Language Industry and the Translation Profession: A Questionnaire for the Undergraduate Students of the Translation Studies Department
Ensa FilaziIn the global world, where the boundaries of knowledge have disappeared, it is possible for people aiming to study at a university to access information about their future educational prospects with a single click. This opportunity creates awareness regarding jobs in a specific field of study. When past and present positions of the translation profession are compared, it can be seen that translation has attained a different magnitude thanks to comprehensive researches conducted in recent years. Today, the translation profession offers a wide range of jobs and is closely related to areas the language industry has accessed. The language industry comprises three subspecialties: technology, language education, and translation studies. The association between the aforementioned areas has provided wider business arenas, and new business opportunities have arisen out of the connection between them. It was thought that the exposure of language industry activities would increase the visibility of the translation profession to the public. With the help of data collected through a questionnaire, this study aims to examine the relationship between the language industry and the translation profession. Upon ending their four year education, final-year students at the Department of Translation Studies at Istanbul University were questioned about the extent to which their professional awareness had been raised. A questionnaire was supplied to the students who entered the department in 2015 and who then graduated in 2019. When the results of the questionnaire were examined, it was clear there was a significant decrease in the alacrity of the final year, interpretation and translation students. In this context, solutions have been offered to transform the translation profession into a more preferable one within the framework of the language industry.
Dil Endüstrisi ve Çevirmenlik Mesleği: Çeviribilim Bölümü Lisans Öğrencilerine bir Anket Uygulaması
Ensa FilaziBilgi edinme noktasında sınırların ortadan kalktığı küresel dünyada, özellikle üniversite okumayı hedefleyen kitlenin tek bir tuşla eğitim içeriklerine yönelik bilgilere ulaşması mümkündür. Bu imkânlar doğrultusunda bütün mesleklere yönelik çalışmalarda bir farkındalık oluşturulmaya çalışılmaktadır. Çevirmenlik mesleğinin geçmiş ve bugünkü konumu karşılaştırıldığında ciddi çalışmalar sayesinde çevirmenliğin farklı bir boyuta ulaştığı ifade edilebilir. Günümüzde çevirmenlik mesleğinin çok geniş iş yelpazesine sahip olduğu, dil endüstrisinin nüfuz ettiği alanlardan hareketle görülmektedir. Dil Endüstrisi; Teknoloji, Dil Eğitimi ve Çeviribilim olmak üzere üç alt başlıktan oluşmaktadır. Adı geçen bileşenlerin işbirliği içinde olması, geniş iş sahalarını ve yeni iş imkânlarını doğurmuştur. Dil endüstrisi faaliyetlerinin kamuoyuna yansımasının çevirmenlik mesleğinin görünürlüğünü artıracağı düşünülmektedir. Dil endüstrisi ve çevirmenlik mesleği ilişkisini irdelemeyi amaçlayan ve anket yoluyla verilerin toplandığı bu çalışmada İstanbul Üniversitesi Çeviribilim Bölümünde okuyan 1. sınıf öğrencilerinin bu bölümü tercih etme sebebi ile 4 yıllık eğitimin sonunda beklentilerinin hangi oranda karşılık bulduğu ve mesleki anlamda farkındalık oluşup oluşmadığı sorularına cevap aranmıştır. Bu doğrultuda hazırlanan anket, 2015’te ve 2019’da mezuniyet aşamasında olan aynı öğrencilere uygulanmıştır. Anketin sonuçları incelendiğinde mezuniyet aşamasında olan öğrencilerin sözlü ve yazılı çeviri yapma isteğinde ciddi bir düşüşün olduğu görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda dil endüstrisi çerçevesinde çevirmenlik mesleğinin tercih edilen bir mesleğe dönüşebilmesi için çözüm önerilerinde bulunulmuştur.
The increase in the number of joint endeavors between the translation industry and the Academy, as well as the inclusion of foreign language courses at universities, have paved the way for the expansion of the language industry in Turkey. Presently, the language industry is comprised of three areas in the international field: translation studies, language technology, and language education. In the 1990s, the concept of the language industry only referred to the processing of language in software; it has since lost its validity in international fields. With the development of various programs for language technology, since the 2000s the scope of the language industry has expanded and all components related to language technology have been included in the industry, making it an important sector. The increase in multilingual studies in the language industry, especially in the European Union, has led to the emergence of new projects and professional areas. In 2009, the European Union General Directorate of Translation (DG Translation) ranked eight sectors within the scope of the language industry: translation, interpreting, software localization, website globalization, tool development for language technology, language training, language-focused consultancy for companies, and the organization of multilingual international conferences. Firms such as IBIS World Industry and CSA Research (Report) regularly conduct research on the language industry. Considering the growth rate in the translation sector, it may be that those who prefer the translation profession have a higher probability for a career in the field. Graduates of foreign language departments are also among the advantaged candidates in the translation industry. However, the extent to which the public recognizes the basic duties of a translation professional should be discussed separately. It has been generally observed from written and visual media—television, the news, the internet, and job advertisements—that the basic responsibilities of translators are not recognized by the public; the professional visibility of translators is regarded less than that of a physician or a lawyer. As long as there is a lack of awareness about the duties of the translation profession, other career paths will be chosen. Students who proactively choose to enroll in translation departments can increase their motivation and convey their academic success to their professional life. A person aware of their qualities should be honest with themselves and sincere in their actions. Individuals should recognize their integrity, be aware of their skill set, and know “why, where and how to use these skills” (Şimşek, 2014). In this context, awareness brings about a professional approach to the translation profession. According to Schopp, being a professional means having a sense of responsibility toward one’s self, one’s client, and the professional situation. It is not enough for the companies that provide translation services to adapt to developments in the translation sector. Also, translation studies departments should be required to convey developments occurring in the profession to candidate translators through their curriculums. In this study, a satisfaction questionnaire was given to the students of the Translation Studies Department of Istanbul University (along with a general assessment) in order to measure their cognizance regarding their intention in choosing this department. In order to examine the students’ awareness regarding their choice, especially the first-year students, they were given a questionnaire in 2015. Three years later, a questionnaire of similar questions used in the first questionnaire was given again in the spring semester of the 2018–2019 academic year. Some of the questions in the preliminary questionnaire were also in the final one. Based on the results of the present research, it can be argued that awareness should be raised, regarding the wide range of jobs in the translation profession. However, the Academy is not the only entity capable of facilitating awareness in this matter. The language industry should be more integrated within translation and interpretation departments and cooperationoriented projects and platforms should be developed, especially in Turkey. The Academy is expected to train fully-equipped translators. Although state universities provide extensive theoretical knowledge, they cannot achieve the same success in terms of application. The lack of modern, technological equipment may be one reason for this situation. Translation science, technology, and education—the components of the language industry—should be considered a triad and joint studies should be increased between these fields.
