Panel Discussion

State of the language services market, September 2010

Two years after the autumn 2008 start of a worldwide economic crisis fueled by excessive credit growth and failed oversight, we’ve organized a frank discussion on trends we’ve observed and experienced in the language service market. We will also report the results of an informal survey of members of Mediterranean Editors and Translators on their perception of the market and review the results of another association’s survey.

This is an opportunity for informal discussion and sharing of insights. The following panelists have agreed to speak briefly on their observations of what’s new in the market and what’s stable before we open up for audience participation:

Helen Casas is a freelance translator based in Barcelona who now specializes in pharmaceutical and medical translation and editing. An engineering graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Helen has 18 years of experience working for a variety of clients, including translation agencies in Spain and abroad, as well as direct clients in business and academia.

Ailish Maher has a degree in business and a master's in translation studies. Based in Barcelona, she mainly works freelance for universities as a translator and editor. Ailish will present the results of the MET trends survey carried out in 2010.

Paula James studied languages and linguistics and then a master’s degree in translation and interpreting, and has previously worked in the tourism and not-for-profit sectors. She has been working as a freelance translator for around four years, specializing principally in legal translation, for a variety of clients, mainly agencies throughout Europe.

Mary Ellen Kerans has been freelancing in Barcelona since the mid-1980s, mainly working with biomedical science texts but also with publications in art and history. She occasionally gives classroom instruction in writing; her master’s degree was in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Mary Ellen will comment on the findings of two recent surveys published in the Bulletin of the UK Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

Chef du Monde, a company specialized in Animal Health and Veterinary language services and established in the sector since 2001, will send a panelist to participate in the discussion.