METM17 presentation
Translation and interpreting to 2050: indications from FIT 2017
Sarah Griffin-Mason, Portsmouth, UK
Editing, translating and interpreting are professions on the move as the dual challenges of globalisation and mechanisation extend ever deeper into the language service sector.
I will present messages on key issues likely to affect MET members in their professional lives as translators and editors in the coming generation on the basis of information gleaned from the International Federation of Translation (FIT-IFT) conference due to be held in Brisbane, Australia in early August 2017.
The aim is to encourage debate of key current issues such as artificial intelligence, the visibility and value of language service providers, the shortcomings of the gig economy, and the absence of right to title. An understanding of these issues and how they might develop over the coming years will empower members to prepare for the forthcoming disruption, to adapt appropriately to the challenges, and to resist the more pernicious potential impacts of changing professional practices.
FIT is an international grouping of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists with more than 100 affiliated professional associations and training institutes, representing more than 80,000 translators in 55 countries. The international triennial conference therefore provides a broad and in-depth overview of the language service sector worldwide.
Sarah Griffin-Mason is currently Chair of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Portsmouth, where she mostly teaches Spanish to English specialised translation and professional aspects of translation. She trained as a translator and editor in the InterPress Service in Montevideo, Uruguay in the 1990s and also runs a business as a freelance translator and editor for clients including NGOs and international entities such as UNICEF-TACRO, Plan International and the European Training Foundation.
