As discussed on https://community.sdl.com/product-groups/translationproductivity/f/90/p/15298/57329#57329 and many other places, many translators are running into Studio's artificial limit of 5 languages.

It is a licence limit, we're told. And we're told we can buy the Professional licence if we need more languages.

The Professional licence cost 1800 euros more, which is clearly not a realistic price for a freelancer. Obviously I'm not going to pay you 1800 euros, so that I can earn 200 euros once a year doing the odd translation from German that a regular outsourcer may send me.

I only translate into Danish and UK English (or perhaps the odd text into French, but only rarely), and I regularly translate from Danish, English and French. Because the three Scandinavian languages Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are all based on the same, once common, language, I occasionally translate from Norwegian or Swedish to Danish. The differences between Norwegian and Danish are no bigger than the differences between some variants in the large language groups like English or French, but simply because Norwegian and Danish have two different names, they count as two languages, whereas you get dozens of language variants for the price of one in English and French. The trouble arises when a single outsourcer very occasionally sends a German to Danish translation. That takes me into the banned language slot number 6.

This limit is therefore of no benefit to anyone, except your competitors such as for example MemoQ, which does not limit the number of languages. You won't get 1800 euros in such a case, as it would be a losing business for the freelance translator, so the 5-language limit simply works as a technical obstacle, forcing me to either waste time to 'repair' or reinstall Studio, or simply use another CAT tool. You don't gain a cent, and I don't gain anything. You only make other CAT tools without such a limit look more attractive. You are helping your competitors.

As a freelance translator, I don't suddenly get 96 hours a day to work just because I pay you 1800 euros more. Being able to do the odd 6th-language translation does not mean there is a great earning potential that you can dip into, as there is simply less time for the other language combinations.

I really don't see why SDL should restrict the number of languages I can work in. It's like selling a car (in the US, for example) and limiting it to 5 US states, unless the buyer is willing to pay 4 times as much to be allowed to drive all over the US. Studio is already amongst the most expensive CAT tools on the market, so you ought to focus on making it the most useful too, instead of telling us how to work.

Why are the called “default” languages, by the way? A default is something you can easily change when you need it. Not so with your “default” languages. The term is incorrect.

Already the Freelance version does not allow us to create packages, except as return packages. This restriction alone makes that licence unsuitable for an agency. Limiting the number of languages is therefore not necessary and only works as a nuisance factor for freelancers. There are other ways to ensure that agencies cannot use the Freelance version for professional agency work, without sabotaging freelancers' language choices.