Translation is an indispensable means of cross-cultural communication and the quality and effectiveness of the translation industry necessarily concern the status and development of a country in the international community. To ensure the sound development of the translation industry and the quality of translation products, issues of practitioners’ accreditation, business operation environment, and in-house quality control mechanisms of translation service providers are all important issues to be addressed.
This study collects and analyzes data through literature review and expert interviews and finds that most major countries have developed sorts of mechanisms to govern the translation industry development, particularly on the accreditation of translation practitioners and on the operation of translation service providers. On the other hand, the government and private sectors of Taiwan have not shown adequate concerns on the quality of translation service and development of the translation industry, despite the repeated vows to play a more active role internationally It is found that the problems include at least the following: unclear industrial classification, missing link with the international supply chain, chaotic market order, low entry level, lack of quality manpower and technology, lack of standard service procedures.
Fortunately, most interviewees agree that Taiwan, as a democratic society with well-educated people, still has profound potential to meet the demand for high quality translation. The major suggestions made are: to regulate the market order through consumer education, to establish an adequate set of standards governing the qualifications of translation service providers, to enhance the value of the translation competence accreditation, to urge the translation service providers to improve the efficiency and quality through the use of translation technology and abiding by strict service guidelines.
