【阳光翻译】原来，翻译行业这么厉害！

文章来源：译·世界（YEEWORLD），已获授权！

近日，英国牛津大学的一份研究报告指出，到2024年人工智能将比人类翻译得更好。短短7年后，翻译的工作就要被机器取代了吗？别担心，事实上，翻译行业真的很厉害！

Language is Big Business

语言是门大生意

The language industry is big business, with the worldwide language services market growing at an annual rate of 5.52%. The Centre for Next Generation Localisation reports that localization and translation is the 4th fastest-growing industry in the United States. And, Inc. Magazine lists the language industry as one of the top industries for starting a business.

语言产业是一门大生意，全球语言服务市场的年增长率为5.52%。下一代本地化技术研究中心(CNGL)的报告显示，本地化和翻译是美国增速排名第四的行业。《Inc.》杂志将语言服务业列为创业首选行业之一。

The industry is diverse and technology-driven, with an increasing impact on both global and regional economies. Here are three key facts to consider:

语言产业是技术驱动型且多样化的，对全球和区域经济的影响力正在不断增长。以下有三个关键事实可供参考：

The size of the overall global language industry in 2016 is estimated at $40 Billion (USD), with estimates of up to $45 Billion by 2020.

2016 年全球语言产业的整体规模约为 400 亿美元（约合人民币2609亿元），到 2020 年估值高达 450 亿美元（约合人民币2935亿元）。

The projected growth rate is 6.5-7.5% annually through 2018.

2018 年，预计年增长率为6.5 - 7.5%。

The size of the language technology industry is estimated at €29 Billion.

语言技术产业规模估值为 290 亿欧元（约合人民币2259亿元）。

Language Service Providers and Employment Data

语言服务供应商和就业数据

Worldwide estimates for the number of language companies vary, but Common Sense Advisory, which provides highly regarded research data on the industry, maintains a database of 18,000 provider firms worldwide.

对于全世界究竟有多少家语言服务公司，估算结果不尽相同，但卡门森斯顾问公司的数据库囊括了全球18000家语言服务供应商，卡门森斯致力于为业界提供高质量的研究数据。

The EU Directorate-General Report on the Status of Translators indicates that in 2012, approximately 330,000 people were employed as translators or interpreters worldwide. Seventy-eight percent of translators in Europe worked as freelancers.

欧盟一份关于译者现状的报告指出，2012 年，全世界约有 33 万人受雇为翻译或口译员。欧洲 78% 的翻译人员是自由职业者。

In the U.S. more than 3,000 firms employ over 55,000 professionals in various aspects of language services. More than 50,000 people work as translators and interpreters, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

在美国，超过 3000 家公司在语言服务的各行各业雇佣了超过 55000 名专业人员。根据美国劳工统计局的数据，超过 5 万人担任翻译和口译员。

怎么样，看完了上面的数据，是不是对你们身处的或者即将身处的语言服务业信心满满？如果还有疑虑，别着急，Yee君再来带你们看看国外创业者眼中的翻译市场↓

Before you write off translation services as an unsexy business, consider our global economy.

如果你认为翻译行业没那么厉害，请想想全球经济。

Companies are going global. Translation factors in because every aspect of their services must be comprehensive, says Rick Antezana, a partner with Dynamic Language, a language translation provider based in Seattle.

各大公司都在走向全球化。西雅图语言服务供应商Dynamic Language公司的合伙人Rick Antezana表示，各大公司都应该重视翻译因素，因为他们提供的各项服务必须能被客户理解。

"More than ever, companies of every size are looking to expand their market and to engage with customers on a deeper level. Consumers worldwide want everything on their own terms, and that includes a preference for communicating in their own language," says Antezana.

Antezana还认为：“各种规模的公司都比以前更希望扩大市场，在更深的层次上与客户接触。全世界的消费者都希望所有事情能按自己的方式进行，包括用自己的语言交流。”

The same is true of employees. "An organization like Starbucks has to support their employees and customers, so every aspect of what they do, including human resources, has to be translated," says Antezana.

对于员工来说也同样如此。Antezana 说：“像星巴克这样的公司必须为员工和客户提供支持，因此他们所做的每一个方面，包括人力资源，都必须得到翻译。”

The Sweet Spots

最佳选择

Phil Shawe, co-founder and CEO of TransPerfect, says the sweet spot for his company has been e-commerce. Retailers overseas, for instance, may be giants in their own neighborhoods, but when they expand out, they're virtually unknown and need to work hard to introduce themselves.

TransPerfect集团联合创始人兼CEO Phil Shawe说，他们公司的最佳选择是电商。比如，海外零售商可能在自己的周边范围内堪称商业巨头，但当公司规模扩张到外地时，可能并不为当地人所知，这就需要公司奋力经营，打响品牌。

Antezana adds that companies must also craft their marketing messages to new audiences or risk looking silly if miscues arise. "Tracking all that content and translating it accurately takes so much," he says. "There have to be multiple steps in the quality control process so the content doesn't embarrass the company."

Antezana还表示，公司也必须为新的受众打造营销信息，否则就会面临着错误百出、损坏品牌的风险。“跟踪和准确翻译这些内容需要花费很多时间，”他说，“对于质量必须要层层控制，这样，内容才不会有损公司形象。"

Breaking the Code

打破准则

You might think a translation service simply employs hundreds or thousands of pajama-clad linguists who sit in front of their computers all day translating line by line, but those days are long gone. Translation services have increasingly become technology companies.

你可能认为翻译服务就是雇佣成千上万个穿着睡衣的语言学家，他们整天坐在电脑前逐行翻译，但是那些日子已经一去不复返了。翻译服务供应商正逐渐发展成为技术公司。

Often, the biggest barrier to entry is the technology required of the industry. "It's a huge differentiator," says Shawe, noting TransPerfect's Onelink technology, which allows companies to host a foreign language site on another company's servers. "It requires a research and development budget, and time. It's taken us 10 years to get our software to where it is."

通常进入这个行业最大的障碍就是行业所需的技术。“这是一个很关键的鉴别因素。” Shawe提到了TransPerfect集团的Onelink技术，它能够使公司在另外一个公司的服务器上托管一个外语站点。“这需要研发经费和时间。我们的软件为实现这个目标花了10年时间。”

Specialization is also important for translation businesses just entering the market, says Elizabeth Elting, the other TransPerfect co-founder and CEO. "It's about being an expert and your reputation and doing the best you can do, and then growing from there."

另一位TransPerfect集团联合创始人兼CEO Elizabeth Elting说，专业化对于刚进入市场的翻译企业也很重要。“这关系到企业能否成为行业专家，还关系到企业的声誉，要做到全力以赴，然后发扬光大。”

She adds that new entrants should also be prepared to come into the industry with significant startup capital. "When we started, anybody could make some calls and send out some letters and say they're a translation company. But providing the most cutting edge tech requires some funding. It's a bit of an investment at this point."

她还表示，刚进入市场的公司也应该备好丰厚的创业资本再进入行业。“当我们公司创立的时候，任何人都可以打电话、发信件，说自己是一家翻译公司。但是，要提供最先进的科技，就需要资金。在这一点上可以算作一种投资。”

Still, when an industry is projected to grow to $39 billion by 2018, as translations services is, investors shouldn't be too difficult to convince. "We're seeing a lot of new players enter the market and starting to get good-sized funding rounds," says Jani Penttinen, the founder and CEO of Transfluent, a tech platform that connects 50,000 translators and specializes in content management tools that help clients receive and send email in a foreign language or do the same thing on their blogs. "There's a lot of new activity in the U.S. for language translation, which is a great thing."

2018年翻译服务业规模预计增长到390亿美元（约合人民币2545亿元），达到这一程度的行业容易受到投资者的青睐。技术平台Transfluent与50000名译员建立了业务联系，专攻帮助客户收发外语邮件的内容管理工具，或者通过博客开展类似业务。其创始人兼CEOJani Penttinen说：“我们看到很多新企业加入市场，开启了可观的各轮融资。在美国，语言翻译行业注入了大量新鲜血液，太赞了！”

The Fine Print

补充要点

Even the most forward thinking companies face competitive challenges.

即使思维最超前的企业也面临着竞争挑战。

Commoditization remains a big hurdle in the industry, as are clients who fail to appreciate the link between high prices and stellar results. Both may drive prices down. To counter this, entrepreneurs must convince these clients that when they're dealing with sensitive products like medical devices, the threat of legal action is real.

商品化依然是这个行业的一大阻碍，客户没有对高价与高品之间的联系加以重视，双方都可能压低价格。为解决这一问题，企业家必须让客户信服，表明他们在面对医疗器械等敏感产品时，承担法律责任的风险是切实存在的。

Translation companies are also seeing a trend toward consolidation, something Antezana has noticed. "It's happening now more than it has in the past," he says. "For some organizations, that's their growth strategy. They're not trying to grow by marketing."

合并也是翻译公司面临的一个趋势。Antezana指出：“如今合并之势比以往更加明显，对有些机构来说，这是他们的增长战略，他们不想通过营销实现增长。”

Then there are machine translation services, which are digging into some companies' market share. Dry content such as appliance manuals are more likely to be cannibalized by machine translation, says Shawe, something "Google and other places are getting better at."

还有机器翻译服务，正在渗入到部分企业的市场份额中。

With machine translation now more sophisticated than ever, customers are beginning to demand services that were once hard to come by, such as video interpreters who can help clients communicate with the deaf and off-site interpreters who assist with doctors' appointments. "It's about staying up on what the tech is and finding the best way to utilize it," says Antezana.

如今机器翻译比以前要复杂得多，消费者开始对曾经难以获得的服务提出需求，如能帮助客户与聋哑人交流的视频传译、协助异地预约医生的口译员等。Antezana说：“这就需要我们持续跟进技术的发展状况，找到利用技术的最佳方式。”

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