| Pages sur ce sujet: [1 2 3 4] > | Discount for repeated words? Auteur du fil: Paula Borges
|
|---|
Paula Borges 
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 19:28
Membre (2010)
anglais vers portugais
+ ...
I apologise if there are other threads about this, I could not find them.
I have been working with a client for years, and a few months ago they introduced discounts for repeated segments (100% Match). Since I use a CAT Tool and most of the texts I translate do not have repeated paragraphs/segments I did not mind.
A while ago they sent me a small assignment, with no repeated segments, which has been delivered already. As I do with many of my regular clients, by the end ... See more I apologise if there are other threads about this, I could not find them.
I have been working with a client for years, and a few months ago they introduced discounts for repeated segments (100% Match). Since I use a CAT Tool and most of the texts I translate do not have repeated paragraphs/segments I did not mind.
A while ago they sent me a small assignment, with no repeated segments, which has been delivered already. As I do with many of my regular clients, by the end of the month we check every job completed within that month and I issue one single invoice.
When I got the email, I noticed the value they were offering for this particular assignment was 3 times lower than what I was expecting. No doubt it was a mistake, I thought, and contacted the PM about it.
I got a reply saying this was because of their new policy: discounts for repeated words (such as 'it' "this' and 'that', etc.) He claims repeated words do not need to be retranslated. I couldn't think of a better reply than "If that is the case, why don't you use machine translation? That's exactly what they do. They work for free, I do not".
Mind you, they expect top quality and the smallest of typos is an excuse for a rude email.
I'm just wondering if this is the standard anywhere in the world? Does anybody accept this?
[Edited at 2011-02-14 16:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 20:28
français vers allemand
+ ...
| Simply put: ridiculous! | Feb 14, 2011 |
Paula Borges wrote:
(.../...)
I got a reply saying this was because of their new policy: discounts for repeated words (such as 'it' "this' and 'that', etc.) He claims repeated words do not need to be retranslated. I couldn't think of a better reply than "If that is the case, why don't you use machine translation? That's exactly what they do. They work for free, I do not".
Mind you, they expect top quality and the smallest of typos is an excuse for a rude email.
I'm just wondering if this is the standard anywhere in the world? Does anybody accept this?
Simply put: it is ridiculous! This agency must be at the verge of bankruptcy if they implement such policies.
| | | | LEXpert
États-Unis
Local time: 13:28
Membre (2008)
croate vers anglais
+ ...
Paula Borges wrote:
I got a reply saying this was because of their new policy: discounts for repeated words (such as 'it' "this' and 'that', etc.) He claims repeated words do not need to be retranslated.
[Edited at 2011-02-14 16:32 GMT]
What - he didn't mention discounts for repeats of "a", "an", and "the" as well? Hm... maybe I should strike that last part, lest some outsourcer take it as a serious suggestion.
Really, your client's proposal strikes me as somewhat satirical in the Swiftian sense, except that he is apparently ignorant of the irony.
Normally CAT discounts are based on words in repeated/stored or partially repeated/stored SEGMENTS, not on the incidence of any individual word throughout the document. If their request is formulated as you describe (and assuming it's not meant as a joke), they seem unaware of the principle.
If they have the time to make the calculations you have described, they can't really have any other work and won't be around very long.
[Edited at 2011-02-14 16:54 GMT]
| | | | | This makes no sense... | Feb 14, 2011 |
This is absolutely crazy! These words constitute only one segment or are they words which form part of a segment/sentence? I could only agree with that if it were one-word segments (like "Yes" and "No", for instance). You might as well translate only once the "that", "this", etc. and simply ignore these "bits" in all the other sentences
| | |
|
|
|
| This reminds me... | Feb 14, 2011 |
This weekend I got a reply from a job post that I applied for in January. The company informed me that they do not count as source words any numbers or words with numbers. Since I mostly do technical translation and there tend to be many numbers there, I told them that if they to not pay for numbers, I would not type them either and then they should check the result very carefully for any missing numbers.
The industry is going completely crazy.
| | | | Jan Willem van Dormolen (X)
Pays-Bas
Local time: 20:28
anglais vers néerlandais
+ ...
| Simple solution | Feb 14, 2011 |
Since they apparently want you to translate words by themselves, it would be a huge help for them if you put them in alphabetical order:
Simply do a Search&Replace, substituting all spaces for line breaks.
Then S&R all . , ; : ( ) by nothing (you don't want to distract their attention from the meaningful bits)
Then sort the remainder alphabetically.
[These are all simple two or three keystroke operations in any text editor]
Then use TM software, so repeated w... See more Since they apparently want you to translate words by themselves, it would be a huge help for them if you put them in alphabetical order:
Simply do a Search&Replace, substituting all spaces for line breaks.
Then S&R all . , ; : ( ) by nothing (you don't want to distract their attention from the meaningful bits)
Then sort the remainder alphabetically.
[These are all simple two or three keystroke operations in any text editor]
Then use TM software, so repeated words are autotranslated.
Deliver the file.
See what happens then.
[Bijgewerkt op 2011-02-14 17:13 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Turquie
Local time: 21:28
Membre (2007)
turc vers anglais
+ ...
Hell, no discount for repeated words. Repeated words come with the job. Period.
| | | | | A combination best avoided | Feb 14, 2011 |
You have to wonder where it will all end... discounts for repeated letters of the alphabet?!
You mention that the smallest of typos results in a rude email from this client. Rudeness and attempts to swindle people tend to go hand in hand, in my experience, which is why I would seek to drop that client as soon as possible if I were you.
| | |
|
|
|
Williamson
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 19:28
flamand vers anglais
+ ...
| Without repeated words | Feb 14, 2011 |
You could deliver the translation without the repeated words as they do not have to be translated
[Edited at 2011-02-14 18:08 GMT]
| | | | | Teacher's advice | Feb 14, 2011 |
I'm still a translator student, and we discussed this topic with our french teacher during classes (french teacher translation dutch ==> french)
Our teacher told us that if clients later on would make such weird requests, we should send them weird answers as well... like 'not translating those repeated words' as already mentioned above...
(Excuse me for my poor English, I still need to improve it, and I'm a new member )
| | | | | not count as source words any numbers or words with numbers | Feb 14, 2011 |
Oh my!
No way I woul agree to that especialy since Swedish uses commas for dicimal poins while Englis uses full stopps.
| | | | Jack Doughty
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 19:28
russe vers anglais
+ ...
In memoriam
Congratulations on your English, it's better than you seem to think it is. The only things I would change in your post would be to capitalize French and Dutch.
| | |
|
|
|
Michele Fauble
États-Unis
Local time: 11:28
Membre (2006)
norvégien vers anglais
+ ...
| Meaning vs. words | Feb 14, 2011 |
Paula Borges wrote:
I couldn't think of a better reply than "If that is the case, why don't you use machine translation?
We don't translate words. We translate meaning, i.e., we understand the meaning of a source language sentence and reformulate it in the target language.
| | | | | Too ridiculous | Feb 14, 2011 |
I remember reading an article long ago about a translator in the early 20th century whose client asked him not to translate certain words any more. The text he sent back was hilarious, I wish I could find it again.
Unfortunately it's not quite so funny when it happens to you. I'd say the days of this client are numbered. Either they'll go out of business or they'll screw themselves up so badly that working for them will be an absolute nightmare. I know it's hard to let long-t... See more I remember reading an article long ago about a translator in the early 20th century whose client asked him not to translate certain words any more. The text he sent back was hilarious, I wish I could find it again.
Unfortunately it's not quite so funny when it happens to you. I'd say the days of this client are numbered. Either they'll go out of business or they'll screw themselves up so badly that working for them will be an absolute nightmare. I know it's hard to let long-term clients go, but I strongly suggest you let this be the last job you ever do for them, period. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
États-Unis
Local time: 14:28
espagnol vers anglais
+ ...
http://translationcommentator.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-we-just-selling-words.html
"...I was only a teenager when I first heard one of the numerous Lewis Bertrand stories" about translation and translation economics. The one particular story that remained with me for a lifetime – as if it had been branded into my brain – went like this:... See more http://translationcommentator.blogspot.com/2010/10/are-we-just-selling-words.html
"...I was only a teenager when I first heard one of the numerous Lewis Bertrand stories" about translation and translation economics. The one particular story that remained with me for a lifetime – as if it had been branded into my brain – went like this:
He was asked by one of his firm’s more difficult and chronically-complaining clients why it was being charged for “translating” names and numbers and what was the rationale for this “seemingly unfair charge”. He was asked by this difficult and chronically-complaining client whether his firm could eliminate all the names and numbers from a translated document, thereby lowering the invoice by what could be a considerable sum.
Bertrand listened attentively to his client’s complaints and attempted to explain the nature and essence of a translation service. But the client was adamant. It did not need names and numbers “translated” and certainly did not want to pay for any such needless “translation”. Bertrand politely acceded to the client’s wishes. The next translation job to be done for this client would be absent all non-translation elements, i.e., names, numbers and other “noise of like purport and tenor”, and the invoice would duly reflect a sharp reduction in the client’s translation cost. The result was something like this:
“Dear Mr. [see original] :
“We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated [see original] and with regard to the delivery of [see original] tons of [see original] rolled steel scheduled for shipment on [see original] via the SS [see original], we would like to advise you as follows:
“Because of major dredging problems in the port of [see original], Captain [see original] of the Port Authority of [see original] issued Directive No. [see original] which prohibits vessels over [see original] tons displacement from entering port channels Nos. [see original] and [see original] until [see original] at the very earliest. Although we could arrange for transshipment in [see original] between the dates of [see original] and [see original] to a vessel of lesser displacement, the costs would increase, and the letter of credit No. [see original] issued by the [see original] Bank in the amount of US$[see original] would be insufficient.
“Should you have any further concerns, please feel free to contact the undersigned by telephone at [see original] or telex at [see original], or his deputy manager, Mr. [see original], whose telephone number is [see original] and whose telex number is [see original].
“Yours, etc.
“[see original]
By: [see original]”
The upshot of this was a very quick telephone call from the chronically-complaining client: “Mr. Bertrand, we got your point. Please provide us with a complete translation and charge us accordingly”. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages sur ce sujet: [1 2 3 4] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Discount for repeated words? | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
