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Article published In:
Babel
Vol. 67:4 (2021) ► pp.395–417

The impact of crowdsourcing and online collaboration in professional translation

Charting the future of translation?

| Rutgers University

The emergence of crowdsourcing has opened up novel ways to initiate, produce and deliver translations in our digitally connected world. New practices and processes brought up by these phenomena have undeniably impacted different collectives with an interest in translation, such as language service providers (LSPs), professionals, and Translation Studies (TS). It has also been argued that crowdsourcing can impact public perceptions of translation, rising ethical concerns, issues related to the visibility of translation, or whether everyone can potentially translate (McDonough-Dolmaya 2012). This paper analyzes its potential impact on the realm of professional translation, an issue raised several years ago by a European Union Commission publication (2012, 37–38). It critically analyzes whether the much-feared socioeconomic and socio-professional impact on working conditions of professionals is underway or not. It represents an attempt at charting the potential influence of crowdsourcing on the profession through a critical review of existing literature and industry publications.

Keywords: translation crowdsourcing, volunteer translation, paid crowdsourcing, translation quality
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The emergence of crowdsourcing and initial reactions by the industry and the profession
  • Crowdsourcing workflows and the emergence of professional crowdsourcing models
  • Initiatives that consolidate the perception that professionals and non-professionals possess different skills
  • Reframing the notion of quality as a dynamic construct
  • The consolidation of the fitness for purpose models
    • Expanding the responsibility for quality outcomes
    • Workflow – based approaches to translation quality
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 22 September 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00230.jim
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