If you ask people on the street what #localization is, most won’t know. They won’t recognize the new terms and acronyms either. It took 30 years for 'localization' to gain traction, at least in the software and digital content sectors - and who knows how long it will take for language experience, language operations or language technology integrators to mean anything to the public.

Honestly, I don’t have a stake in this. My research field is still called #translationstudies, has been around for 50 years and is fairly transparent as a term. And #translator is a profession with thousands of years of history, deeply embedded in public consciousness. A film called "The Translator" will probably feature a human, not Google Translate or ChatGPT (Right? Right?!)

Anyways, I just wanted to muse upon

- the gap between industry jargon and public awareness

- the contrast between evolving terminology and historical continuity

- the lasting recognition of the term translator.

PS: So... you'll ask "Stavroula, what are you doing in things like Women in Localization and the AI Localization Think Tank?'

Because I see localization as part of translation (not the other way round) in the wide sense we use it in TS.

Also, where I come from and what I believe in doesn't mean I can't engage in discussions that challenge my perspective or explore how the field is evolving. Especially when it involves collaborating with people I admire.