{"id":7293,"date":"2025-03-06T20:52:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T20:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ata-divisions.org\/GLD\/?p=7293"},"modified":"2025-03-06T20:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T20:54:59","slug":"ten-takeaways-from-the-ata-german-language-division-workshop-in-vienna-22-23-february-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ata-divisions.org\/GLD\/ten-takeaways-from-the-ata-german-language-division-workshop-in-vienna-22-23-february-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Takeaways from the ATA German Language Division Workshop in Vienna (22-23 February 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, I attended the ATA German Language Division Workshop held here in Vienna. I also delivered a new presentation on Sunday morning (der Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund!<\/em>). It was the first time that I had presented about the\u00a0Expert in the Lead (XITL)<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0approach to human-machine translation. Previously it has been the focus of LinkedIn posts and articles in the\u00a0ITI Bulletin<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Universitas Mitteilungsblatt<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

GenAI\/LLMs\/MTPE and the Profession vs the Industry<\/h2>\n
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  1. Don\u2019t be afraid to present on something new:<\/strong>\u00a0presenting on a new topic is exhilarating \u2013 and audience feedback is really helpful. Presenting to a small, intimate audience is great for presenting on a new topic. I\u2019d been tempted to go for really flashy slides, but opted for readability and high contrast. Day one reminded me to check my slides were clear: in black-and-white or with high contrast.<\/li>\n
  2. Even if we\u2019re not all overly keen on GenAI and\u00a0LLMs<\/a><\/span><\/span>, translators certainly see the value of tools:<\/strong>\u00a0there was a short presentation about AutoHotKey (AHK), which I knew of, but am not able to use in my working environment in the office. From the presentation, it was clear that I\u2019d have plenty of use cases for it. And my other neighbour showed me a lightweight USB-C powered second screen. Various laptop stands and travel tech was on show over the weekend.<\/li>\n
  3. The continuing prevalence of AI bias, how to handle it, as well as how to prompt accordingly:<\/strong>\u00a0Dagmar Gromann gave a two-part session focussing on typical AI bias. I think I was primed by the prompt about what Germans typically eat for dinner. I went for\u00a0Obazda<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0as a starter after it featured heavily in the prompt output! This session also addressed inclusive language \u2013 prompting me to re-listen to the\u00a0Yellow of the Egg podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Freelancing and in-house<\/h2>\n
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    1. In-house translators are far closer to freelancers than some may think:<\/strong>\u00a0while I don\u2019t contend with the \u201cbusiness\u201d side of translation professionals as an in-house translator, I face many similar issues. I also need to get my point across to decision-makers, and convince people of the value of human translation.<\/li>\n
    2. Freelancers are suffering from the industry shift from an emphasis on \u201ctop quality\u201d to \u201cgood enough\u201d:<\/strong>\u00a0I touched upon how the industry\u2019s \u201cflight from quality\u201d is affecting the profession (see the graphics below). Some may approach a day where they have to reconsider their ability to \u201cstay in the game\u201d up until retirement. This mirrored the sentiment in a recent \u201cStanding Up\u201d (a closed Facebook Group for translators) thread. I am grateful to Standing Up for connecting me with one of my neighbours for the weekend.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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