‘Time is money’ and the value of translation

Abstract

Abstract This article uses a multi-faceted approach to discuss the relation between time, money and different perspectives that help define the value of professional translation. It challenges the narratives created by the translation industry on post-editing as a revision of pre-translated content, confronting them with the detailed description of the task in industry standards and with the reality of translators’ work. The article also addresses the different roles that time plays as an instrument of analysis and evaluation of translation, and as a fundamental factor in the definition of labour relations in the translation market. The main claim of the article is that translation is increasingly specialised high-value work, requiring translators that are able to make complex and efficient decisions, especially when they are expected to work under time restrictions, with the support of content that has been previously processed by machine translation.