012: 9). Moreover, a quarter of the 526 respondents considered it essential or important for translators to be able to work with machine translation systems, which may include pre- or post-editing (2012: 10). Meanwhile, the ability to undertake software and website localization is also considered an essential or important skill by one-third of the 526 employers who responded to this question (2012: 10). Finally, 69 per cent of the 539 respondents indicated that the ability to extract and manage terminology was an essential or important skill for translators to possess (2012: 8).
Fuelled by a host of societal, political, economic, and technological trends, the demand for translation as a means of cutting through language barriers has grown exponentially in recent decades. Among these trends, we have witnessed:
• the shift to an information society with a knowledge-based economy;
• the creation and expansion of political and economic unions and agreements (e.g. the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement);
• the development of new and increasingly sophisticated products (e.g. digital cameras, smart phones, medical equipment), which often require extensive accompanying documentation;
• the globalization of commerce and the rise of e-commerce; and
• the growth of the World Wide Web coupled with the desire for localized content. In the face of such trends, the volume of text to be translated worldwide has increased significantly, and the demand for translation far outstrips the supply of qualified translators. Indeed, as language professionals belonging to the baby boom generation have begun to retire, the shortage of qualified translators has been exacerbated.
On top of the increased volume of text to be translated and the relative shortage of qualified workers, deadlines for producing translations are getting ever shorter as organizations struggle to provide multiple language versions of the same document or product at the same time. Taken in combination, these trends are putting translators around the world under enormous pressure.
For both the translators who are faced with the prospect of processing higher volumes of text in seemingly ever shorter turnaround times – and for their employers – translation technologies present an attractive option for helping them to increase productivity and throughput. However, CAT tools cannot merely be assimilated into the translator’s workflow without any effort.
Indeed, there have been several reports indicating that a considerable number of translators do not seem to be sufficiently well trained in the use of CAT tools. For example, according to Wheatley, who presents the results of a translation memory survey conducted as part of the European Union-funded eCoLoRe project, 34 per cent of respondents found it difficult to learn how to use translation technologies, 38 per cent felt that they would benefit from additional training, and 25 per cent felt unconfident with regard to their technological skills (Wheatley 2003: 4). Similarly, Lagoudaki, who conducted an international survey on the use of translation memory systems by language professionals, observed that 16 per cent of respondents who had already invested in such tools found it challenging to learn how to use
them properly, while an additional 4 per cent reported having a lack of time or energy to identify a suitable tool and learn how to use it (Lagoudaki 2006: 17).
It is possible that some of the translators who are currently working received their education at a time before technologies had risen to such prominence in the profession and when instruction in their use may not have been a standard component of the university curriculum. However, as the popularity of CAT tools has increased, most translator education institutes have taken steps to incorporate some form of technology instruction into their programs. Nevertheless, there seems to be some evidence that calls into question the effectiveness of the technology education that is currently being offered as part of translation programs. For example, authors such as Jaatinen and Immonen (2004: 37) and Samson (2005: 104) have reported that employers and clients frequently complain that translators – even recent graduates – are not necessarily proficient users of CAT tools. Meanwhile, as several researchers have noted, the use of technologies is contributing to changes in the nature of translation work (Melby 2006; Garcia 2010a/b; Pym 2011a). This in turn means that integrating CAT tools into a translator education program can require a fundamental shift in how we view – and therefore how we teach – translation. Clearly, then, there is room for contemplating and adjusting the way that the use of translation technologies is taught as part of a translator education program, and a number of new initiatives are indeed being developed and implemented by universities across the globe.
For instance, a major European Union translator education initiative – the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) – was launched in 2009 with a view to improving the quality of translator training and to ensuring that the next generation of professional translators will be able to meet the needs of the twenty-first century marketplace. Currently held by 54 different university programs across Europe, the EMT is a quality label for translator training courses at the master’s level which can be given to higher education programs that meet commonly accepted quality standards for translator training. The EMT promotes quality translator training and helps translators to keep up with the requirements of our knowledge society. As reported by Gambier (2009), the EMT expert group identified a number of technology-related competences that are considered important for professional translators and for which adequate training must be provided as part of translator training programs. These competences include being able to effectively use search engines, corpus analysis tools and term extractors for information mining; knowing how to produce and prepare a translation in different file formats and for different technical media; knowing how to use a range of CAT tools; understanding the possibilities and limits of machine translation; and being able to learn and adapt to new and emerging tools (Gambier 2009: 6−7). An EMT spin-off project known as QUALETRA (Quality in Legal Translation) seeks to do the same for eight European university programs that specifically train legal translators.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Collection of Electronic Resources in Translation Technologies (CERTT) project (Bowker and Marshman 2010; Marshman and Bowker 2012) and the Translation Ecosystem project (Mihalache 2012) are examples of how translator trainers are addressing technology-related education needs. Both CERTT and the Translation Ecosystem are available through LinguisTech, a translation technology learning platform developed by the Language Technologies Research Centre. CERTT and the Translation Ecosystem aim to provide translation students across Canada with translation technology knowledge and know- how that will enable them not only to master the tools, but also to develop the strategic and reflexive skills needed for adopting best practices and for making informed decisions with regard to tool selection and use.