Trainee Translators’ Perceptions of the Role of Pronunciation and Speech Technologies in the Technology-Driven Translation Profession

We live in a world of rapid technological advances which constantly affect the work of professional translators. Suitable training is therefore required for future translators to be able to compete on the translation market. With the rise of translation technologies, new ideas have been put forward on how to make translators faster and more efficient. Among the technologies that future translators may not be adequately familiar with are speech recognition tools; these enable translators to dictate their sight translation and have it typed out, allowing more time to focus on the content. However, as with all digital tools, the quality of input is important; a question thus arises on the role pronunciation assumes in such work. The present study aimed to establish how much awareness there is amongst the trainee translators of the possibilities afforded by speech technologies and to explore their perceptions of the role played by pronunciation.