What does it mean to work as a translator today, and in the future?
Reflections on the redesigned MA in Translation Studies and the future of translation by Dr Joseph Lambert.
As in many sectors, the world of translation is changing rapidly. Polarised debates around artificial intelligence and automation have raised important questions for students, educators, freelance professionals, and language service providers alike, asking what does it mean to work as a translator today, and in the future?
Unlike most other sectors, however, translation is arguably uniquely equipped to respond to these challenges. With a history stretching back millennia, it has now long been understood as a deeply human, creative act of meaning-making, grounded in intellect, empathy, and ethical judgement. And, since the emergence of Machine Translation in the 1950s, it has decisively responded to short-sighted predictions of obsolescence, responding instead with transformation, adaptation, and renewed emphasis on the value of human expertise.
Recent developments across the world of translation, including the emergence of Generative AI, bring with them undoubted potential, but also a range of challenges that we must consider critically. These include impacts upon the nature, meaningfulness, and quality of the work we take on, the hierarchised positioning of languages and cultures in our globalised world, and, of course, the environment itself.
While change is happening at pace, discussions of how we can create just, sustainable futures centred around human insight are only now taking shape, and this is the perfect time to join those conversations.
These productive tensions between technologisation and human intellect and agency lie at the heart of our revamped MA in Translation Studies at Cardiff University. The programme is built around two complementary strands: the development of advanced creative and professional translation skills, alongside critical, informed engagement with the technologies that increasingly shape multilingual communication, and our world more broadly.
Rather than avoiding today’s big questions, we enable students to understand, interrogate, and work ethically within today’s global language services industry and beyond.
At the same time, we place creative practice at the core of the degree. Students translate across a wide range of genres, from technical and marketing texts to audiovisual media and literature, applying their skills in real‑world contexts and developing the adaptability required for the array of professional and academic pathways that await beyond graduation.
To further enhance this focus on employability, we offer a placement module providing tailored professional experiences based on students’ specific interests and aspirations. Students can choose to translate between English and any other language, and we’ve added a specific strand for those working between Welsh and English, recognising our proud place at the heart of Wales.
Change is inevitable, but with critical awareness of the challenges and opportunities that those changes may hold, creative confidence, and ethical insight, our graduates are prepared to not simply respond to that change, but to shape the very future of translation.