In the translation world today, computer assisted translation tools are the most basic and essential tools for translators to perform their professional activity. However, the reality is that CAT tools are not found on every desktop, and there are many reasons why translators may not be willing to include this resource into their production processes. On the one hand, some have misgivings about using them because they are not familiar with these types of programs. Nevertheless, while it may appear to be a complex world, investing in CAT training is a safe bet since they are gaining increasing traction in the language services sector, and it is likely that in the medium-term they will become standard within the profession. On the other hand, there are translators who, although they do not feel a cognitive barrier distancing them from machines, believe that it is not profitable to use this resource. This is either because they have a portfolio containing clients whose language needs do not require CAT tools, or because they do not consider such an economic outlay to be beneficial (even though there are free CAT tools that are efficient in the translation production process for both agencies and freelancers). In both cases, a discouraging thought that crosses the mind of some professionals is that using these programs is linked to a reduction in earned income. But is this actually true? If it is, is it a reason to reject its use? In today’s article, we will summarize the most important advantages of CAT tools and we will briefly discuss their relationship with “discounts” when setting pricing.
Firstly, we can highlight their use for terminology management. It is possible that many clients have a terminology list that must be respected during translation. When these lists are too long, reviewing the terms individually can negatively impact time management. In this case, CAT tools offer the possibility of integrating these terminology lists into the project so that we know which terms have a set translation and when we are not respecting it. Likewise, we can use the tool to edit and update this list; it is a valuable resource for both client and translator.
Of course, one of the most important contributions of these tools is the help they provide in ensuring consistency within a text and between texts. On the one hand, they allow word or expression searches to check they have been translated the same way (if applicable) throughout the text. On the other hand, during the translation of similar texts, texts belonging to the same sector or to the same project for a specific client, a specific translation memory will be fed the translated segments. This memory stores these specific translated segments and will bring them up when it detects identical or similar segments, which saves time in large projects and ensures consistency.
CAT tools are also used for quality control, which is an essential process in the current context of the sector and for which all the resources are required when labeling the final product as “excellent”.
Other additional advantages include: creating formats (if the original text is uploaded into the CAT tool with the desired format, the translator need only worry about reproducing the text since the exported translated text is generated with the same format as the source); autosave (CAT tools usually provide greater security with regards to creating backup copies, and if they operate in the cloud, the information is periodically saved and never lost, and if a desktop CAT tool is used, these have an autosave function to ensure that the work produced is not lost, even in the event of an accident); planning (because they allow progress to be tracked, file data to be analyzed and global project management); updates (in line with the section about consistency, CAT tools allow old projects to be imported in order to compare them with more recent versions, meaning that just the new content needs to be translated rather than the whole document).
With regards to “discounts” when setting pricing, we must note that it is a generalized practice. Both the clients that negotiate quotes with translation agencies and the translation agencies themselves when managing their translators understand that a partial or full segment match involves less cognitive effort, a positive impact on more streamlined management and, ultimately, a repetition of words that are not translated as such.
Therefore, it is common to negotiate payment of a smaller percentage of the total cost when there are matches. This percentage varies between different clients and companies. In fact, the partial matches are often not directly included in the quote, so this is where there is room for negotiation.
As a result, it is the business/contractual relationship between the parties that serves to set a pricing that is suitable for both parties.
Regarding its link to CAT tools, it is indeed the case that when an analysis gives rise to matches, these are discounted when preparing a quote. Thus, it is up to the translators, agencies, and clients themselves to think about the advantages and make a decision on whether it is profitable.
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