It’s crucial to stay updated on the trends impacting the translation industry in order to adapt and keep at par with the market. But what does the future hold for the language translation industry? Let’s take a look at where the industry is heading toward.

Video Translations:

Video ads will rule as 80% of online content is predicted to be video based. Bestselling author, Ben Angel describes how conversion rates on landing pages that feature videos increase by up to 80%.

Companies would prefer featuring interactive video ads as compared to non-interactive ads; as interactive ads could propel a 47% increase in time that consumers spend with a brand compared to non-interactive ads. When consumers interact, this makes an ad 32% more appealing to them which is excellent for brand awareness. However, if this is available in only one language; it would make the foreign consumers feel isolated. Therefore, to secure customers worldwide, companies would prefer video advertising which would require subtitling, voiceovers and trans creation services. As the need for video translation will grow; professional translators will be expected to not only translate the text but serve the real purpose of the video which is to leave an unforgettable impact on the viewer.

Video content could be translated through dubbing, voice over narration and subtitles.

Voice and multilingual SEO translation:

In a world where people are occupied but equipped with sophisticated mobile phones, many would prefer voice search option as compared to typing in text. According to Gartner, 30% of all online searches will be made without a screen by 2020, while comScore claims that 50% of all searches will be voice searches by then.

However, these two input methods are very distinctive of each other because we do not speak the way we type. The translator would be expected to make a few changes in the text to make it sound colloquial, easily recognized by the search engine and to appear as one of the first suggestions during a voice search. They would also need to support their clients with target-language keyword research if is to be optimized for search engines in the target language.

Voice search is already gaining popularity and is set to lead. The challenge for LSPs will be to work closely with SEO experts and find a way how to optimize a site both for voice and regular search options.

Translators who are qualified in this expertise can benefit from the growing marketplace as it will generate substantial work opportunities.

Auto Translations:

Linguists anticipate that translation technologies might oust them in the future. But let’s analyze first! Although advanced language tools would improve efficiency in terms of decreased translation times; but when it comes to reviewing translations and amending errors according to its context such savvy tools will not be able to surpass human intelligence and acumen. Machines can only guess based on the information they are already fed. Therefore, linguists play a pivotal role in the success of translation businesses because they have the ability to comprehend the real essence and purpose of a text.

Possible dominance of non-English Languages:
As Brexit approaches it makes us question whether English will remain as the official European Union language or not. If we suppose that, after the United Kingdom breaks apart, English is no longer the official language of the Union, then we can expect other languages to become more prevalent.

International businesses having clients in Europe would demand translations in languages other than English which could affect the level of work for English translators.

Therefore, translators need to be prepared for this change by honing their skills in languages other than English and learning about their use in business and economic communication.

Takeaways:

Over the next few years, from the layman who will prefer using speech recognition in his phone to businessmen who aspire to conquer global markets; we might see translations shifting from documents to audio and audiovisual.

Another, forecast is that we will be working alongside machines. Although machines will do the majority of the work, there will be a need for people to be able to assess various translation technologies and apply the correct tools for specific jobs to get favorable results.

Translators who want to thrive in the upcoming years are advised to specialize in languages which are not spoken frequently. This is rooted in the fact that machine translation services only work if sheer bodies of literature are available to train their algorithms but for languages with a smaller user base, that volume of material may be limited, particularly in specialist, technical or scientific subjects.