Digital revolution in translation: the 3 innovations that are transforming the industry

In recent decades, the digital revolution has profoundly transformed the professional translation industry by introducing increasingly disruptive innovations. While new technologies have posed a challenge to language professionals because of the drastic change in working methods, they have also brought significant benefits in terms of efficiency and work quality.

The three main innovations of the digital transition that have reshaped the Language Industry are:

• CAT (computer-assisted translation) tools;
• Machine translation (MT);
• Artificial intelligence (AI).

Each of these tools was initially met with fear and curiosity, only to become an integral part of the modern translation process. In this article we examine how these innovations have transformed the professional translation business.

CAT tools – the first revolution in digital translation

CAT tools (computer-assisted translation tools) represent the first major revolution in the language industry in recent times. These computer-aided translation tools are software designed to optimize professional translators’ work, ensuring consistency and speed.

Compared to manual handling of the source translation, CAT tools automated certain steps in the process, starting with division of the text into segments, i.e., small sentence-long units that are saved in pairs with their respective translation in a database known as a translation memory (TM).

Translation memories are the key feature of CAT tools, as they make it possible to retrieve and leverage past translations. This has the following benefits:

• Increased speed – CAT tools avoid the need to re-translate the same segment several times by retrieving it from a TM and suggesting it to the translator, who can choose to confirm or change it, making use of past translations;
• More consistent terminology – While there used to be a risk of translating the same segment or term in different ways, CAT tools ensure uniform terminology throughout the document, as well as between different documents for the same client.
• More efficient project management – The use of CAT tools also changed translation project management for the better, because it allows professionals involved in the work cycle (translators, proofreaders and project managers) to share work on the same document. This has benefits not only for the final product, but also for processing and delivery times.

Adoption of CAT tools required significant investment in software licenses, along with intensive training to acquire the new digital skills required to use them.

Once language professionals overcame their initial confusion and acquired the necessary resources and skills, CAT tools were successfully integrated into the translation process, only to be followed by a new digital innovation: machine translation.

Machine translation: automation of the translation process

Machine translation (MT) is another step forward in the digital revolution of the language industry. It has also transformed the translation process, but in a more disruptive way than CAT tools.

Machine translation relies on software that uses complex algorithms to understand and transpose content from one language to another. In this case, translation is performed without direct human intervention, which is a remarkable innovation.

Over the years, three different machine translation methodologies have spread in the market:

• MT based on linguistic rules – uses a set of linguistic rules to translate text from one language to another.
• Statistical MT – analyzes a vast quantity of texts in order to make a probability-based calculation of the best translation from the identified options.
• Neural MT – uses neural networks and machine learning, precursors to AI, for smoother, more natural translation.

While machine translation based on linguistic rules had limited success, neural machine translation has made great strides in improving the quality of machine translation, finding wide acceptance in the industry.

In this case too, the language community initially greeted this innovation with suspicion and concern that machine translation might threaten the profession of translation. However, once again the community overcame their initial shock.

While machine translation has made great strides and offers a quick, reasonable alternative for general texts, translation of specialized material such as financial, legal, or medical/scientific documents still requires human expertise. In these areas, professional translators still play an indispensable role in ensuring accuracy and reliability.

At the customer’s request, professional translation therefore began to integrate the use of machine translation with the rigorous supervision of experienced translators and linguists. This synergy between highly specialized professional human talent and innovative technologies enables production of translated documents to excellent standards.

Following an adaptation phase, the most innovative translation agencies therefore integrated this technology into their production processes, reducing delivery times and improving translation quality.

The balance between human professionals and technology appeared to be restored until artificial intelligence broke into the industry.

Artificial intelligence: the new frontier of translation

Artificial intelligence represents the latest challenge in the field of digital translation. Like all companies, translation agencies are exploring how best to integrate this technology into the production process.

The advent of AI, to an even greater extent than machine translation, brings about a profound transformation for the language industry and requires even more verticalized digital skills for translators and linguists to use it effectively.

Unlike machine translation, which relies on neural networks to translate the meaning of a text into another language, artificial intelligence starts by analyzing the original document to generate a completely new text in the target language, with an innovative approach that involves a learning curve and continuous evolution.

As with any digital revolution, AI adoption takes time to perfect, and the quality of the final product is not always optimal. The variation in results depends on the language and specific nature of the document.

Translations into uncommon languages and documents with abundant use of slang, specialized terminology or reference to visuals are cases that often fail to achieve satisfactory results when handled solely with AI.

In addition to translation quality challenges, the use of AI raises serious security concerns. Free tools available online, often used for stand-alone translations, do not meet the requirements dictated by major privacy and intellectual property regulations. Anyone who uses them therefore exposes themselves to the risk of disseminating sensitive data, making these data accessible to unauthorized third parties, including for illicit use.

Despite advances in AI, the role of translation professionals remains critical in order to:

• Ensure high-quality translations from a linguistic and cultural standpoint
• Ensure that data and documents are secure through the use of professional tools and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
• Offer expertise in specialized areas such as finance, legal, and medicine

The importance of professional translations in the digital age

Regardless of the latest technological innovation, there is always a need for high-quality, fast, sustainable translations.

For more than 30 years, Way2Global has offered professional translation services in the financial, legal, medical scientific, and technical fields. We ensure excellent quality, timeliness and sustainability through a team of 8,000+ specialized translators and linguists, the integration of the most innovative technologies into production processes, and our Benefit projects, which share the value of our translations with stakeholders.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you with professional translations that combine human expertise and technological innovation.