EMT Competences: Translation Technologies

My translation work has been accompanied by technologies throughout my learning about translation. I have layed out bellow a short timeline of the different tools I used and what they taught me

2017-2019 – YouTube community subtitles contributions

During this time period, YouTube allowed any viewers to add crowdsourced subtitles to videos. This is where I started translating content: I would bring videos spoken in English into French using the provided YouTube online tool, or the other way around. I would also regularly comment and fix subtitles contributed by other people, sometimes correcting vandalism.

Unfortunately, the platform has since removed this ability, and seems to have removed all trace of my contributions.

2022-2025 – Vonlunteer work for Translators Without Borders

As it became clear I wanted to head towards a career in languages and translation, I decided to voluteer for the Translators Without Borders nonprofit. In my work there I used the Phrase CAT tool.

2022-2025 – Undergraduate programme in Applied Languages

For my further education, I decided to go for a B.A. in Applied Languages (English, Japanese). As part of this degree, I learned to use termbases, such as iate and Termium. Those tools elevated my translations by allowing me to find appropriate vocabulary in a fraction of the time, compared to seeking it online.

As part of this degree, I also went back to video subtitling, through a class on Audiovidual Translation. This time, I worked with the Aegisub tool.

2025-2026 – Postgraduate programme in Translation Studies

My postgraduate programme was the first time I had formal training on translaiton technologies. The main tool I learned was Phrase, but also learned the basics of EZTitles for doing subtitles.

Through this programme, I also reflected more on the ethical implications of certain tools, especially LLMs and ones powered by generative AI. Through various discussion and my own research, I found that LLMs and generative AI tools were mostly made by companies which did not bear values compatible with my ethics, especially in terms of climate protection and labour practices. As such, I have made a concious decision to limit my use of such tools, and especially those heavily branded as levreaging “generative AI”, to a minimum.