Global Journal of Human Social Science, G: Linguistics and Education, Volume 23 Issue 8

The initial part of the paper presents the methodology which is mixed. Subsequently, the results are indicated. The last part of the paper discusses the findings and makes some recommendations. II. M ethodology This paper has used both quantitative and qualitative methods to describe the practice of the profession of freelance translator in Africa. A great proportion of the paper is made up of practical ideas developed by professional translators. Statistics and figures have been collected from publications by translation agencies and the United Nations. The objective of the paper is to highlight the challenges and opportunities facing the profession of a translator in Africa in a bid to chart a way forward and highlight the main areas in which action needs to be taken to improve translators' status and working conditions. The instruments used to carry out this research include the Internet, books, an interview, academic congress materials, and the regulations of translators' associations. The data include statistics on global translation market share, the percentage of Neural Machine Translation and of Automatic Machine Translation in the global translation output, and the information obtained from translators' associations' regulations. Assumptions are made regarding the future of the profession in connection with the advances in translation technology boosted by the development of artificial intelligence. The variables in this research include Africa's share in the distribution of Global Language Services Market, the spread of the Internet, and the rate of CAT Tools usage by translators in Africa. The outcomes of this research include but are not limited to the following results: III. R esults 3.1 The profession of a translator in most African countries needs to be regulated when it comes to issues pertaining to access to the profession, required qualifications, and tariffs. 3.2 African translators have no share in the global language services market. 3.3 African freelance translators need to team up and ensure an effective web presence to attract more clients at the national and international levels. 3.4 Mobility on the employment front is a fact because work opportunities come here and there. 3.5 The use of CAT Tools and Neural Machine Translation (NMT) has become necessary to increase productivity and keep pace with the rest of the work. 3.6 Translator training is an issue of main concern and translation curricula should include topics such as language and linguistics, website translations, medical/ healthcare translations, e-commerce, finance, legal services, manufacturing industry, business, e-learning programmes/online certifications, media, collaborations tools, software translation and localisation, marketing, advertising, PR. IV. D iscussion a) An Overview of a Translator's Job In presenting an overview of the translator's job, Gouadec (2007, p.13) mentions three stages in the translation process: The activities involved in providing a translation service are organised into three phases: 1. Pre- translation; 2. Translation; 3. Post-translation. Pre-translation includes anything that takes place up to the moment the translator actually receives the material for translation: everything that has to do with getting the job, writing out estimates, negotiating, getting the specifications right, and contracting. As far as the pre-translation phase is concerned, the translator does job hunting by calling and visiting companies and institutions likely to employ translators. It is recommended to drop a curriculum vitae and to insist to see a senior officer including the Human Resources Officer or any officer in charge of (local) purchase orders and contracts. Physical contact is particularly important because it can make a difference if the translator is articulate, well-dressed, and gives a good impression of himself or herself. The knowledge of the service provision rates applied in several local companies and institutions is equally important because most of the time, the officers provide some information on their companies' official rates. If the rates are lower than the market rates, there is always room for bargaining. Job hunting should be done vigorously and continuously. There is also a need to constantly look for calls for tender in newspapers and on websites. Examples of international websites providing information on job opportunities include cDiscussion.com, ProZ.com, Gengo.com, OneHourTranslation.com, Unbabel.com, TextMaster.com, TranslatorsCafe.com, and jobs.ilo.org. In countries where there are translators' associations, the members normally share information on job opportunities. Finally, when a translator gets a call or an e-mail from a prospective client for work, s/he should make sure that a contract is duly signed with the work provider. The contract normally specifies the number of pages or words to be translated, the price, and the delivery date. When the work provider sends the translation kit to the translator, the translation stage begins. On this score, Gouadec (2007) indicates that: Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Profession of Translator in Africa Volume XXIII Issue VIII Version I 102 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 G © 2023 Global Journals