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• Member since: September 2, 2008

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• Up until now, there has been, on one hand the unsatisfactory but free automatic translation programs, and on the other hand the option to pay for a professional translation service either provided by independent translators or by a translation company. It is already possible, for the more inquisitive buyer, to recruit on line their own human translator but generally speaking companies have more of a tendency to confide their projects to a translation agency.
  
  Translation businesses bring access to professional translators in every language and in several fields of expertise. They analyse and prepare the work prior to translation, control turnaround times, serve as a point of contact both to the clients and the translators, sometimes acting as the voice of the customer to the translator and sometimes that of the translator to the client. They assure correct delivery of the final project to the client and also handle payment issues controlling client creditworthiness and assuring timely payment for themselves as well as the translator. At least this is the way we work at Anyword and how most of our competitors currently operate.
  
  In this context is Google Translation Centre a threat to translation agencies? It is possible (and even probable) that initially a number of clients seeking to make savings will contact the translators directly. Over time these clients will either settle for the minimal solution and remain loyal to Google Translation Centre or they will wish to benefit from a veritable intermediary service and return to the agencies. I do hope so.
  
  It is however necessary to clarify an important point: the service launched by Google is not a novelty. There are already existing human translation on line recruitment systems which are extensively used the translation companies. What is new is that Google authorise the ?volunteers? to register themselves as translators on their service. By ?volunteer? one must understand ?voluntary? and therefore in most cases ?inexperienced?. This means that the customers utilising this service are running an important risk that Google refuse to endorse in their general conditions of use.
  This is what makes me think that businesses, always reluctant to take unnecessary risks, will not adopt Google Translation Centre. This debate is, of course open on the Translators Observers blog run by Anyword (http://blog.anyword.fr). In reply to: "Google's translation center: Language lessons for the Googlebot?"

  September 2, 2008

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