Text-generative Large Language Models in Specialized Translation
Barbara Heinisch · 2025
In the discourse surrounding the use of large language models for translation, we might gain the impression that language barriers are obsolete. There is a common perception that this especially applies to specialized translators, who often work with text types that have a high degree of standardization and consistency. However, specialized translators actually work with diverse texts, including multimodal ones, with different degrees of specialization and a wide range of languages for specific purposes. This diversity (and the prompt) impacts the output of text-generative large language models in translation tasks. Large language models are versatile tools that specialized translators can leverage throughout the translation process and for career development. On the text level, translators can use these tools to overcome creativity blocks or draw inspiration. Large language models may assist language professionals in adhering to or deviating from text-type conventions to achieve the intended translation purpose. Translators may also use large language models for quality assessment, summarizing or simplifying source texts, terminology extraction, finding suggestions for new terms, or even for terminological database creation. Additionally, translators can use large language models for marketing purposes or personal development. Thus, these tools are useful for specialized translators within and beyond translation.