The future of the translation industry has never been more interesting. Between an upsurge in digital content and the AI revolution, translation is at a crossroads. 

Yet, translation services continue to be vital to businesses striving to launch in new markets worldwide. In fact, studies suggest that Fortune 500 companies that invest in translation are 1.5 times more likely than their peers to report higher revenue.

Here we’ll go over emerging trends and technologies, so your company can get a sense of what English-Swedish translation will look like in the future. 

Key Trends for the Future of the Translation Industry

Let’s analyze some of the trends that are taking the translation industry by storm. Many of these tendencies directly impact the English-Swedish market.

1. A spike in ecommerce and digital content

The ecommerce boom may have begun during COVID, but it keeps steadily growing. Customers worldwide and in Sweden have grown more comfortable with the idea of online shopping. In 2022 alone, digital retail accounted for 15% of total retail in Sweden. 

With more involved ecommerce, companies require digital content to reach new customers. At the same time, they need robust multimedia customer support and online marketing (such as social media). Overall, increasingly more businesses are leaning on translation/transcreation services to meet their expanding ecommerce efforts. 

2. Focusing on transcreation over translation

Transcreation isn’t quite the same as translation. It takes a non-literal approach to reimagine a text in the target language. Often it’s ideal for creative or marketing content that needs that extra finesse. 

Due to the huge growth in digital content, businesses are opting for transcreation services over traditional translation services. Doing so gives linguists more creative liberty to recreate texts, resulting in more naturally-sounding content that resonates with audiences. For example, English-to-Swedish transcreation takes into account Swedes’ idioms, humor, cultural references and more.

3. An expanding market for multimedia translation 

(Source: HubSpot)

Videos, images, infographics, oh my! Marketers today are leveraging a wide variety of multimedia content to woo potential customers. In particular, video has become the #1 media format for businesses to achieve ROI. 

As a result, companies are hiring professional linguists to subtitle/dub videos, podcasts and other audio content. Many are even posting in multiple languages on their social media channels in order to reach a range of target customers. 

4. An uptick in remote interpretation 

Remote interpretation is another popular industry trend. Although COVID was a major factor in spurring these types of services, growth in remote interpretation is steadily rising at 14%.  

Specifically, Sweden is at the forefront of this trend because of its reputation for innovative digital fitness and telemedicine. For this reason, Swedish remote interpretation in the healthcare field is only increasing. 

Additionally, remote interpretation is on the rise in other areas as well, such as elearning, legal, government, tourism and more. 

5. Creating multilingual strategies

To successfully go global, businesses are crafting multilingual strategies that align brand voice across a variety of languages. Although each new market has its unique characteristics, it’s important to have a shared style. 

As such, companies are creating multilingual strategies that incorporate local SEO, culture and more while also maintaining their own brand personality. Just consider that Swedish isn’t the only language spoken in Sweden. Nearly 25% of the population aren’t Swedes, while Norwegians often visit Sweden to shop. Overall, this entails having a location- and language-based approach to target markets. 

6. Integrating analytics and reporting

In today’s digital age, the future of the translation industry is more data-driven than ever. Businesses aren’t just looking for linguists proficient in languages, but also in digital marketing. 

It’s become more common for linguists to create A/B copy and support teams as they analyze what type of content may have the greatest impact. As an English-Swedish translator, for example, I’m often asked about improving on-page results for companies, such as traffic, average time on page, conversion rates, etc.  

7. Leveraging quality assurance

Even the biggest name brands – such as Ikea – have made disastrous translation mistakes that have impacted their reputation. That’s why there’s no room for error as you build relationships with potential customers. In sum, QA practices have become an integral part of any top translation process. 

Quality assurance typically follows the TEP process, which involves Translating, Editing and Proofreading. This multi-step procedure is now the gold standard for businesses to ensure that their content doesn’t have any errors. 

8. A shift towards sustainability

Cultural values are always a vital element of translation. Take for instance that the Swedish market has unique traits, such as egalitarian mindsets, “lagom” life balance and tech-savviness. 

One of Sweden’s core values today is sustainability. Overall, Swedish customers are attuned to eco-friendliness in the way they shop and interact with brands. As a result, English-to-Swedish translators are seeing more sustainable messaging and materials from businesses to meet this demand. 

9. More complex language demands

As customers worldwide demand more personalized services, businesses are struggling to keep up. Many have complex language requirements, such as:

• Multilingual needs
• Specialized translation across industries
• Large volumes of content
• Tight turnaround times

Given these high-demand areas, it’s essential to hire a professional who can create a language strategy tailored to your business. 

10. An urgent need to balance AI vs. human translation

Finally, the advent of AI tools for translation has complicated the industry. Businesses are keen to get the cost-savings and rapid turnaround times of AI. 

Yet, these technologies churn out low-quality translations that may be filled with errors. At the same time, new regulations for AI may warrant caution regarding the IP and confidentiality of these tools. 

That’s why the future of the translation industry depends on balancing the expertise of human linguists with the efficiency of machine translation tools. Although it’s extremely unlikely that AI will take over the role of human professionals, it may become a part of translators’ toolkits, alongside CAT, term bases, etc. 

Navigate the Future of the Translation Industry

As you navigate the future of the translation industry, it’s worth having an English-Swedish professional by your side. No matter what tomorrow is like, a seasoned translator can support your efforts and guarantee high quality within the latest trends. 

Get in touch to learn more about my 20+ years of experience as a professional English-Swedish linguist. I craft results-driven texts that center the Swedish user and integrate with the latest translation trends and technologies. 

Check also:

• Harnessing the Potential of Swedish Transcreation Services
• How to Cater to Swedish Users in Your Next Digital Marketing Campaign
• Localization Best Practices for the Swedish Market
• When to Choose Machine Translation vs. a Professional English-Swedish Translator
• Swedish Culture 101: Holidays, Key Facts, Typical Traits & More