The Linguist

28 The Linguist Vol/63 No/2 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist CONFERENCE SEASON For all its capabilities, and despite some well- founded fears, technology will not replace the humanity, empathy, engagement and compassion for which professional linguists are known and valued – that was the verdict of the speakers at CIOL Translators Day and Interpreters Day 2024. Statistically based and data-trained machine translation is still loaded with endemic inaccuracies and 'hallucinations', failing to render a consistently cohesive output in many languages. This was highlighted by Claudia Wiesinger of the University of Vienna's Centre for Translation Studies in her research on post-editing and machine translation. For interpreters, integrating technology into their workflow requires analytical acumen and expertise, as well as practice and adjustment for different languages and linguists. Automatic Speech Recognition can help interpreters, but there is more to do to make it easier to use, advised Sabine Braun, Diana Singureanu and Wangyi Tang of the University of Surrey's Centre for Translation Studies. A significant challenge will be making the technology widely available. Barbara Schouten, of the University of Amsterdam, set the stage for a lively discussion on the importance of public service interpreting standards to avoid the safety risks of friends and family being used to interpret in healthcare settings. Research shows that patients want trained interpreters as the most sought-after patient right, contrary to the popular narrative that they prefer to use family. For NRPSI (the National Register of Public Service Interpreters), 'putting people first' remains a key theme to protect the public. Consistent advocacy will be required to press for nationwide, coherent interpreting training standards to ensure comprehensive high- quality interpreting across public services in the UK, as was highlighted by Phil Muriel and Mike Orlov of NRPSI. Seasoned linguists Julia Poger, Sue Leschen and Chris Durban advocated for freelancers to "think more like businesspeople". All three advised self-employed translators and interpreters of the importance of negotiation, pricing, protecting income and sometimes saying 'no'. Investing time and effort in client engagement and communication is also vital to help linguists position themselves and their services to attract a premium in a challenging – but still potentially rewarding – environment. With a mix of UK and international research and hands-on business advice, both of the in-person events provided attendees with new insights, networking opportunities and the reassurance that, with the right approach, whatever AI brings, linguists and CIOL members can have confidence in themselves and their value in 2024 and beyond. Anna Ostrovsky MCIL CL is an admissions manager and sits on CIOL's ED&I Committee. Highlights from the inspiring in-person events. By Anna Ostrovsky Human connections TAKE-AWAYS Over two days of face-to-face conferences in London, linguists heard from a wide range of academics and practitioners. Vasiliki Prestidge MCIL CL explains what she took away from the events: "Change is inevitable, specialisation is key, human skills are our superpower, embrace the tech!" As Zuzana Kusá MCIL said: "The message of both Translators Day and Interpreters Day was clear: as massive as the technological advances have been in our field of work, and as threatening as they may seem to our livelihoods, digital tools will never be able to fully replace what human translators and interpreters bring to the table – human connection and expertise, emotional intelligence and passion, and relationships based on trust."

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