In a world where the world's economies are moving towards a single integrated system connected by information networks, we experience few purely technical problems with communications, but there are other factors to be considered - not least of which is the language in which all those wired people are going to communicate? How will the translation industry respond to the linguistic challenge presented by this final barrier to the free transfer of information and ideas across all cultures and languages? And what new opportunities lie ahead for the industry? In a word, the future is "teletranslation", a term coined by O'Hagan which aptly describes the new industry emanating from the union of telecommunications and language services.

Increasingly traditional language service providers will find it difficult to respond effectively to the demands made of them as a result of the growing internationalisation of business. Many have only modest production capacity at a time when deadlines are getting tighter. The availability of high speed communication channels will impose severe demands, as will the growing number of language pairs and new specialised fields in science and technology.

But the very nature of the translation services industry is changing - and doing so in a way which will impact dramatically on the small agency. With more and more people communicating by fax, electronic mail, bulletin boards and other electronic means, it was predictable that language services would be required on line as well. It follows from this that translation and interpreting services need to be available on demand. A close look at on-line services reveals many new business opportunities such as product and service information, on-line manuals and an on- line quotation and ordering service. It will soon be possible to complete an on-line translation order form, send it electronically and receive the translation back by the same medium.

The translation services industry can also improve internal information flow by the use of telecommunication techniques enabling employees around the world to use centralised databases for administration, job tracking and the management of resources including the routing of automatic translation requests to the appropriate translator or location and ensuring that industry-specific dictionaries and specialised glossaries are available on line when they are needed.

So while the translation services industry will of necessity keep abreast with the new technology, it will also enthusiastically seize every opportunity to expand its services into new and exciting areas, while at the same time developing its internal communication and management structure. In this way a future teletranslation service will be totally integrated into a highly information oriented society driven by telecommunications. By harnessing human expertise and machine power in a timely and cost-effective manner, the tele- translation industry will overcome the one remaining barrier to effective global communications.

For more information about ALPNET's teletranslation plans contact Zeger Karssen (on-line language support product manager) in Paris on Tel:+33 1 44 88 26 26.