Brexit refers to the possibility of Britain withdrawing from the European Union (EU). The country has held a vote on its EU membership and decided it’s best to split parts.
With the Brexit, the translation industry, among other industries, feels the doubt of their future due to the exit of Britain. They do have reasons to bother because the bulk of the translation possibilities come from global trade.
How can the translation industry get ready for Brexit? Many industry experts have their representation and perspective on what should be done to buffer the result of possible income losses in the coming years. Some remain positive that professional translation services in London will remain the same.
Others predict that the nation will be searching other trade options with non-EU member nations, which will also mean more business for the translation industry.
While it is difficult to predict just what impact Brexit will have on the translation industry, many remain positive, giving a realistic analysis of the current and future scenarios.
- The possible dominance of non-English Language: if we think that, after the UK’s withdraw, English will not be the official language of the Union, then we can assume for other languages to take a more notable role. It is possible that French might substitute English as a dominating language since it is increasingly utilized for administrative and business communication. One sign of this change could be the fact that France considers requiring from Britons in France to have minimum experience in French. Hence, it is highly possible for English to become a “language amongst equals,” and translators need to be ready for this change by exercising their abilities in other languages and learning about their use in business and economic communication.
- An increase in Translation Work: Language Service Providers is possible to experience a notable roll in translation work, created by the influx of thousands of documents in various languages, including laws, treaties, agreements. With Britain needing to set new rules for cooperation and trade with foreign partners, the professional translation services in London will be essential for the successful performance of the projects. With Brexit being such a controversial topic, it is necessary for every phase of the communication between sides to be taken sincerely and interpreted correctly.
- Exchange rate risks: with the decreasing rate of the pound, many experts have shown their interest in the possible devaluation of translation services, particularly within global markets such as the US one. This means that translation companies, particularly those based in the UK, need to accurately manage their values when communicating with international suppliers who do not require in GBP. A way to control the exchange rate risk is for translation providers to interact with businesses looking to grow into foreign supermarkets and paying in USD or EUR, thus avoiding the competitive GBP rate.
- Possible isolationism: However, if nationalism continues to grow in popularity, this could result in a significant decrease in work opportunities for LSPs, who specialize in providing localizing and globalizing services. That is not to say, though, that translators and interpreters will go out of the industry, but the landscape to which they’ve developed customary to will change significantly.
- Changes in the recruitment process: the free flow of labor remains one of the significant question points around Brexit. Up until now, UK-based businesses have been able to hire native speakers who are not significantly UK citizens; though, this might change with the country’s exit from the European Union. Depending on the adjusted terms for work and visa permits, the application of working in the UK might be significantly decreased and, with that, businesses are facing losing valuable workforce. For translators coming from nations in the EU, working in the UK could become limited of an appealing choice due to Brexit and the predicted fall in the market for English translators. Furthermore, UK translators who are based in international countries might find themselves being sent home since they’d no longer support the same benefits for working and residing in countries within the Union.
Overall, what is noticed is that businesses and the economy in the UK would be most touched when the country leaves the EU. Although it would put a cut on translation from other languages into English, as the language might miss dominance in the EU, there is nothing definite at the moment. Though, it could be assumed that the demand for translation of English texts into other languages used in the EU would not be influenced that much by Brexit.
Translation of other languages into English would be the most influenced by the exit of the UK. This is a significant loss because it makes the most significant part of translation projects. Nearly 300 million euros is spent by the EU on translation yearly, which is why several translation companies in the UK are worried.
