Ethics in the translation industry

This chapter focuses on ethical concerns experienced by different stakeholders in the translation industry at various levels in translation production. These stakeholders’ responsibilities and priorities may differ depending on many factors and are strongly influenced by globalisation, a process enabled by translation and one that has transformed the increasingly distributed production networks that carry out translation work. Relationships within these production networks are highly transactional and subject to the competing imperatives of time, cost, and quality. The nature of these networks and interrelationships are also highly dynamic in response to changing technologies employed at different stages of the translation process. Our review of the historical trajectory of the translation industry highlights how perceptions of social responsibility have evolved over time. The sections following look at disparities of power, ownership of resources, training, the importance of trust, and consider environmental and employment sustainability. The final section emphasises emerging ethical issues, such as automation, workplace monitoring, and the challenge of crowdsourcing. The chapter aims to show that the translation industry, while sharing many of the ethical issues of other sectors, needs to be sustained by the development of an ethical reflection specific to the multifaceted reality of this rapidly-changing and global sector.