Human Translator 4.0

The work of a translator was once regarded by the public as the privilege of intellectuals, bookworms, scholars and artists. However, the launch of Google Translator in April 2006 led to a huge change. The change in the thinking of the public, who, thanks to the PR activities of translation software developers, now thinks that translators have been replaced by robots. However, translators have also been subjected to changes. Some people have embarked upon new technologies, others are skeptical and a priori rejects “MT” as they colloquially call Machine Translation. So where is the truth, and how shall professional translators and their followers take a stand regarding this ever-improving technology? I will try to give you an answer based on my longtime experience as a manager of a translation company, as a lecturer for software based on Computer Aided Translation (CAT), as an explorer in the area of postediting of machine translations and as a bit of a translator.