Job satisfaction, status, working conditions, freelance work, precarious
work, public service, professional translators
This article reports results of a survey of government-accredited Irish
language translators. The survey addresses a particular cohort of minority language
translators in a particular linguistic context, where institutional demand for translation
is growing. The survey may also be a useful basis for further work on translator job
satisfaction. Participants in this survey were passionate about translation and about
the Irish language, but conditions of employment clearly affected their concerns and
perspectives regarding their profession. All translators report a strong sense of pride
in their work, but freelance participants’ perceptions of purpose and fairness in work,
payment, colleagues, and job security compare poorly to those of their full-time
public service colleagues. Freelancers report that they struggle to work together in the
face of falling rates, with some accepting low-paying jobs that are against their own
and their colleagues’ best interests. Many of the freelance participants feel threatened
by technology, the potential for machine translation to replace human translators, and
their powerlessness regarding translations being repurposed for machine translation
training. Responses show a fear of falling translation quality, a lack of translation
talent, and the lack of an audience for translation. Participants tend to be negative
about domestic Irish language policy but see policy at the EU-level to be beneficial,
with forthcoming changes presenting an opportunity for skilled translators.