Reader Polls: PD, E-commerce Localization, Predictions, Giant Language Model

读者调查:继续专业发展,电子商务本地化,预测,巨型语言模型

2020-07-30 18:20 slator

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When it comes to continuing professional development (CPD or PD), everyone is looking for the best bang for the buck. That includes translators and interpreters. According to a recent survey on PD opportunities for translators and interpreters (T&Is), a number of professional linguists in Australia are less than thrilled with the options currently available to them. Commissioned by Australia’s National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), the survey received responses from 3,268 linguists. The most frequent complaint about PD had to do with the cost of training: 21.5% said that PD was too expensive, was not worth the cost considering T&I wages, or was a waste of money. Be that as it may, the vast majority (78.3%) said that, in the last 24 months, they had participated in PD activities — defined, for the purposes of the survey, as short courses, workshops, or seminars (online or in-person). However, only 63.5% of translators underwent PD, compared to 82.9% of interpreters and 82% of respondents who worked as both T&I. Slator’s July 3, 2020 poll, which asked whether respondents were participating in PD this year, was not too far off from the NAATI survey. More than two-thirds of respondents (69.7%) said they are engaging in PD; 18.2% said they might consider taking part in PD later in the year; while 12.1% said they would not. While Slator’s poll did not focus on the details behind respondents’ answers, linguists responding to the Australian survey expressed interest in more advanced and relevant topics, rather than “recycled” ones or anecdotes about an instructor’s career, and emphasized the need for more affordable PD. E-commerce is meant to be convenient. So without a localized checkout page, buyers may take their business elsewhere. In a study of Europe’s top 450 e-commerce websites, based in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Sweden, online payment portal Stripe found lack of translation to be the most common error. The report, entitled “The State of European Checkouts in 2020,” concluded that 9 in 10 e-commerce sites lost sales because of failures in the checkout page. Furthermore, 74% of checkouts did not have local language translations when customers elsewhere in Europe tried to complete a purchase, and failed to offer the most relevant payment options for international customers. According to the survey, the lack of translation was most noticeable for Spanish e-commerce sites as none of the Spanish checkouts Stripe analyzed were translated into a local language during checkout. Asked to gauge how well Europe’s e-commerce ecosystem is localized in terms of language coverage, most respondents (72.2%) to Slator’s July 10, 2020 poll replied, “Still relatively poorly.” Meanwhile, 16.7% of respondents said it was done “Well enough,” while 11.1% described it as done “Very well.” To avoid alienating potential markets, Stripe recommends that websites identify their top target countries and prioritize translating the checkout page into those local languages. To say that 2020 turned out not as good as expected would be an understatement. For UK-based media localization provider ZOO Digital, however, financial results for the 12 months to March 31, 2020 have been strong. According to the results, published on July 14, 2020, ZOO’s revenues were up 3% to USD 29.8m compared to 2019. Adjusted EBITDA grew to USD 2.1m, a fivefold increase on the previous year. Slator’s July 17, 2020 poll asked readers to share their business outlook for the second half of the year. More than half the respondents expressed positive views, with 25.3% and 30.3% saying they are “Very optimistic” and “Cautiously optimistic,” respectively. About a fifth of respondents (20.2%) said they will “Wait and see.” Meanwhile, the expectations of 15.2% of respondents are “Somewhat pessimistic,” while the remaining 9.1% are just trying to make it to the end of the year. Since San Francisco-based lab OpenAI released GPT-3 in closed private beta, the largest language model ever has received its fair share of attention. Beta users shared their reactions on Twitter after experimenting with GPT-3. The model is now reportedly coding, engaging in conversations on topics ranging from coronavirus to mindful eating, and composing articles about itself. Concerns over GPT-2’s ability to produce “deceptive, biased, or abusive language at scale” led OpenAI to delay the release of GPT-3’s predecessor by about nine months; and, this time around, OpenAI is using private beta testing mode as a preventive measure, vetting potential users individually. Slator invited readers to predict GPT-3’s future impact in a July 24, 2020 poll. More than half of respondents (51.7%) said GPT-3 will definitely make a difference in the language industry in the next two years, while a little over a fifth (20.7%) said it might. A smaller percentage of respondents (17.2%) declined to comment one way or the other, since they “Still don’t really know what is.” The least enthusiastic responses came from a small portion of those surveyed: 8.6% said GPT-3 will “Probably not” be relevant, while 1.7% expect GPT-3 to make no difference. GPT-3’s future in the language industry is unclear, for now, as it is unlikely to produce better translations than a system built specifically for the task.
当谈到继续专业发展(CPD或PD)时,所有人,包括笔译员和口译员,都在寻求最大化的价值。 最近的一项关于笔译员与口译员(T&Is)继续专业发展机会的调查显示,澳大利亚的一些职业语言学家对他们目前所能得到的选择并不满意。 受澳大利亚翻译资格认可局(NAATI)的委托,这项调查共收到3268名语言学家的回复。针对继续专业发展的抱怨大多与培训费用有关,21.5%的人说继续专业发展太贵,考虑到笔译员和口译员的工资,不值得在这方面花钱,或者说浪费钱。 尽管如此,绝大多数人(78.3%)表示,在过去24个月中,他们参加了继续专业发展活动,就调查内容而言,这些活动为短期课程,讲习班或研讨会(在线或面对面形式)。参加过继续专业发展的口译员有82.9%,然而,笔译员仅有63.5%,同时从事口译和笔译活动的有82%。 2020年7月3号, Slator进行的一次民意测验询问受访者2020年是否参加继续专业发展,得到的结果与NAATI的调查相差不远。超过三分之二(69.7%)的受访者说他们正在参加继续专业发展;18.2%的人表示可能会考虑在今年(2020年)晚些时候参加;而12.1%的人表示不会参加。 虽然Slator的调查并不关注受访者答案背后的细节,但澳大利亚的语言学家们表示,他们对更先进,与自身专业更相关的话题感兴趣,而对“重复”的话题或关于教师职业生涯的轶事兴趣不大,并强调需要更实惠的继续专业发展。 电子商务旨在提供便利。因此,如果没有本地化的结账页面,买家可能会把生意转移到别处。 在线支付门户Stripe对欧洲最大的450家电子商务网站进行了一项调查研究,这些网站分别位于英国,法国,德国,荷兰,西班牙,意大利和瑞典,研究结果显示这些网站最常见的错误在于没有翻译。 这份名为《2020年欧洲结账状况》的报告得出的结论是,每10个电子商务网站中就有9个因为结账页面出现故障而导致销售额下降。此外,非本国的欧洲顾客想要结账付款时,74%的结帐页面没有该国语言的翻译,也没有为国际顾客提供最相关的付款选择。 根据调查,西班牙电子商务网站缺乏翻译的情况最为显著,Stripe调查的西班牙网站在结账过程中没有一个将结账页面翻译成当地语言。 Slator于2020年7月10日开展了一项民意调查,内容为询问欧洲电子商务生态系统在语言覆盖率方面的本地化程度,大多数受访者(72.2%)回答说,“相对来说,仍然较差”。同时,16.7%的受访者表示做得“挺不错”,11.1%的受访者表示做得“非常好”。 为了避免疏远潜在市场,Stripe建议这些网站确定其主要目标国家,并优先将结账页面翻译成该国语言。 如果说2020年不如预期的那样好,这种说法就太保守了。截至2020年3月31日,总部位于英国的媒体本地化提供商ZOO Digital 过去12个月的财务业绩一直强劲。 2020年7月14号公布的结果显示,ZOO的营业额比2019年增长了3%,达到2980万美元。调整后EBITDA(税息折旧及摊销前利润)达到210万美元,比去年增长了五倍。 Slator 于2020年7月17号进行了一次民调,询问读者对下半年的商业展望。超过半数的受访者持积极态度——25.3%和30.3%的受访者分别表示“非常乐观”和“谨慎乐观”,约五分之一的受访者(20.2%)表示将“拭目以待”。 同时,15.2%的受访者的预期“有些悲观”, 9.1%的人只是想要努力挺到年底。 自从位于旧金山的人工智能实验室OpenAI在内测版中发布了GPT-3之后,这个有史以来最大的语言模型受到广泛关注。 测试版用户在Twitter上分享了他们使用GPT-3进行实验的反应。据报道,GPT-3正在编写代码,参与讨论各种话题,比如冠状病毒、正念进食,并撰写关于自己的文章。 由于GPT-2曾导致“大规模的虚假、带有偏见或辱骂性语言”的产生,OpenAI甚是担忧,因此将GPT-3的发布推迟了大约9个月;这一次,作为一种预防措施,OpenAI使用的是内测版模式,对潜在用户进行单独审查。 在2020年7月24号的民意调查中,Slator邀请读者预测GPT-3的未来影响。超过一半的受访者(51.7%)表示,GPT-3在未来两年肯定会对语言行业产生影响,而五分之一的受访者(20.7%)表示可能会产生影响。 少部分受访者(17.2%)拒绝置评,因为他们“仍然不知道GPT-3到底是什么”。一小部分受访者的反应最为冷淡:8.6%的受访者认为GPT-3“可能没有”意义,1.7%的受访者认为GPT-3不会产生什么影响。 目前,GPT-3在语言行业的前景尚不明朗,因为它的翻译不可能比专为翻译打造的系统更出色。

以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。

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