| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Discounts for matches in Sdlx. Thread poster: Williamson
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Uldis Liepkalns 
Latvia
Local time: 09:10
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
+ ...
"Honestly is the best policy, but it's important to
remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the
second best policy." -George Carlin-
I can only draw reader's attention to the "second best policy" part and add that it usually is a very short sighted one (taken that your aims are long range in the first place )
Uldis
Jabberwock wrote:
You don't really think that outsourcers charge their customers for every word, pay translators the discounted rates and keep the difference in their pockets? Those who do that would be quickly outpriced of the market...
[Edited at 2006-02-20 22:16]
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 08:10
German to English
+ ...
| Discounts for matches in Sdlx. | Feb 21, 2006 |
Uldis Liepkalns wrote:
But in Europe, for better or for worse, it already *has* become a standard.
Uldis,
If you mean that the use of CAT tools has become standard, then: yes and no. In some parts of the industry, its use is almost universal. In others, it is hardly used at all. Surveys that I have seen suggest that around half of translators in Europe and North America use CAT, or that around a third use it all the time, a third have it but rarely use it, and a third don't have CAT software at all.
If you mean the Trados sliding scale, I disagree. I don't think this has become a standard in any sense of the word, and even Trados now appears to have abandoned it.
Incidentally, I find it ironic that the ATA can be so worried about charges of price-fixing that it forbids its members even to raise the subject of rates at official meetings, yet at the same a company can (could) attempt to impose a uniform scale of discounts upon the entire industry. If this scale really were any form of "standard", it would be a matter for the US and European anti-trust authorities.
Marc
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:10
Flemish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Isn't Brussels in Europe. | Feb 21, 2006 |
In Brussels buildings have been torn down and erected as long as I can remember.
The construction specifications of these buildings have to be in the native(s) language of Brussels, French and Dutch. It is the law.
I never had a request to reduce rates for the use of a CAT tool by an architect. Most of them aren't even aware that these tools exist.
Trados introduced and enforced the scheme, middle-men adopted it and charge the full price and make a profit on the price differe... See more In Brussels buildings have been torn down and erected as long as I can remember.
The construction specifications of these buildings have to be in the native(s) language of Brussels, French and Dutch. It is the law.
I never had a request to reduce rates for the use of a CAT tool by an architect. Most of them aren't even aware that these tools exist.
Trados introduced and enforced the scheme, middle-men adopted it and charge the full price and make a profit on the price difference between end-customer and translator and on the reductions given for the use of Trados. Buy CAT-tools to earn less. CAT does not equal automated translation yet. Sit down, sip coffee and charge 100% is still an illusion.
I agree with Marc. Glad that these scheme gradually becomes obsolete. What would happen if you apply the same principle to conference interpreting?
[Edited at 2006-02-21 15:16] ▲ Collapse
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Marc P (X)
Local time: 08:10
German to English
+ ...
| Discounts for matches in Sdlx. | Feb 21, 2006 |
Williamson wrote:
I agree with Marc. Glad that these scheme gradually becomes obsolete. What would happen if you apply the same principle to conference interpreting?
That is not quite what I said.
I don't know whether discounts for matches as such are becoming more or less popular. I have seen recent evidence to suggest both, but not enough to draw a conclusion.
My point was that the "scheme" promoted by Trados is on the decline, if nothing else because Trados is no longer promoting it.
I agree with Heike that if she wants to use such a scale, she should do so, and I agree with you that if you don't want to, you shouldn't.
Fred gives discounts on occasions for 100% matches, and I have a similar policy. But some differentiation is needed here. Imagine a text in which half the segments are 100% matches with a previous, translated text. Those matches may all be within a self-contained chapter, i.e. a whole chapter has been adopted unchanged, or they may be interspersed throughout the whole text. That makes a huge difference to how easy the non-match segments can be translated.
I don't personally believe that it's possible to translate segments in isolation: the text has to be considered as a whole. If you simply skip 100% matches, possibly using an automatic function for the purpose, and translate the untranslated segments inbetween, you inevitably end up with a patchwork translation. There is also a difference between 100% matches that you translated yourself in a previous job, those that have been translated by someone else, and those that have been thoroughly botched by someone else. Some 100% matches are more equal than others.
Another point is that fuzzy matches are easier to translate, so they should be discounted. All things being equal, the law of averages states that they must easier to translate. But all things are not equal. Do the people who discount for a fuzzy match also discount when they find a similar sentence on the Internet? Or, more to the point, do they add a hefty surcharge when a segment contains one word or phrase that requires an hour of research before it can be translated?
Translation is a complicated business and can't be weighed in pounds and ounces. But those who want to do so, don't let me stop you.
Marc
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