Translating in Turbulent Times

Abstract

The language service industry was deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The turbulent times faced because of COVID-19 changed the way LSPs made decisions and delivered services to their customers. LSPs had to react by adapting themselves to the unexpected new market game. This study scrutinizes what the COVID-19 meant for the LSPs based in Colombia and Spain, and how they were tackled from those two different markets. Colombia, a developing country with an industry almost exclusively made up of independent freelance translators and interpreters, faced the crisis both distressingly and smartly. Spain, a developed country with a stronger language industry, coped with the COVID-19-induced economic calamity in a quite analogous fashion. In both cases, uncertainty led LSPs to make decisions, clarify their visions, and make a clear commitment to becoming sustainable in the global market. An in-depth analysis of how those two industries behaved might be useful to draw important conclusions on how a crisis can become an opportunity if properly managed.