Translation Service Market

Market Overview

The global translation service market size was valued at USD 40.42 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 48.36 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 2.02% during the forecast period (2023–2031). The business environment has recently been highly globalized and has spread beyond the nation's borders. Thus, it becomes mandatory to use translation services for effective communication as different people's distinct languages come together. It is anticipated that this will foster market growth. Moreover, several nations' governments also support and provide funds for the development of translation services, thereby boosting the global market expansion.

Translation services refer to professional services that facilitate the conversion of written and spoken content from one language to another. Professional translation services generally provide translations in numerous languages and across various industries. This includes a range of content, including documents, websites, software, films, and other forms of media. The primary goal of translation services is to communicate the original text's intended meaning precisely. The translated text should be unambiguous and readily understandable.

Despite language limitations, businesses, government agencies, people, and organizations commonly employ translation services to facilitate successful communication. This is especially crucial in a globalized environment, when organizations may have operations in numerous countries and require effective communication with varied consumers. Translation services are essential for establishing effective cross-cultural communication and promoting mutual comprehension among individuals who speak various languages.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Globalization of Businesses

The growing globalization and digitalization of businesses drive the translation service market. With the increasing globalization of businesses, firms must establish efficient communication channels in several languages to effectively engage with their customers, partners, and stakeholders in foreign markets. Utilizing a translation service enables individuals and organizations to surmount language obstacles, bolstering their brand image and reputation. As per a poll conducted by Common Sense Advisory, 75% of consumers prefer purchasing products in their native language, whereas 60% seldom or never make purchases from websites that are only available in English. Hence, using translation services is imperative for firms to allure and maintain customers in the international market.

Favorable Government Support

The governments of numerous countries promote translation services to facilitate communication among diverse linguistic and cultural communities. This holds specific significance in areas where there are numerous recognized languages. Moreover, considerable financial resources are being allocated by governments towards the advancement of translation services.

For instance, the Human Resources Development Programme of Bulgaria will develop a national digital platform and a mobile application for translation services into and from Bulgarian sign language in November 2023, according to a press release from the Labour and Social Policy Ministry, as reported by Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The framework will ensure that deaf and deaf-blind individuals can access administrative services equally. The budget for the initiative is 3 million BGN. Such government initiatives are anticipated to spur market expansion.

Market Restraint

Quality Concerns

An important limitation of the translation service sector is the inadequacy in the quality and precision of the translated product. Translation is a multifaceted and subtle procedure that demands linguistic proficiency and a deep understanding of culture and environment. Nevertheless, numerous translation service providers depend on automated or machine translation techniques, frequently falling short of capturing the original text's essence, tone, and manner.

Additionally, certain translation service providers may lack the knowledge and resources to effectively handle specialized and technical fields, such as law, medicine, or finance. Thus, the translated output may include mistakes, contradictions, or inaccuracies, which can impact the credibility and reliability of both the source and the destination. Lionbridge's study revealed that 40% of consumers experienced translation problems on websites, with 28% expressing reluctance to purchase websites exhibiting subpar translation quality. Such factors hinder the market expansion.

Market Opportunities

Integration of AI and ML

Translation services are becoming more accurate and efficient with the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence technology. These technologies can help human translators and enhance machine translation quality. Similarly, the development of novel and inventive translation services, including neural machine translation, voice-based translation, and real-time translation, can be facilitated by AI and ML.

The key players are integrating these technologies and launching new products with enhanced efficiency in the market. For instance, in August 2023, Meta launched SeamlessM4T, a pioneering AI translation model that combines multiple modes of communication and supports multiple languages, enabling seamless speech and text-based communication across language barriers. Similarly, in November 2023, Samsung Electronics declared that its upcoming handsets would be equipped with a real-time call translation service, AI Live Translate Call. Therefore, integrating AI and ML in translation services is predicted to generate opportunities for market growth.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global translation service market is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

Europe is known for its rich heritage and several different languages regional languages. People from all over the world travel to Europe, and to better communicate with tourists, translation services are widely used in the region. Moreover, the market is boosted by the surging efforts of government bodies and other authorities, which mandate translation services for legal documents to be published in different languages. In June 2023, Eric Mamer, the European Commission (EC) spokesperson, revealed the initiation of a trial initiative. This initiative involves the utilization of the EC's proprietary "eTranslation" machine translation engine for the EC's press corner. Addressing a group of journalists, Mamer presented the news as a "housekeeping announcement" and explained that the tool and program were designed to provide faster access to translations of press material in the language of their preference, starting from the moment of publication.

Similarly, in January 2021, Semantix, in collaboration with its partner ES Team, received the GROW/2020/OP/0002 call for tender from the EU Commission, one of Europe's most significant translation contracts. This tender aims to provide EU language translation facilities to support the EU's transition towards a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy. All these factors contribute to the market expansion in the European region.

The Asia-Pacific region is seeing the most rapid growth and displaying the highest level of dynamism in the market for translation services. There has been a surge in the initiatives to globalize this region's local and regional languages worldwide. For instance, The South Asian Languages and Civilizations Department (SALC) has just unveiled the South Asian Literature in Translation (SALT) project. These long-term imitative aims are to provide financial assistance and assistance to translate South Asian literature into English. The announcement was made through a press release on March 28th. SALT would facilitate translating written works from many South Asian nations, such as Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, the Maldives, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, into English for global publishing.

Furthermore, a group of Microsoft researchers from China and the US have created a translation system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately translate Chinese-language news articles into English, matching the quality of human translations. The researchers successfully attained human parity on a test set of news stories from industry and academic groups at a machine translation conference in 2017. Such initiatives are expected to propel the regional market expansion.

In North America, the market expansion can be attributed to the surging business globalization and digitization. The region is highly developed, with most of the world's largest firms headquartered. This necessitates the translation services in the North American region. Moreover, the consumers in this region also prefer local languages. For instance, according to Pepper Content, a survey conducted in the U.S. found that 75% of consumers would minimize their spending on products that do not provide help in their local language. Furthermore, the market in the region is propelled by the growing utilization of cutting-edge technologies, like AI and ML, for translation. These technologies augment the translation procedure's speed, effectiveness, and excellence.

Segmental Analysis

The global translation service market is segmented by service type, operation type, and application.

Based on service type, the global translation service market is bifurcated into written translation services, interpretation services, and other translation services. 

Written translation services encompass transforming written material from one language into another. This service is frequently utilized to render textual content comprehensible to individuals who speak different languages. This service is often utilized for document translation. Translation encompasses converting various documents, including articles, reports, legal contracts, academic papers, manuals, and others, from one language to another. Translation services are additionally employed for the purpose of subtitling and captioning videos, thereby enhancing their accessibility to individuals who speak other languages. Moreover, authors may utilize translation services to ensure their books are accessible to readers in many language markets.

Based on operation type, the global translation service market is segmented into technical translation and machine translation. 

Machine translation refers to applying rule-based or probabilistic machine learning methods, such as statistical and neural network-based systems, to translate text or speech from one language to another. This includes capturing both languages' contextual, conversational, and pragmatic subtleties. In addition, the key players are introducing advanced machine translation tools. For instance, in April 2022, AppTek, a prominent company specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Natural Language Processing / Understanding (NLP/U), Neural Machine Translation (NMT), and Text-to-Speech (TTS) technologies, has recently launched a cutting-edge neural machine translation system.

This system utilizes metadata as inputs to tailor the machine translation output, providing localization professionals with more precise and user-influenced translations. Moreover, the company enhanced its primary machine translation platform to accommodate various language and dialect combinations. Such factors boost the segment growth.

Based on application, the global translation service market is divided into legal, medical, financial and banking, tourism and travel, and other applications.

Medical translation pertains to converting medical documents from one language to another. Translation of medical reports, research papers, and other healthcare-related documents enables effective communication between healthcare professionals and patients of diverse linguistic backgrounds. Several hospitals, clinics, and healthcare services deploy translational services to enhance efficiency. For instance, in June 2023, Alberta Health Services (AHS) introduced novel translation services. The agency currently provides interpretation services in 23 Indigenous languages. This is accessible to all patients receiving medical treatment from AHS healthcare professionals. This is anticipated to augment the segment's expansion.

Recent Developments

• November 2023- Universal Translation Services declared the introduction of its revolutionary language translation services, which are specifically engineered to surpass linguistic obstacles and establish connections with an audience worldwide. Equipped with a universal translator and a staff of seasoned language specialists, Universal Translation Services is poised to bring about a paradigm shift in multilingual correspondence through cutting-edge technology.
• November 2023- Vidby, a Swiss multi-product IT company that develops AI-powered translation solutions and specializes in language technologies, introduced the Vidby Call Translator service, which enables business teams and individual users to communicate with Google Meet participants speaking a foreign language. Real-time video contact translation enables users to comprehend colleagues worldwide in more than 150 different languages.