Moorkens, JossORCID: 0000-0003-4864-5986
(2020)
Translation in the neoliberal era.
In: Bielsa, Esperança and Kapsaskis, DionysiosORCID: 0000-0001-8089-2085, (eds.)
The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Globalisation.
Routledge Translation Handbooks
.
Routledge (Taylor & Francis), Abingdon, UK, pp. 323-336.
ISBN 9780815359456
This chapter considers the impact of neoliberalism on translation as a profession, exacerbated by the global economic crisis of 2007/2008 and consequent policies of austerity adopted in many jurisdictions. Employment conditions for translators, as with the general trend, have moved towards a ‘vendor model’ of freelance and contingent work. For some translators this has given them more control over their working lives, whereas for others is has been disempowering as they struggle with speed and productivity demands, the unilateral imposition of technologies, and constant downward pressure on price. Translation technology has afforded the possibility of cutting costs by leveraging previous translations within editing environments and of training MT systems. However, for translators this technology has had a dual effect, with some tools foregrounding usability and others more focused on data gathering. The industry has taken an increasingly pragmatic view of product and process quality, prioritising shareholder returns