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.
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