The first translators were humans. Although artificial intelligence has made machine translations more accurate, human translators still edit the machines' output to ensure accuracy and regional relevance. Humans also are more efficient than machines in translating many types of content such as creative and marketing content, poetry, apps, contracts, and user interfaces. They also are more efficient when content includes a lot of technical jargon that is changing rapidly.
While some of these translations can be handled by generalists, more and more content requires the services of specialized translators. This trend is occurring for several reasons, including the global growth rate of highly technical industries, the popularity of telehealth, and the increase in cross-border business deals.
Growth of Technical Industries
Globally, many of the fastest-growing industries are technical ones. For example, the information technology industry and related industries such as cybersecurity are growing rapidly. Emerging tech, which includes Internet of Things software, augmented reality, virtual reality, and big data, is expected to have more than doubled between 2018 and 2023, according to Statista. The software segment of the IT industry is also expected to grow rapidly between now and 2023, Statista says. Also expected to grow internationally is the mobile apps subsegment. The mobile apps subsegment may reach $407.31 billion, growing at a compound rate of more than 18 percent through 2026.
Biotechnology, driven by incentives offered by many federal governments, also is projected to grow at rates between 7 percent and 15.28 percent, depending upon which study you accept. About 40 percent of all drugs are bio-derived, which further drives growth in this industry.
IT, biotech, and similar fields have a lingo all their own that goes beyond the knowledge of generalists. Companies and institutions will need translators who are specialized in these technical fields to enable them to grow internationally. They'll need to translate customer materials and technical specs to those within companies and institutions and to others in the industry. Software requires localization, not simply translation, to make it relevant in the target country. The more all these technical industries grow, the faster the need for translators who specialize in these fields will also grow.
Growth of the Medical Industry
The medical industry also is growing globally; the over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics segments are growing at a compound rate of about 7 percent annually. Translators with knowledge of specialized medical terminology are needed to further fuel this growth.
Growth of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
The environmental science industry also is growing worldwide. The price of renewable energy such as solar and wind has declined in recent years. The European Union has set a target of having 32 percent of its energy from these sources by 2030. The number of scientists and engineers in these fields is growing.
As they grow, these industries will need to create more communications materials for the public, to share information among themselves, and to provide documents for governments who make policy. Environmental and conservation science and engineering fields are technical and have their own terminology. This terminology often is not accessible as a glossary for machines to translate. Specialist human translators are required for accurate translations in these fields.
The Telehealth Trend
The COVID 19 pandemic has hastened the rise of telehealth. The use of video medical appointments instead of in-person ones is likely to increase post-pandemic. Patients have found that telehealth is convenient, and some healthcare industry experts see benefits in keeping well patients at home and reserving office space for sick people. Telehealth appointments also enable doctors to see more patients a day and address issues at a lower cost and, potentially, with quality equal to traditional visits.
This trend toward video medical appointments has created the need for medical interpreting, typically over a Video Remote Interpreting app. The user typically accesses the medical interpreter via wireless Internet or a 4G or 5G phone network. The benefits of this VRI technology are
- On-demand access, 24/7, with translators responding in as few as 30 seconds
- Incorporation of contextual and non-verbal cues
- Confirming something is understood through facial expressions
- Cost-effectiveness
- More productive conversations for everyone involved
Translators who provide this specialized service receive medical training in addition to their linguistics training. They also typically receive ongoing specialty training.
Growth in International Contracts
As more business is done cross-border, more contracts are developed that require translation. Companies require human translators who specialize in legal documents to ensure that the contract is properly written without ambiguity in the language of all parties. Not only do these translators need to be able to express thoughts succinctly, but they also must understand the legal systems in the countries in which they function.
Andovar can provide turnkey solutions for any translation need. Two of our specialties are software and app localization. We've had years of experience in international software rollouts and can guide you through the complex process of a global launch. We've also worked with some of the most influential brands to bring their apps to the world. We also localize documents, websites, apps, gaming, software, voiceovers, e-learning, subtitling, e-commerce automation, and media for various industries. With more than 500 translators and more than 1 billion words translated, we've can help you bring your brand to almost every part of the globe. Fill out our contact form, and one of our translation experts will contact you.
