Translation Services in Our Changing Economy
We all know that there have been seismic shifts in the macro-economy over the last year, but how has that been affecting the micro-economy of translation services?
The initial effect seems to have been a drastic reduction in the number of translation jobs being requested from end clients. Surprisingly enough, this downturn has been seen not only from small to midsize firms and companies, but also from large Fortune 500 multinationals.
It appears to have been a sudden, almost emotional, kneejerk reaction to what was widely perceived to be a threat of some sort. What seems most obvious is that, while many businesses seemed certain that there was something dire afoot, few seemed certain about what it was and exactly how it would affect them.
The exceptions were those market areas that suffered immediate impact: banks and other financial services, as well as development and property firms. Nonetheless, it seemed that businesses of all sorts suddenly put a hold on their document translations. Some of these of which I have personal knowledge include huge transnational oil and gas, infrastructure and transport companies.
Obviously this was not a situation which could last. Boards of Directors and shareholders need to be able to read minutes, financial statements and Annual Reports. Educational and nonprofit organizations must still file grant applications. And small and mid-size businesses which have seen a decline in custom must increase their marketing efforts in order to attract new markets.
Thus, the last six months have seen a slow, but regular, uptick in translation orders, and one would expect this to continue as markets ease, new cash is pumped into financial institutions and panic subsides.
And how has this impacted the service providers – the translation agencies and freelance translators ?
There is no doubt that there have been two major consequences in the translation services industry. The first is a drastic reduction in rates, by both agencies and translators. While some, especially those who work in legal and medical translation, may have been able to maintain close to standard rates, most have had to take extreme measures, often cutting their fees by half.
The other consequence has been a shakeout amongst the small translation agencies. Many of these agencies, despite a colourful Internet presence and a boastful marketing scheme, have been nothing but a single translator inserting himself into the translation chain. They secure a project – often from a “real” agency – and then subcontract it out to other translators for a pittance. It should come as no surprise that, in order for the faux agency to secure a profit, their subcontractors are of very poor caliber, either inexperienced or non-native speakers of the target language in question.
Of the above two consequences, the first (rate reduction) will probably also experience a slow reversal, just as the translation jobs are. Rates will go back up, slowly, but, one hopes, steadily. As for the latter circumstance, one might hope that those fictive “agencies” might indeed be gone for good. They have never added value to the process, but rather just the opposite.
Questions and Answers
Singapore translation company offers professional document translation services, interpretation services, transcription services and language translation services for German translation, French translation, Japanese translation, Spanish translation, Malay translation and Indonesian translation by Chambers International.
Today a stiff competition is consuming the international market and affecting the communication levels of every big and small business firm. Companies are now spending big amounts freely on language translation. These days, many companies are looking forward to spread their presence all across the world and want to convey their corporate messages to local as well as international market. They want their message to be conveyed with utmost lucidity to the target audience and so they are hiring lan
People who are good at their own language are considered erudite. To a few, linguistic variations are a topic of fascination.
Translation, though a technical phenomenon, involves a lot of creativity. Through translation, the meaning of the source language text is communicated into the target language. In order to translate a document, ideally the translator has to be a native speaker of the target language and a second language learner of the source language.
What should be an ideal language translator for you? Getting an ideal translator would be your prime requirement once you need professional level of language translation.
It's very important to learn a local language of the country where you are setting your business. If you are doing a global business, then it will be difficult for you to understand the local language of the different countries
Might is right has now transformed into content is might, most website owners know the efficacy of this medium as they are observing extra ordinary boost in their business after adopting the way to promote their business goals.
In today's world, the competition in any field is very intense and one really needs to be properly prepared to create a space for them or maintain an edge over their competitors. With the coming of internet, the fight for market leadership has shifted from the real world to the virtual world.
Content is an important and often overlooked part of the internet marketing process. Most people consider images and videos to be effective and conveniently negate the use of content...
Essay writing, dissertation writing, research paper writing, cheap customer paper writing, thesis writing, assignment writing and many other academic papers are the academic writing methods which give students a chance to show their writing skills. Teachers give them writing assignments to make sure that the students have mastered the academic assignment writing skills.
First time ever in the industry of Research and Writing Services, first try out our customized Writing Help, completely free, and then place an order. E.g. If you have an Assignment or Essay Writing worth 10 pages i.e. 2500 words. Research and Writing Services will give you the first 2 pages free of cost. Only once you are satisfied with the quality of the Essay Writing or Academic Writing Help is when you go ahead and place your order for the complete Assignment. Only we provide you the oppor
Discuss this Article
