Translation memory discounts: yes, no, maybe?
The issue of translation memory discounts, whereby a translator charges a lower rate for words that appear as repetitions or fuzzy matches in a translation environment/CAT/TM tool, is a contentious one. On the one hand, a client might reasonably argue that changing “press the green button” to “press the red button” doesn’t involve translating four words, but rather one word. On the other hand, a translator might reasonably argue that reading that sentence, finding the difference and changing it takes about as much time or maybe even longer than just typing the translation from scratch.
Translators and clients have a few options to choose from: no TM discount at all; a TM discount only for high level matches such as 100% matches and repetitions; or a graduated pricing structure where fuzzy matches down to a certain percentage, say 75% or even 50%, are priced at a certain percentage of the translator’s per word rate.
At a past ATA conference, I heard a translator argue that there are two translation markets out there: the TM market and the non-TM market, and you have to decide which one you’re going to compete in. While I’m not sure that the choice is as binary as that, I think there’s some truth to the idea. Many legal and financial translators I know are rarely if ever asked to give discounts for repetitions, and use a TM tool mostly for their own consistency and productivity. On the other hand, many technical translators I know would be out of business if they didn’t use TM and give discounts for repetitions.
For some projects, such as product manuals that are regularly updated, it seems to me to border on ridiculous not to give TM discounts since the majority of the text will be recycled. However, I understand translators’ frustrations with clients who nickel and dime over every repeated word simply out of a desire to pay as little as possible for the translation. Your thoughts?
No sane translator should ever even consider giving discounts for fuzzy matches under 75%, at least for Trados.
Please see:
When are two names 67% the same?
Shouldn’t Trados programmers improve their matching algorithms?
Proof positive that Trados programmers should change job
The link for “When are two names 67% the same?” is this
I second Riccardo’s opinion. Working with German, not even 100 percent matches are always 100 percent the same. The translation can differ with the referenced item. Possible solutions: a proofing or revision charge for all segments or, perhaps not practical, charging by time and not by the word.
Hi Michael. thanks for your comment. Now that I read it, I remember that I once saw someone whose rate sheet said (probably more diplomatically than this…), “100% matches and repetitions are free, only if you don’t want me to read them,” because of exactly what you mentioned.
As a practical matter, I’ve often found that fuzzy matches in German take longer to translate than unmatched content. Thus I usually consider the source material very carefully when considering potential discounts.
Kevin, thanks for your comment! Excellent point; while fuzzy matching undoubtedly helps with quality, speed is another issue, and when you’re getting paid by the word…
We usually offer discounts only for 100% matches and repetitions. Usually 50% of the standard rate. I wonder how others do.
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