The “conversation” with, and visibility from, the outside world are increasingly critical. And they are going through the challenge of successfully tackling a millionaire global audience with a large number of languages and cultures. Understanding their context provides a beneficial and necessary approach for the management and adaptation of content aimed at the whole world, especially in an increasingly interconnected and highly exporting society and economy.
There are more than 7,000 languages in the world, although only a few hundred are widely used. To reach 80% of the global market, texts must be translated into at least 14 languages. In addition, the global market turnover for translation services, which encompasses translation, localization and interpretation activities worldwide, reached $38 billion in 2015, according to the report on the global market of language services that produces Common Sense Advisory consultancy.
A recent Forbes magazine article highlighted the fact that artificial intelligence technology (AI) is booming:
BEYOND ADVERTISING AND THE GROWING ATTENTION OF THE MEDIA, THE NUMEROUS START-UPS AND INTERNET GIANTS THAT COMPETE TO ACQUIRE THEM, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN INVESTMENT AND ADOPTION BY COMPANIES. A NARRATIVE SCIENCE SURVEY REVEALED LAST YEAR THAT 38% OF COMPANIES ARE ALREADY USING AI, AND THIS IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO 62% BY 2018. FORRESTER RESEARCH PREDICTED AN INCREASE IN INVESTMENT IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF MORE THAN 300% IN 2017 COMPARED TO 2016. IDC ESTIMATED THAT THE AI MARKET WILL GROW FROM $8 BILLION IN 2016 TO MORE THAN $47 BILLION IN 2020
The 10 technologies involved in this growth are detailed in this article. Many of them have a direct relationship with linguistic technologies:
Natural language generation
Speech recognition
Virtual assistants
Machine learning platforms
Hardware optimized for AI
Decision management
Deep learning platforms
Biometrics
Automation of robotic processes
Text analysis and PLN
WHAT IT IS
Competing and cooperating is the essence of Clusterlingua’s project, a Catalan cluster of language industries, with an outlook on strategic change, innovation and internationalisation. Formed by institutions and companies specialised in multiculturalism and multilingualism (translation from different languages), Clusterlingua is a Catalonia-based non-profit organisation. Its location in an area that is bilingual, both from a historical point of view and in everyday life, has contributed to the natural development and expertise of these companies.
VISION
Cluster of companies and institutions in the language industries that seek to improve the strategic vision of the sector and boost the economic and social development of the setting, taking advantage of the added value of multilingualism. The goal of the cluster is to help face the challenges successfully and take advantage of the opportunities posed by globalization and digitalization by providing value-added services for the benefit of its associates and the sector.
MISSION
Clusterlingua’s mission is to build spaces for collaboration and dialogue among the various players in the language industry in Catalonia to promote their cooperation, innovation and competitiveness.
OBJECTIVE
Clusterlingua’s objective is to promote the industry of natural language processing, high value-added language processing and multilingualism in order to help address the challenges and opportunities of globalization for the economy, and to foster the Catalan language and its use. A cluster is an association of companies and organisations from the same sector that share a platform to foster growth, generate critical mass, face challenges together and project themselves internationally.
It provides a greater guarantee of success as a tool for improving competitiveness of companies and addresses the common strategic challenges and new trends in the international business of multilingualism. In a broad and interdisciplinary sense, it includes the promotion of innovation, competitiveness in different markets and the improvement of conditions throughout the entire sector in Catalonia.
Board of Directors
Ignasi Navarro
PresidentJuan Alberto Alonso
Vice presidentAndros Boix
SecretaryVocals
Pedro L. Díez
Lluís Padró
Tenesoya Pawlowsky
PARTNERS
Cluster partners develop diverse activities including R&D and technology, providing professional services that range from translation, subtitling, dubbing and indexing, to the internationalization and globalization of content through advanced technological projects and integration. Translating is fundamental for understanding one another in traditional sectors. Furthermore, in the digital age we can see huge growth in the demand for multilingual content for websites, media, mobile applications, video games, e-commerce, etc.
