| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5] > | Why do so many job posts require TRADOS so specifically? Thread poster: Sally McCorry
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Why do so many job posts require TRADOS so specifically?
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2009-01-19 14:00 GMT]
| | | | Peter Manda (X)
Local time: 20:19
German to English
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Because it is an amazingly well-functioning program that really helps focus on the key aspect of what makes CAT special - namely consistency; and it doesn't surreptitiously sell your translations or your concordance to google translate.
It is also easy to manage Trados-based translations in the project management tools and it allows freelancers who move to higher-level business platforms (from freelancer to agency) to expand with the software with only relatively little investment.
| | | | | In some cases no good reason, but it's still useful | Jan 17, 2009 |
There are specific instances where it is very important to have Trados and nothing else. These usually involve server-based TM work.
There are other cases where, if one chooses not to do the actual translation work using Trados, it is still important to use specific Trados tools as part of one's workflow to ensure 100% compatibility, such as Workbench for presegmenting or presegmenting files (possibly using an existing Trados TM) or MultiTerm for viewing a complex terminology (thoug... See more There are specific instances where it is very important to have Trados and nothing else. These usually involve server-based TM work.
There are other cases where, if one chooses not to do the actual translation work using Trados, it is still important to use specific Trados tools as part of one's workflow to ensure 100% compatibility, such as Workbench for presegmenting or presegmenting files (possibly using an existing Trados TM) or MultiTerm for viewing a complex terminology (though these can also be exported to an RTF file with meta information or other useful formats). I see these scenarios rather often, and this is the way I usually work; while one can use an unlicensed ("demo") version of Trados for a lot of this work, if there are legacy TMs involved, you'd better have a license or have the preparation work done by someone who has one.
Then there are other ways involving tools and data exchange methods that have varying degrees of compatibility. In many cases, these alternatives work very well if one has a client who wants TM material for to use with a Trados installation, but there is a lot of potential for misunderstanding and problems if one doesn't understand the requirements clearly and know which options apply best to a specific scenario. I am very careful about going this route and usually rely on presegmentation workflows using a licensed copy of Trados.
I seldom do my actual translation work in Trados, because it is an inefficient environment for most jobs when compared with an alternative like MemoQ or Déjà Vu X (and probably others with which I am less familiar). However, there are particular file types where I consider Trados to be an indispensible pre-processing tool for working well in other translation environments. Try importing a graphics-laden MS Word file into DVX versus importing a presegmented TTX (made in Trados) of the same file, and you'll quickly understand what I mean. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Andy Lemminger 
Canada
Local time: 18:19
Member (2002)
English to German
| To squeeze rates | Jan 18, 2009 |
Many agencies want you to use Trados so they can build up a TM.
Then later on they can ask you to give them discounts based on the Trados matches...
I think that's the main reason.
Other reasons are:
- You can translate faster if you have a lot of matches
- More consistent translation if you can look up terms
Regards
And... See more Many agencies want you to use Trados so they can build up a TM.
Then later on they can ask you to give them discounts based on the Trados matches...
I think that's the main reason.
Other reasons are:
- You can translate faster if you have a lot of matches
- More consistent translation if you can look up terms
Regards
Andy
www.interlations.com ▲ Collapse
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| Just out of curiosity | Jan 18, 2009 |
Peter Manda wrote:
and it doesn't surreptitiously sell your translations or your concordance to google translate.
Hi Peter,
Just out of curiosity. Which CAT tool does that?
Regards
Piotr
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
Germany
Local time: 02:19
English to German
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| > 70% market share and de facto standard | Jan 18, 2009 |
...What proved decisive for TRADOS was its successful early 1990s tenders to the European Commission and then, in 1997, Microsoft's decision to not only use TRADOS for its localization needs but to acquire a 20% stake in TRADOS as well...
It's a long story:
http://www.rusloc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=571
Have a good read!
Aniello
| | | | Sally McCorry
Italy
Local time: 02:19
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for all the information. I asked really because I use AppleTrans because I have a Mac, which I find a really simple to use and elegant tool. I think the TMs are regular TMX format, but I don't know about other compatibility problems...
I tried Wordfast (demo) for a while, to try to be more pc compatible, not only did it really not like my mac (probably my fault and something a bit more manual reading could have resolved) but I also really disliked the layout in comparison to AppleT... See more Thanks for all the information. I asked really because I use AppleTrans because I have a Mac, which I find a really simple to use and elegant tool. I think the TMs are regular TMX format, but I don't know about other compatibility problems...
I tried Wordfast (demo) for a while, to try to be more pc compatible, not only did it really not like my mac (probably my fault and something a bit more manual reading could have resolved) but I also really disliked the layout in comparison to AppleTrans...
Any thoughts? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Alternative for the Mac | Jan 18, 2009 |
Sally McCorry wrote:
Thanks for all the information. I asked really because I use AppleTrans because I have a Mac,
There is a CAT tool which will run very well on a Mac. It is Swordfish and it is Trados-compatible in a number of ways: it can handle Trados TTX files, even the glued ones, you can exchange Translation Memories through the TMX format, and you can improve leverage between the tools if you use Trados segmentation rules in Swordfish. These rules do not ship with Swordfish but you can export them using SDLX to the SRX format and upgrade them to SRX 2.0 using the SRX Editor that ships with Swordfish.
Swordfish is by no means perfect, but its author can fix most bugs in under 24 hours, something that SDL support simply does not do.
Regards,
Piotr
[Edited at 2009-01-18 13:43 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 02:19
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| How many is many? | Jan 18, 2009 |
Sally McCorry wrote:
Why do so many job posts require TRADOS so specifically?
Out of the 29 most recent IT-EN jobs posted on ProZ.com, only 8 mention Trados specifically, and 5 of those 8 jobs also permit the use of Wordfast.
| | | | Eric Hahn (X)
France
Local time: 02:19
French to German
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| Monopoly situation | Jan 18, 2009 |
Aniello Scognamiglio wrote: ...What proved decisive for TRADOS was its successful early 1990s tenders to the European Commission and then, in 1997, Microsoft's decision to not only use TRADOS for its localization needs but to acquire a 20% stake in TRADOS as well... It's a long story: http://www.rusloc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=571 Have a good read! Aniello
Very interesting, indeed !
[Edited at 2009-01-18 14:15 GMT]
| | | | Eric Hahn (X)
France
Local time: 02:19
French to German
+ ...
Sally McCorry wrote:
Thanks for all the information. I asked really because I use AppleTrans because I have a Mac, which I find a really simple to use and elegant tool. I think the TMs are regular TMX format, but I don't know about other compatibility problems...
I tried Wordfast (demo) for a while, to try to be more pc compatible, not only did it really not like my mac (probably my fault and something a bit more manual reading could have resolved) but I also really disliked the layout in comparison to AppleTrans...
Any thoughts?
As for me, I like Wordfast, but it's only for internal use because I sell translations, no TMs.
Another possibility is to share TMs for large scale projects, but then, it should be a two-way sharing !
Anyway, average direct clients won't ask you for the CAT tool you use, it's just some agencies.
[Edited at 2009-01-18 15:21 GMT]
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Eric Hahn wrote:
As for me, I like Wordfast, but it's just for internal use because I sell translations, not TMs.
Anyway, direct clients won't ask you for the CAT tool you use, it's just the agencies.
The crème-de-la-crème translation agencies even dislike my use of WordFast, fearing that I might be carried away by the Law of the Least Effort and start translating text instead of creatively rendering content and ideas in another language. I use WF mostly for organization issues, such as to preserve formatting, and to avoid skipping any part of the text. They say it's OK as long as I leave no traces of it.
Direct clients simply don't care what I use. They only want a high quality job at an affordable cost.
Many agencies just want to cut costs. They'd immediately waive their obdurate Trados demand if they could get any consistent quality from amateur translators at rock-bottom rates. It's somewhat as if demanding a taxicab with automatic transmission, because a less-skilled - hence cheaper - driver might be unable to offer a smooth ride with a manual gearshift. The driver will select a vehicle with auto transmission to spare him/her from some effort in stepping on the clutch and shifting gears all the time. But that's the driver's choice, like a CAT tool is the translator's choice, to save effort (and time).
There are, of course, team translations where the CAT tool is important to ensure inter-translators consistency. However intra-translator consistency is a personal translator issue, it's not the agency's business to decide how s/he'll accomplish it.
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eesegura
Local time: 19:19
Spanish to English
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| Does that really happen? | Jan 18, 2009 |
Piotr Bienkowski wrote: Peter Manda wrote:
and it doesn't surreptitiously sell your translations or your concordance to google translate. Hi Peter, Just out of curiosity. Which CAT tool does that? Regards Piotr
I'm curious about that too!
Liz
| | | | Eric Hahn (X)
France
Local time: 02:19
French to German
+ ...
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
But that's the driver's choice, like a CAT tool is the translator's choice, to save effort (and time).
I agree completely.
It seems to me that there are a lot of misunderstandings about the usefulness of a CAT tool from the freelancer's point of view :
Why should one deliver a TM for a translation volume of merely 15 pages ?
Why should one own several CAT tools which all have the same functionality ?
Regards,
Eric
| | | | | The worst of it | Jan 18, 2009 |
Eric Hahn wrote:
It seems to me that there are a lot of misunderstandings about the usefulness of a CAT tool from the freelancer's point of view :
Why should one deliver a TM for a translation volume of merely 15 pages ?
Why should one own several CAT tools which all have the same functionality ?
Why would an outsourcer demand sine qua non specifically Trados and no other to translate 3 pages of scanned hand&typewritten birth/marriage certificates?
Why would an outsourcer equally demand Trados for translating a 30-minute video or audio recording, the script being unavailable?
This reminds me of an old joke, about when the Pope became very ill. Several physicians came from all over the world, examined him, and all were perplexed, but one of them found a solution: "It's a very rare disease, named Klausenschruppenhaus - Plumworthingstoneby. His Holiness will have to take physically devastating medication for five years, if he survives it, before he starts getting better. However one sexual intercourse will have him definitely healed by the next day, his natural hormones and enzymes will do all the work."
After lengthy discussion, it was decided that one breach of His Holiness vows of celibacy would be adequate, if absolute secrecy were ensured. For the latter requirement, one voice suggested:
"The woman must be blind, so she won't see who it is!
Another one said:
She must also be mute, so if she suspects it, she won't be able to tell anyone!
And then the Pope, in an angry tone, added:
And she must have big breasts too!
Everybody in the room was stunned. Finally, someone asked why, to which the Pope nonchalantly answered:
Perché mi piace! (= Because I like it.)
So the answer to "Why Trados?" for cases such as those described above may be given in Italian:
Perché mi piace!
[Edited at 2009-01-18 18:01 GMT]
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