Conference attented by Franco Troiano
on 27 May 2000 during the FEDER.CEN.TRI International Conference on the theme:

THE FUTUR OF TRANSLATION:
TECHNOLOGY, TRAINING, MARKET

Within the framework of the meeting of the EUATC (European Union of Associations of Translation Companies) in Misano-Rimini, Italy.
 

Paradoxes and anomalies of supply and demand 
 

Working in Brussels for nearly twenty-five years taught me to see Italy "upside down", with the Alps at the bottom and the "foot" at the top. It must be this inverted perspective - "inverted" with regard to my first thirty years, of course - that has led me to see other things upside down, often in a highly revealing way. This is the optical advantage that emigrants have over people who stay put. As for the rest, all of the foreigners here today, or those who have lived abroad for a long time, will know very well what I am talking about. Therefore, when your President, Ms Lia Guastaroba, founder of the EUATC, asked me to talk to you briefly regarding translation, two or three spontaneous but at the same time paradoxical or anomalous observations with regard to our profession came to my mind. But let us start with a well established point that is far from being unfamiliar to you. 
 

1- Multilingualism in communication as a condition for the development of companies and post-modern institutions 

We are all privileged people to be working in one of the most important sectors in the era that we know as post-industrial, i.e. that of communication. Of course I am not suggesting that the production of goods has been overtaken: from cars to mobile phones, from tiles to ravioli, products will always remain the basis of our economy. However, today, communication is paramount. In general, supply overshadows demand and written communication, as an integral part of all products, becomes that specific element that differentiates one from the other. Communication is the purpose of our activities, on an inevitably multilingual basis. Indeed, companies and/or public institutions, which do not export - in other words, which do not communicate in different languages - are destined to stagnate or go under. Market globalisation is laying the foundations for multilingual communication as a condition for the development ofcompanies and modern institutions which are truly active and competitive.
 

2- The paradox of "standardising" globalisation and the great geo-stylistic return to linguistic identities

The first paradox to be pointed out is that of the return - if ever we should talk about return - of regional and national languages faced with fears of one universal language, i.e. English. There has never been such a philosophical passion for quality towards languages from all countries. Just as information technology has increased instead of reducing or eliminating the use of paper, international contact makes languages a crucial issue, even for those considered to be 'weaker' than others and fearing obsolescence. Thus we see how Croatian differentiates itself more and more from the Serbian language, Czech from Slovak, Brazilian from Portuguese and Castilian from Argentinean Spanish or Mexican. The need to conserve or develop individual cultural identities in a situation of planetary globalisation, suspected of evening out all connotative particularities, encourages us to (re)discover the importance of our own languages in defending their geo-styles. Defence, of course, can become excessive, as in Canada for example, where the French-speaking province of Quebec legislated severe penalties against the use of English expressions, or in Flanders where the Belgian Flemish still today occasionally lead fundamentalist crusades against speaking the French language. However, democrats, do not fear! Love of one's own language today redefines patriotic pride with new elements and is not nationalistic in the traditional sense. In other words, we should say yes to multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism and no to the imposed homogeneity produced by the global steamroller! Of two products, one of which is advertised and described in the customer's language, the choice of purchase is foreseeable even if there is a quality/price difference. This is what we describe as the LC factor (Language of Client). Just a few years ago, it was unusual to translate Web sites. Now, even the Americans are obliged to translate all of their advertising material into many different languages in order to continue exporting their goods. Language is an integral part of a product and of its competitiveness and is no longer simply the affirmation of a visionary and futurological linguist. Certainly, the intention of this debate is not to encourage the ambitions of new supporters of dialects, nor their ancient, out-dated and ridiculous claims, as is the case of the Bretons or that of some Italians from the North affected with a fake bilingual dirigisme based on dialect or folklore. Of the five thousand languages currently spoken and recognised by UNESCO, around forty really do make the world go round. Amongst these we find Albanian and Zulu, languages which are not economically important, for the moment. With regard to the future, all you have to remember is that the Americans have recognised no more than 169 on which to keep a political eye...
 

3 - The anomaly of 'all languages' produced exclusively by regional companies

Of all the anomalies found in our field of activity, there is one in particular of which I would like to make you all aware É It concerns the problem of 'relocalising' language production. Today, this production is unusually (and paradoxically) carried out in an often 'delocalised' way. But if there is one type of production that by definition cannot be 'delocalised' it is that of languages. Last summer, I unintentionally made some friends laugh during my holidays here in Italy. I was calmly speaking about a 'disco duro', translating it from 'disque dur' or 'hard disc' with the terminology of a simple-minded emigrant. This is how I became aware, at my expense, that here we say 'disco fisso', which is, in fact, philologically more accurate. Therefore, not only must translators be native speakers but they should also live in or close to their country of origin, so they don't risk muddling phraseology and terminology, which is embarrassing and unjustifiable. A first criterion to ensure languages are not corrupted, but respected is that they must be checked in situ, including the link between text and page layouts. The difference between us and all other translation and interpreting companies is that our offices are all almost exclusively regional. It may indeed be true that today the Internet allows translations to be carried out by freelance translators around the world, but it is also undeniably true that the crucial function of translation proof-reading is then inevitably carried out by technically illiterate companies. Our companies are responsible for always supplying top quality translations to all our clients; we cannot afford to make mistakes. How can you guarantee your customers high standard translations if you don't have a Head office and subsidiaries distributed throughout the world, able to check and offer an efficient service for each language? Before an existing client or a future client asks us this question, we must find the courage to deal with the matter professionally; today, not doing so will be considered an intolerable business anomaly. What remains to be said is that even if we think that finding the answer to such a question and, most of all, preparing a solution (or solutions) will take us years, this must not prevent us from asking it, all the same! 
 

4 - The anomaly of the omniscient translator, presumedly specialised in the multiplication of technical terminologies

On the subject of anomalies, let's go deep down and pull out another one that ruins our relationship with clients, often mislead because of the very promises we make. Their need to simplify and repress linguistic difficulties finds total satisfaction when we offer the readiness of specialised translators, not only in all languages but in all fields, therefore also the client's own! If these ultra-specialised translators really existed (even companies' own engineers have difficulty in keeping abreast of advanced technology that is ever more specialised according to their products), how could our remarkable freelances make ends meet if they only had to translate the specialised texts for which they claim competence? Should we not ask whether we are not ourselves, as professionals of linguistic services, provoking self-inflicted contractual misunderstandings which then disappoint the client and spread confusion on both the market of supply and that of demand? Who do you lay the blame on, in fact, when you are forced to ascertain the lack of translation culture present on our markets? To whom do you give the responsibility of the tragic underestimation regarding the complexity - and the value! - of our multilingual editing and publishing services? 
 

5 - Translation memory systems, computerised terminology and, most of all, computer-assisted translations as essential tools for eternally human translations

We all know that the know-how available to translation studies today is remarkable, both on a linguistic and on a technological level. In 1994, when I signed the publication of our first book on translation and multimedia editing, we reviewed not less than 450 books on translation studies. As to the solution to the main problem concerning the quality of translation, or in other words the multilingual precision of specific company technolects, terminology studies have been on the market for about ten years, offering real strategic solutions: computer translation memory systems and centralised management lexical controls (we mainly use Trados, IBM and Systran). If today we don't put forward or sell our clients constructed glossaries of their technical language, if we don't show the complexity of human translation, we risk actively producing obscurantism in our profession. As we all know, the real solution to technical translation consists in the use of computer translation memory systems, which construct and multiply company technolects, one language after another on a permanent basis. 
 

6- The teaching of translation in training and, above all, in negotiating quality with the client

Professional training appears to be making remarkable progress in some prestigious schools for translators in Europe, and in Italy (and Professor Arduini will most certainly not deny this point). Over and above the two major elements of new translation studies, i.e. the philological preparation of the native language and information technology, the practice of foreign languages is spreading more and more thanks to various long stays overseas (courses, academic exchanges, residence abroad, work placements). Fortunately, today, things are no longer as they were for my obsolete generation who were anthropologically unilingual, or nearly. This is all very well, but, whilst we eagerly wait for the new generation of translators to profoundly change our professional culture, both from a supply and a demand point of view (often people in charge of editing are young people with degrees in translation), how can we modify the present state of primitivism of the market's culture of translation? We professionals must always act pedagogically towards our market's demand. How? This is no mean feat.

Thank you and I wish you every success in your work.

1- Multilingualism in communication as a condition for the development of companies and post-modern institutions
Multilingualism and its quality, as are the object of our activity, constitute the most connotative aspect of information. The latter, for its part, gives rise to a more decisive and characteristic factor of our post-industrial era. 

2- The paradox of "standardising" globalisation and the great geo-stylistic return to linguistic identities
Paradoxically, the globalisation of markets does not have an adverse effect on national languages. On the contrary, it makes them more appreciated than ever, thanks most of all to the CL factor (Client Language): the new philological passion of the forty languages which, today, are economically relevant. 

3- The anomaly of 'all languages' produced exclusively by regional companies
All types of production can be 'delocalised', except for languages. So how can the problem of being able to, at least, check and corroborate them in situ be solved?

4- The anomaly of the omniscient translator, presumedly specialised in the multiplication of technical terminologies
Could the relative lack of translation awareness on the demand market depend on the over-simplifying attitude of we professionals?

5- Translation memory systems, computerised terminology and, most of all, computer-assisted translations as essential tools for eternally human translation
The true solution to the production of multilingual technolects does not lie in the increasingly unlikely offer of 'technical' translators, but in computer translation memory systems and terminotics.

6- The teaching of translation in training and, above all, in negotiating quality with the client
The fact that the most prestigious European schools for translators are putting the accent back on philological teaching of the native language and on information technology translation aids is a very positive development. However, clients must also be educated.