Translators' Status in Platform-Based Translation : Finnish Fiverr Translators as a Case in Point

Abstract

This study investigates how work on digital labour platforms affects translators’ status, or occupational prestige, which has generally been believed to be quite low. In the last twenty years, empirical studies have also suggested this to be the case. The present study sets out with the hypothesis that platform translators may suffer from an even lower status than other translator groups and tests this with a research questionnaire aimed at Finnish translators working on the online freelancing platform Fiverr. The survey is largely based on earlier status studies that have been carried out in Finland and Denmark, but as the collected data consists of only 18 responses, comparisons with the much larger reference studies cannot be deemed statistically significant. Keeping this in mind, the results suggest that Finnish Fiverr translators’ perceptions of status are not any lower than those of other translator groups, but that they are equally low. This may be explained by low expectations: if the translators come to Fiverr fully expecting that the work is unglamorous, they may not be as disappointed with their position. The study does indicate that remuneration from translation work on Fiverr is exceedingly low, and that many of the translators involved in it do not have any formal education in languages or translation. For most of the respondents, translation on Fiverr is nothing more than a convenient side job that can earn them some “pocket money”.