Translation myths – market too small?

The language translation service business is very diverse and just like any other industry has many translation myths which are so widely spread that some people believe them. Why are people interested in myths, especially of translation?

Why localization services are needed in business expansion?

The translation myths are exactly that: myths. There have been no strong arguments to sustain those myths, on contrary there are more reasons to believe the opposite.

Let us shatter some of the translation myths

• The market for translations is small. Most people do not understand the diversity of the language service domain; it includes written translations, on-site interpreting, telephone interpreting, video interpreting, localization, software translation, transcreation and so on.

Diversity also comes from all the fields that translation caters to. Translating and interpreting for technical fields and for software are very different from medical or legal translation.

• Most translation services are provided by small and medium agencies, but it does not mean that it is a small market, it only means that very specific skills are required, making it perfect for small to medium business. The market is actually worth around 30 billion Euro.

Requests for translating are fading

• The need for language services is diminishing. In this economy, more companies try to get business from abroad or introduce their products to new markets and this is evidence that the need is increasing instead of diminishing.

Even researchers say that the industry has a compound annual growth of 12.17 percent and is expected to grow another 40 percent by 2020. This is one of the most common translation myths.

This misleading idea actually causes a lot of harm since the interest in language studies is decreasing, meaning that less qualified translators will be available in the future. In a field where demand is increasing having less qualified providers, to choose from them will become a challenge.

Translation is expensive

Translation services were too expensive. Though, as there is an improvement in the number of translation agencies now, the service is not that expensive anymore. Every agency offers various combinations depending on the urgency, price, and sort of documents. Clients will always find one that satisfies them best. Also, most translation agencies advertise discounts for new clients as a welcome or offer a special rate for old clients. You will be happy to work with these agencies to save your cost.

If you have experience working with agencies who charged you a lot, can you think of a reason why? I can think of a possible case. You may want your documents to be translated within a short period. In general, translation agencies charge clients double or triple price depending on how fast the translation work has to be completed.

Translation for immigration

Most seem to be forgetting that people are now immigrating or visiting other countries more than ever due to globalization and the use of internet. While the needs of each person may be small, having to translate only their personal documents, it still adds up as certified translation is needed almost everywhere. No to forget that immigrants have medical or legal needs and since they don’t know the language, they need a translator or an interpreter. That is still translation, and it is an important part of the industry.

While machines are taking human jobs in other industries, when it comes to translation, they are far from providing accurate translations, which is exactly what is needed. To conclude, we can definitely say that the translation market is anything else but small, and the need for professional language services is increasing by the year. Translation services save you time, ensure the quality of your project, and cut prices as much as they can for you. What are the most common translation myths about the translation services you know? Let us analyze them together in our future articles.