The Future of Technical Translation: Emerging Trends and Technologies

As the world is increasingly becoming interconnected through the internet, the relevance of efficient and appropriate translation has been growing manifold. From businesses expanding into global markets to increased communication between individuals belonging to different parts of the world, language has become a key factor in communication. This means people needed to seek translation services to reach people in different regions speaking other languages.

However, in the past, the translation process was time-consuming and expensive due to the lack of accessible translation services. Today, technical translation plays a pivotal role in the spheres of business and technology. As the demand for technical translation services is increasing, new technologies and strategies are shaping the field.

Let's dive into the top trends that technical translators should understand and leverage in the future.

Technical Translation: How Far We Have Come

Translation technology today is thriving due to its widespread usability and importance in various contexts. These can vary from simple language translation requirements to numerous other sectors, such as translating technical documents and medical journals, patent translation, translating scientific and technological information, or even legal and practical requirements.

Commonly used machine translation services such as Google Translate and Microsoft Translator offer on-the-go translation services. In contrast, other machine translation service providers like SDL Trados and MemoQ can provide a faster translation process by storing previously translated versions of texts and using them when a relevant search has been done.

Other technologies have also been making strides by improving their technical translation services and making a place in technical translation technologies. These technologies utilize algorithms and artificial intelligence to provide enhanced machine translation services by analyzing language patterns through the complex concepts of a language.

However, we must not forget to acknowledge the fact while these technical translation technologies are revolutionary, they are still far from being flawless. The technical translation industry is still evolving and improving, but often, with the assistance of technical expertise from human translation service providers who have knowledge of more than one language to ensure accurate translation and culturally appropriate context.

Technical Translation Trends to Look Out For

The Evolution of Machine Translation

Machine translation, or MT, is a type of translation technology that uses computers to translate text from one language to another. While it is not a novel technology, ever since the advent of AI and neural machine translation (NMT), technical translators have begun to realize the potential of machine translation.

Neural Machine Translation (NMT):

Neural Machine Translation, or NMT, is a technology that uses artificial neural networks to translate a given text from one language to another. It is a prevalent trend in technical translation technology that has revolutionized the way translation services can be provided. Unlike conventional technical translation service providers, which rely upon algorithms to provide automated translation, NMT uses deep learning techniques to analyze technical terms and various words in a language. This provides accurate technical translation with a higher quality.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

AI-driven machine translation is also leading the way in technical translation. AI-powered tools learn from human feedback (source language), understand technical terminology and context, and even suggest improved translations. It can be best used by those without any technical knowledge and by a professional technical translator.

NMT and AI machine translation technology are both still evolving and not without limitations. These two translations require a massive amount of data to streamline technical translation and provide an accurate translation of specialized terminology in target languages. Such nuanced technical translations of technical texts could previously be provided by specialized translators. However, a pool of data may not always be available with the additional drawback of potential bias seeping into the datasets, which need to be appropriately monitored.

Cloud-based Technical Translation

Cloud-based technical translation works through a web-based user interface and uses online software and resources to translate target languages. The most significant advantage of such a technical translation service is its scalability. Users can scale up or down depending on the number of target languages. The technical texts thus translated are highly accurate and can be used in hybrid business models as the requirement for multilingual technical translation increases for seamless communication.

Human translation service providers, especially technical writers, can use cloud-based technical translation technologies to complement their technical knowledge as well as that of the target language.

Computer-Assisted Translation Tools

A unique approach to technical translation is provided by Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools that can help a technical translator provide high-quality technical translations through various features like Translation Memories (TM), glossaries, and termbases. TMs work as user manuals for technical translators to provide fast technical translations while offering them increased productivity.

Additional features like spell checking, grammar checking, and style checking allow technical translators to provide improved technical translation quality.

Multimodal and Augmented Reality (AR) Translation

Multimodal and AR technical translation goes beyond simple translation of texts and covers the translation of images, audio, and even videos. While AR technical translation requires AR glasses or headsets, with multimodal technical translation, one can obtain the real-time translation of numerous different objects, much like real-life subtitles. Imagine visiting a foreign restaurant and getting a translated menu by simply scanning it. That's the future we're talking about!

Why Translation Agencies Are Still Needed?

While it is true that NMT, AI, and similar revolutionary technologies are here to change the world, they cannot be fully leveraged without the assistance of a technical translator with scientific or technical knowledge of technical translation technologies. The threat of bias in AI-powered translations makes it essential for a technical translator to use it as a complement rather than making it a complete replacement just yet.

Takeaway

The future of technical translation technologies is promising, but it is important not to undermine the importance of cultural and sentimental relevance. While the technical translation industry continues to thrive, it will still be under the expert control of technical translators.