Transformation of the translation profession within the context of machine translation and digitalization

This study deals with the transformation of the translation profession within the context of machine translation and digitalization. The motivation for the study stems from the claims that translation will be 'dehumanized' and many professions, including translatorship, will disappear as a result of automatization, which is an output of technological developments. In this regard, the study examines how and to what extent the translation profession is affected by the new roles, tasks, labels, areas, and text types that have emerged with the gradual spread of machine translation in the language services industry and digitalization based on data and findings from the language services industry as well as literature review. Based on the transformation observed through such examination, the study offers a reconsideration of the concept of translation/translator competence along with the relevant dimensions. By this means, the study attempts to contribute to the construction of a translator competence and education that have a potential to meet both current and future needs. The examination of data and findings from the reports by international language industry organizations and studies in the literature shows significant transformations in the roles played by translators, as well as in the scope of their tasks, as a result of developments in machine translation and digitalization. They also point to the rise of roles and labels with high added values. The data and findings from the industry and the literature, which indicate that the concepts of source text and target text have also undergone a significant transformation, suggest that skills and knowledge expected from translators have both increased and varied due to the emergence of a wide range of mediums and forms of content production. Inquiring what kind of a competence translators need in the face of these developments, this thesis study argues that 'entrepreneurial competence' that is based on adaptive expertise and lifelong learning, composed of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, and is versatile and not stable is the competence required to be able to produce high quality and creative works both in current roles and areas and in future's unpredictable roles and areas and to offer value-added products and services through and/or within the context of translation. Based on this perspective, the study also scrutinizes, with a focus on entrepreneurial competence, the courses listed in the curricula of undergraduate programs offering translation education in Turkey and the "National Occupational Standard Translator/Interpreter Level 6" document, which presents the profile of the translation profession as well as the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to successfully perform the profession. The results on the courses show that entrepreneurial competence does not have a central position, in general, in terms of the courses listed in the curricula. Thus, the study suggests an update in the programs to ensure that courses to construct entrepreneurial competence, which is claimed a central position in translator competence in this study because of developments taking place in machine translation and digitalization, are offered in coherence and in a systematic and complementary way. The results on the "National Occupational Standard Translator/Interpreter Level 6" document, on the other hand, reveal that some of the tasks and skills given in the document overlap with some sub-fields of entrepreneurial competence in certain aspects. However, the study argues that a reconsideration of the standard document with a focus on entrepreneurship within the context of emerging roles and areas may pioneer a significant mental transformation that will enable perceiving the uncertainties to be brought by technology as an opportunity rather than a threat, transforming translation, which has started to be considered 'dehumanized' as it is more and more dominated by technology, back into a construct that has 'humans' in the center, and thus contributing to building a strong professional self-concept in translators. Key Words: machine translation, digitalization, translator competence, entrepreneurship, translation education, "National Occupational Standard Translator/Interpreter Level 6".