We reflect on the trends that have shaped the world of translation this year

The t’works blog has covered a lot of ground in 2024. We’ve written about languages, translation and interpreting in various contexts. We crossed the globe from China to the US via France and Quebec; we delved deep into technology and focussed on GenAI, automation and translating SAP; we investigated quality assurance processes in translation, the cost of language services and how our industry guarantees data security. It’s been a busy year, to say the least.

As 2024 has progressed, a few themes have stood out. Artificial intelligence of course, still dominates and more on this shortly, but what’s noticeable is how increasingly, language isn’t seen as a luxury but as a fundamental service. AI is helping to produce content in more multilingual formats, bringing more languages to more people and creating an expectation that reading or listening in another language will be easily achievable.

Accessibility has been a standout topic over the last months. We’ve examined why it’s vital to provide more languages to cater to our multicultural societies, use plain language to enable better access and explained how language services can help people with disabilities. Including as many people as possible in global conversations is now a priority.

Language operations and multilingual content touch all sectors in every part of the world. If an organisation conducts business across national borders or wants to reach an audience that speaks a different language, providing materials in translation is crucial. It might even be fair to say that communication makes the world go round, so what happens in the language services industry has an impact.

Read on for our assessment of what’s been influencing language services over the last 12 months.

Industry outlook

After a challenging 2023, this year has given language services providers reasons to be optimistic.

The language industry experts at Slator reported a difficult year for 2023, showing the global language services sector contracting by 3.07%. They suggested the turbulence of a rapidly changing technology environment, continued economic hardships and unusual factors like the writer’s strike in Hollywood were to blame. CSA Research reached similar conclusions but presented a positive forecast for the next few years in its September assessment, as did the analysts at Nimdzi.

M&A activity in the language industry sector has regained momentum in 2024, with deals reportedly rising significantly compared to last year. Interestingly, the elements that caused instability in 2023 are still the forces in play but are having a more constructive effect. As the sector understands how to integrate GenAI more effectively and evolves its business strategies, confidence has risen. M&A activity also reflects an industry adapting to evolving technology and market demands.

t’works was happy to announce its continued expansion in 2024, with international communication specialists, Sprachenfabrik joining the group. This continues our philosophy of expanding our expertise to offer customers a one-stop shop for all their language needs.

The evolving role of artificial intelligence

It’s hard to believe that ChatGPT has only been with us for two years. Generative AI, and in particular large language model (LLM) technology, is still developing at pace and is having a significant effect on language services.

Language companies are busy working on the translation capabilities of LLMs and beginning to build task-specific models. Assessing the strengths of LLMs compared to traditional machine translation has been ongoing this year. It underlines that the industry is ahead of the curve in the swift adoption of cutting-edge technology.

As translation providers learn more about Generative AI, they’re also learning about how this exciting technology can optimise workflows. With its capacity for improving style, fluency and tone, language services companies are adopting GenAI for content preparation and machine translation quality checks.

As we wrote in our post at the beginning of September, AI is boosting translation across the board. Big Tech companies are pouring funding into AI language functions, resulting in products with multilingual modes as an inbuilt feature. Multimedia translation has been a focus point with AI-powered dubbing introduced on several major platforms.

Where does this leave humans?

In 2024 the question of what role human linguists will play in new AI-driven processes continued to be asked. Indeed, only last month a leading CEO claimed that human translators will no longer be needed in 3 years’ time.

Although the future is hard to predict, this viewpoint would appear to be exaggerated, to put it mildly.

So far, the evidence points to a progressive translation landscape, where people and machines combine to produce faster, more reliable results on a larger scale. Indeed, the evidence suggests that translator jobs are not disappearing. Research has shown that open positions rose by 11 per cent between 2020 and 2023 in some areas and are forecast to continue in an upward direction.

Demand for professional linguists remains high and for critical language interventions where precision is essential, machines are still no match. In celebration of the International Day of Translation in September, we outlined just a few of the translation jobs where only a human expert has the required skill and insight to transfer meaning between languages. If you want your business branding to hit the right notes in a new language or need legal contracts translated faultlessly, human linguists are still the best – and only practical – option.

Literary translation in the news

Another domain that is still firmly in the hands of human linguists is the translation of novels, poems and other forms of literature. Although a Dutch publisher announced in November that it was planning to use AI to translate some types of commercial fiction, the idea was greeted with scepticism by authors and translators.

Recognition of literary translators, if anything, is becoming more widespread as the campaign to ‘name the translator’ of a few years ago bears its fruit. The International Booker Prize receives extensive media coverage and splits its prize money equally between writer and translator. Reading in translation continues to gain popularity, notably for books written in other languages and then translated into English, with Korean and Japanese literature topping the best-seller lists.

Coupled with the Netflix-fuelled interest in watching subtitled television and films (check out this month’s release of One Hundred Years of Solitude), the growing popularity of reading in translation for English-speaking audiences indicates an increased desire to understand more about other nations and cultures. And of course, to not miss out on some amazing stories.

A lively year for languages

2024 has been another exciting and dynamic year for the language industry. With the pressing momentum of generative artificial intelligence and ongoing disruption in the sector, language professionals have once again responded with innovation and perspicacity. Better placed than other fields to adapt to technological advances, language companies are shifting to accommodate new systems and objectives and ensuring that human expertise stays at the core.