By Bridget Hylak, Administrator, Language Technology Division
The language services industry increasingly involves, includes and even requires the use of technology, especially when the goal is to streamline productivity and consistency and reduce waste of time.
If you’re wondering about the daunting landscape of langtech, overwhelmed by choices, or just looking for some guidance and reassurance, ATA TEKTalks is for you!
The Language Technology Division’s new series, “ATA TEKTalks,” launched with a bang last March 29 with its inaugural event as CEO and Founder of Wordfast, Yves Champollion, addressed an online crowd of over 200 registrants in a brief yet highly informative session to introduce language professionals to Wordfast.
What is ATA TEKTalks?
The multibillion-dollar localization industry is thriving, moving and evolving daily, and it’s hard for even those of us in the consulting realm to keep current. Some highly skilled linguists have capitalized on great industry opportunities, but others don’t have the necessary training to use the productivity gains offered by language technology to their benefit, or simply don’t know how to choose or where to begin.
If you’ve ever felt “LOC’d out” of all the excitement—or just overwhelmed—the ATA TEKTalks quarterly webinar series is for you!
Members of ATA’s newly revamped Language Technology Division have worked hard and thoughtfully to brainstorm relevant topics and tools so that every last (and first) linguist to the table has a useful compass to help them assume their place as tech-savvy linguists. The LTD is keeping mindful of various perspectives, from independent linguists to company owners, in formulating questions from a language industry perspective that could be useful to our colleagues’ work. This year’s presentations are focused on providing a platform for leading language technology companies and industry experts to say hello, offer insights, and answer prepared questions relative to the work of freelancers, language services providers, and in-house translation departments.
Think of ATA TEKTalks as an open exchange of information where language technology companies and their representatives demonstrate how and why their services can improve your return on investment. TEKTalks are not formal training or monologues, but rather, “talk show” style chats with your interests, edification and business goals as the end game.
Attend an ATA TEKTalks webinar to learn how to:
- Identify pros and cons of leading language localization tools and platforms and decide which one best suits your/your organization’s needs.
- Find new and evolving tech-savvy opportunities to put your language skills to use, perhaps in ways you have never considered.
- Decide which component, tool, integration, or brand(s) may be ideal for your goals and needs.
- Identify the most relevant questions and considerations that are part of the “Which technology is best for me / for my organization?” question.
- Consider the many language services and careers that exist in localization, beyond that of translator, and decide if any of them fits into your career goals.
Current ATA TEKTalks schedule
ATA TEKTalks has an impressive lineup for upcoming 2023 quarters during which representatives from Smartcat, Smartling and RWS Group (SDL/Trados) will sit in the “hot seat” to address concerns and inquiries from the language services professionals.
The 2023 ATA TEKTalks roster is in works while the LTD reviews its many options. We welcome suggestions and input from our ATA colleagues on what “T” (tool, technology or topic) they would like featured next year. We are also accepting suggestions for questions that members would like addressed in upcoming sessions – be specific, be honest and don’t hesitate to ask even the most difficult question. That’s what ATA TEKTalks is all about, and we hope to see you there!
All TEKTalks sessions are recorded and can be listened to on a comparative basis as they evolve, which may prove a useful research tool to those looking to “compare and contrast” options before experimenting with or buying any tool.