The Linguist

30 The Linguist Vol/64 No/2 ciol.org.uk/thelinguist OPINION & COMMENT Using metrics and corporate speak to make the case for localisation to clients in language they understand MELANIE MORAWETZ As localisation specialists in 2025, we are navigating a landscape of relentless, unforgiving change. What once felt like steady, incremental progress in CAT tools and neural machine translation (NMT) has collapsed under the massive weight of Generative AI (GenAI). The pace is dizzying, and keeping up with the developments feels like a chess game where the rules rewrite themselves mid-move. With innovation roaring ahead, there is quiet power in deliberately reconnecting with the roots of localisation. We want to make content accessible, foster connections and gently dissolve boundaries. It is easy to see why many perceive GenAI as a silver bullet, particularly those with limited exposure to localisation workflows, but clients need to understand that forcing users to engage with poorly localised products is like running an iOS app on Windows 95: clunky, glitchy and alienating. From backseat driver to VIP Translation professionals now stand at an unexpected juncture. Seasoned linguists uniquely understand what 'making content accessible' really means: the difference between mass availability and the craft of making words resonate. This is not a call to reject natural language processing (NLP) advancements outright, but for the localisation industry to loudly position itself as a business priority, moving from the human- in-the-loop to the human-at-the-helm model, and framing it as the obvious strategic choice through compelling, strategically aligned communication. If successful, perhaps this could even phase out monolithic post-editing machine translation workflows. In a turbulent environment with paper-thin margins, business leaders carry the weight of keeping their companies afloat. That kind of responsibility forces tough and often uncomfortable decisions. Concurrently, in the volatile political landscape, language is no longer a corporate asset but a survival tool, serving as a shield and weapon for organisations across industries. In a time when a single phrase can generate regulatory blowback and destroy reputations, words have never been more business-critical. As linguists, we deeply understand the dangers of linguistic erosion. Therefore we must first acknowledge the legitimate business pressures driving automation. Next, we must re-learn how to translate our value into terms that resonate with those who measure success in metrics and margins, not collocations and reading flow. A competitive edge Paradoxically, we excel at adapting content for diverse target audiences yet struggle to articulate our own value in boardroom terms. Focusing on word count or cost-per-word is a surefire way to stay off the radar of decision makers. They do not lose sleep over misplaced idioms – they care about market capture, customer lifetime value and regulatory survival. To shake up the narrative, freelancers must move beyond the 'vendor' label and be seen as strategic partners offering predictive cultural intelligence. Instead of accepting black box translation assignments, we need to pitch projects where clients share performance metrics, opening the door to continuous conversations about 'return on investment' (ROI). ROI is a key business metric that helps leaders evaluate the effectiveness of an initiative by comparing its benefits to its cost. Demonstrating strong ROI in localisation is crucial for securing executive buy-in and long-term investment. Just as businesses conduct audits of technical debt, companies of all sizes can benefit from auditing their linguistic debt to reveal the financial risks involved in not localising adequately. Technical debt refers to the long-term cost of choosing quick IT fixes over robust solutions. Similarly, linguistic debt accumulates when localisation is delayed or underfunded, causing inconsistent messaging and expensive corrections. While the risks are especially pronounced for global organisations or those frequently launching products across regions, smaller businesses expanding into a new market can also benefit from this process. For hesitant clients, we must proactively demonstrate the time saved by hyper-local transcreation, which enables them to avoid costly rebranding. A model communication to educate clients (which can be adapted to specific fields) might read: "We typically see 2-3 post-launch review cycles per market when rigid machine translation post-editing is used on creative assets. Each round takes X hours and involves content, brand and legal teams, often adding 1-2 weeks per region. You are not just paying for copy, you are buying faster market entry, less internal churn and stronger customer resonance." Pitching our worth

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