Why do clients speak of "repeat" words?

[corati]

Well, I've seen in several job posts that clients mention "repeat words" or "repetition", well, frankly, I don't care if there are repeat words in a translation or not! I'm not translating a list of words.

I once had one client who removed the "repeat words" from the word count and I was really furious. Because if I had to spend 5 minutes on 1 single word, she did not pay me more, so there's a kind of balance between repeat words and difficult words. Well, anyway, I stopped working for her on the spot, though I did not tell her why.

Well, what do you translators think about this "repeat words" thing?

[blancanieve]

Hi Corinne, 

was this client a translation agency? Some of them demand discounts for repetitions, but this does not refer to single words, but to whole sentences. But this only makes sense if you own a CAT tool because by using such tools you can take advantage of repeat sentences/phrases. But even then I would be very careful with that kind of discounts, because once you give them, you won't be able to get out of it. I own a CAT tool myself but I don't give discounts for repetitions - only if their amount compared to the size of the whole text is substantial.

[petra_r]

CAT tools calculate the repetition of strings, be that string a single word or a phrase or a sentence, because the CAT tool auto-inserts matches from the translation memory.

With some jobs that can mean that after a while more than half is already "done" 

[corati]

No, it was not a translation agency, it was an e-commerce website.

Well I don't have a CAT tool, so I don't know how it works!

[petra_r]

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@Corinne L wrote:

Well I don't have a CAT tool, so I don't know how it works!

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 I didn't have one either until not so long ago when one of my favourite clients gave me a licence as a Thank You 🙂

Now I wonder why I didn't get one years ago. The PAIN I could have saved myself ...

[corati]

Well, Petra, I think I should get one and I've been thinking about it for a while. Last year I uploaded Trados trial version but I didn't understand how it worked, I kept trying but I soon got bored. I'm not tech-savvy and if it's too complicated I tend to give up. Maybe I should give it another try!

[versailles]

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@Petra R wrote:

Now I wonder why I didn't get one years ago. The PAIN I could have saved myself ...

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Many people on Upwork translate without CAT. Those are expensive and not user friendly at all, but once you get used to work with one you can't go back. This is especially true with technical translations or legal translations where consistency is important and/or repetitions are numerous.

And I don't even mention not caring about Word files with crazy layouts or sh***y Excel files. But it's good that people don't use CAT tools, it gives me a competitive edge, he he he 🙂

[blancanieve]

I agree a 100%. Yes, they are expensive, but you may get special offers from time to time. I especially appreciate the possibility of recreating / maintaining the layout of most PDF files. And once you have a decent translation memory, it spees up the process considerably.

[petra_r]

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@Nadine D wrote:

. I especially appreciate the possibility of recreating / maintaining the layout of most PDF files.

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 YES YES YES YES YES a thousand times YES! My heart no longer sinks when I see a PDF or Powerpoint!

I also tried Trados once and couldn't really wrap my head around it, now using Wordfast (Pro3) and it is both easy to learn the basics (you can essentially be up and running and translating within minutes, and figure out the more advanced stuff as you go along) and intuitive.

I worked out that even had I paid for it, it would have paid for itself within a month easily, so my advice would be to get a trial version of your chosen tool and see if it will actually generate what it costs to buy during the trial period as income.....

[colettelewis]

I completely agree with Petra.

Without the tools, it does depend on the type of translation and how often you work for the client. For example, I work for a print bonsai magazine,  so I automatically exclude the word "bonsai" from my calculations along with the names of people, events, trees, or techniques that I am now fully acquainted with. However, I do not exclude the 'le' 'la' or 'et' and similar as repeated words as these could have a different meaning according to context.

[c_vadrot]

Hello,

It is not that simple! Translating systems are designed by sofware engineers. Have you seen what machine translations are like? They are worth nothing except for Googel Translate in very, very limited technical texts.

If a word has been translated by a specific word in the target language, does it mean that it will necessarily have the same meaning two sentences later, besides the fact that repetitions are a sign of carelessness? Systems like Trados ought to be used in a very limted number od contexts.

I personally object to using translating systems, and anyway if a traslation agency offers you to use a translating tool it means that they are projects managers with no knowledge whatsover in translating and they will offer you a maximum of $0.04/word, which is nothing!

Thank you.

Regards,

Christophe 

[blancanieve]

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@CHRISTOPHE V wrote:

Hello,

It is not that simple! Translating systems are designed by sofware engineers. Have you seen what machine translations are like? They are worth nothing except for Googel Translate in very, very limited technical texts.

CAT tools have nothing to do with Google Translate or other machine translations. Texts are still translated manually, only that a CAT tool  can speed up the whole process because the proper use of translation memories and term bases decreases the time needed for looking up terms. If handled the right way, it can actually improve the quality of a translation.

If a word has been translated by a specific word in the target language, does it mean that it will necessarily have the same meaning two sentences later, besides the fact that repetitions are a sign of carelessness? Systems like Trados ought to be used in a very limted number od contexts.

Repetitions in CAT tools do not refer to single words, but to strings. Besides, you don't have to accept a repetition, it is always possible to change it according to the context. No professional translator would accept a repetition without checking the context, which is why their use is not a sign of "carelessness". Matches from a translation memory also help to maintain consistency.

I personally object to using translating systems, and anyway if a traslation agency offers you to use a translating tool it means that they are projects managers with no knowledge whatsover in translating and they will offer you a maximum of $0.04/word, which is nothing!

Not true. Decent translation agencies pay way more than 0.04/word if you use a CAT tool. Most of them will not even accept you if you don't have one. Of course, you have to be careful not to be taken advantage of, but this is true for any other client, too.

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[versailles]

You're kind Nadine, I was just loling in silence 🙂

[petra_r]

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@CHRISTOPHE V wrote:

Hello,

It is not that simple! Translating systems are designed by sofware engineers. Have you seen what machine translations are like? They are worth nothing except for Googel Translate in very, very limited technical texts.

If a word has been translated by a specific word in the target language, does it mean that it will necessarily have the same meaning two sentences later, besides the fact that repetitions are a sign of carelessness? Systems like Trados ought to be used in a very limted number od contexts.

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 Clearly you have no idea what on earth you are talking about.

[nicolas_arbelaez]

Have you guys tried OmegaT? Back in college, I used it all the time. It's quite simple, and it's also a good way to approach CAT tools for the first time. And the best part: it's free! Of course, it's not nearly as advanced as SDL Trados, but if you are interested in knowing more about how translation memories work, it's a good place to start.