An art worth protecting

As part of its programme for International Translation Day, ProZ organised a live feed of discussions and webinars and I was able to tune in to hear a really interesting panel discussion titled Amplifying voices: The underrepresented language pair market in translation and interpretation.

The session gave insight into why it is so important to increase focus on rarer languages that are currently underrepresented. For many of these less commonly spoken languages, the language is intrinsically linked with identity and heavily connected with the history and heritage of its speakers. One of the panel pointed out that translating idioms and proverbs is then even more challenging – when the wording is carrying so much cultural significance it is often nearly impossible to find an equivalent that can fully reflect the original meaning.

Discussion surrounding the impact of AI for these languages suggests a great deal of optimism. AI could be the key to creating global content in these underrepresented languages, for example using the technology to dub a film that would previously not have been accessible in a rarer language. Speakers of these languages should then be able to access more content in their language, helping to preserve and maintain usage. Compared to the large quantity of resources and materials available in other languages, there is a gap that needs addressing here for less widely spoken languages and the panel members are keen to take advantage of the opportunity AI brings.

And that gap is in some cases huge. The panel are hoping government bodies will support language association bodies to invest in the right tools and methods to help preserve the languages at risk and in the case of emerging African markets, to assist underrepresented languages establish a presence.

As a language service provider with experience of over 50 years, Wessex Translations is regularly contacted with a request for a translation or interpreting assignment in a new language combination. We pride ourselves on finding solutions for our customers every time but this isn’t without its challenges! Where we are asked to provide face-to-face interpreters for rarer languages, we have a limited pool of resources with the necessary qualifications who we can call on. That’s not to say those languages aren’t in demand – and it is often those interpreters whose schedules are busiest – but we can certainly understand the idea that some languages are underrepresented. And yet it makes these assignments even more important that we do find an interpreter to attend, and even more rewarding that we have enabled communication in a language that holds so much identity and heritage. It feels like a way in which we are able to do our small part in protecting linguistic diversity.

There is one piece of feedback we received following an interpreting assignment back in 2021 that always sticks with me. Our interpreting manager had facilitated a meeting between a young person and their social worker in Bilen, a language with only an estimated 72,000 speakers worldwide (that’s roughly a third of the population of Southampton), and our client contacted us to share with us the wonderful comment: the smile on the child’s face hearing their exact language being spoken was a special moment.

On days when work can be stressful I find myself thinking back to this and remembering why we do what we do here. It’s an important reminder that the translation and interpreting services Wessex Translations provides to our customers is playing a role in helping to protect and preserve underrepresented languages. Hopefully our contribution, however small, is enabling these languages to have a presence and forging a path for their continuation down through the generations to come. In case we were in any doubt of the vital role translation and interpreting plays in society, the chosen ITD theme for 2024 reminds us that these are an art worth protecting.

Written by

Emily Brockman