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

Translation market and demands According to Nicol, the 'Distribution of Global Language Services Market' by region in June 2018 is as follows: Europe 49.3% North America 39.41% Asia-Pacific 11.01% Latin America & Caribbean Africa 0% 1% 20% 30% 40% 50% Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/190486/global-language-services-market-share-by-continent/ The lesson that these figures teach us is that Africa has currently no share in the global language services market. This is due to several reasons, including the lack of major companies and the absence of African businesses in the process of globalisation. The few institutions and companies that employ some translators and provide work to freelance translators include government ministries, especially the ministries of Foreign Affairs, development projects, international conferences, few regional and international banks. More specifically in the West African region, the national, regional, and international institutions employing translators include NGOs, ministries, development projects, UN agencies, EBID (bank), WAEMU, BCEAO (bank), AfDB (bank), and quite recently the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), however, the latter is a nascent organisation. The implications of these social, economic, and professional realities are that African translators need to look beyond national borders. Mobility on the employment front, networking, and an effective web presence should be envisaged. The main question is: how do we get a share of the international translation market? Furthermore, Nicol indicates that the translation industry is one of few global industries to experience continued growth despite the harsh impact of the pandemic hitting in 2020 and continuing to cause disruption throughout 2021. According to her, there is a growing demand for translation services industry in the following areas: 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. These are indications that translator trainers need to take into account and incorporate into translation curricula. Apart from curricular issues, work provider education should also be part of freelance translators' agenda. Educating the work provider Gouadec states that work providers need to be educated because some of them do not know how complex the translation process is. They think that translation is just a matter of knowing languages; they feel it takes far too long and is terribly expensive. Indeed, work providers have many wrong assumptions about translation. One day, a work provider, a female manager in a large company, said that if she knew that translation paid so well, she would have trained to become a translator instead. Below is a series of advice given to freelancers by Gouadec to educate work providers: − Demonstrate that translation is, in fact, a complex process, by identifying and explaining the different stages, − show, through an example, how any important translation requires no end of checking and counter- checking, − explain how long each stage in the translation process takes, and why, − stop using word count as the basis for estimates and invoices, and opt for a set rate or an hourly or daily rate (as in other standard business practices), − refuse to lower rates, by arguing that basic costs and overheads cannot be reduced, − refuse to be underpaid for any translation work, on any grounds whatsoever, − use a simple but useful battery of ordinary business instruments (i.e. delivery forms, quality control forms, standard agreements, general conditions of sale, etc.) to show that translation is just as serious as any other business. (op cit, p. 221) Work providers' education and professional ethics should go hand in hand. Professional ethics Gouadec, the author of Translation as a Profession, proposes the following basic rules: Professional translators shall: (1) never undertake any action or engage in any practice liable to throw the profession or professionals into disrepute; (2) always show respect for other people and their opinions, especially when writing to mailing lists and Web forums; (3) always comply with the laws and regulations relating to tax and social security or other mandatory contributions in force at the place of work; (4) always make available and use all resources needed to carry out the agreed or contractual tasks in compliance with the required standards;(5) never knowingly cheat a Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Profession of Translator in Africa Volume XXIII Issue VIII Version I 108 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 G © 2023 Global Journals