Less than ten years ago, if you were a multinational company, a small boutique firm or an independent consultant seeking translation assistance, you would likely seek services provided in the US or Europe. For years, the West has been the leading provider of language services, known for attention to detail, quality control, education and expertise.
In October 2014, however, news outlets published the long-anticipated headlines that China had surpassed the United States GDP in purchasing power parity (Bird, 2014; China surpasses US). To the majority of economists and citizens alike, this news came as no surprise, yet the incredible rate at which the Chinese economy had been able to maneuver such gains has created a ripple effect in industries around the globe.
Of course, our particular interest is the language services industry, which has experienced a significant disruption as ...