Translation Quotes and the Hidden Costs
The world of translation can be quite misleading at the best of times but especially when it comes to the quoting process. The problem with translation quotes is that there is no standard for pricing the work. Some companies quote by line, others by line or character and others by word. Usually, the most reliable form to receive the quote is priced by word. Apart from being the easiest to count, it is the unit used with Translation Memory technology. The following article will help the discerning client to understand the translation quote process and awaken them to the possible hidden costs of translation.
Translation Memories
We mention Translation Memory technology as this has a significant impact on the cost of a translation. A translation memory, or TM, is a database that stores so-called "segments", which can be sentences or sentence-like units (headings, titles or elements in a list), that have been previously translated. A translation-memory system stores the words, phrases and paragraphs that have already been translated and aid human translators. The translation memory stores the source text and its corresponding translation in language pairs called “translation units”.
When translating later versions of collateral (software, documentation, multimedia etc.) the previously translated version can be re-cooped from the translation memory to significantly reduce the cost of the translation. In some cases a translation asset can be up to 80% translated already. Some companies do not offer this technology but the ones that do often charge different rates for the words that are 100% matching or already translated. While this is a normal practise, as the 100% matching strings need to be checked in any case, it is wise to be weary of this cost as the rates differ per agency.
Also, some documents like legal documents and software can be very repetitive. In normal practise these repeated words should be charged at the same rate as 100% matching words, however, in a lot of cases the client never sees these benefits.
Other Costs
Some quotes will not contain other costs and the client must ask himself:
• Is the VAT included?
• Does the quote include a project management fee and if not is there one? A lot of translation agencies will charge up to a 10% project management fee.
• Is revision included in the price per word translation rate? A lot of agencies will have a cheaper rate as there is no revision on the translation itself. The client has to ask oneself quality or price is more important.
These are just some of the pitfalls facing the client when requesting the quote. In all cases it is best to send the documents to the clients for quotation and shop around. Ask for the same quote from different translation agencies to draw your own conclusions.
Why not? It’s up to you to get the best value for your own money?
Monday, October 18, 2010
No recession for the translation services sector
In today’s climate most industries are experiencing rapid or steady declines. The unlikely scenario of steady growth is occurring in the translation sector.
Studying the translation sector allows us to see the growth of society towards Globalization. The need to cross cultural barriers is at the core of modern business and in this process translators are revolutionizing global communications.
When analyzing the translation services sector a very common term used is language service provider (LSP). Other services provided by LSP’s include interpreting, localization, internationalization and supporting technologies. Interpreting involves the translation of one spoken voice to another. Localization is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and desired local "look-and-feel." Internationalization is the process of planning and implementing products and services so that they can easily be adapted to specific local languages and cultures, a process called localization. Supporting technologies are those that technologically aid a user in learning or honing his or her language skills.
The reason that there hasn’t been much data collected on LSPs until recently is due to the fact that most LSPs were privately held and were reluctant to divulge such information. Recently with acquisitions some LSPs have grown so large that they are now publicly traded. The first data on LSPs was recorded quite recently, in the late 1990s, by the US Census and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Due to this lack of concrete information one can only make general predictions of the annual revenue spent on translation with a 9 to 21 billion dollars being a conservative estimate. Even without these concrete numbers to justify this figure there is no doubt that the importance of the LSP is increasing. Language options on websites, customer service calls and TV are testament to this.
According to Common Sense Advisory, the global language services market totaled $14.25 billion in 2008. Common Sense expects the industry to increase to around $25 billion by 2013, almost 11% five years. In the 2006 the US Department of Labor predicts a 24% increase in the number of US translators by 2016. To understand these statistics more we have a breakdown of the top 30 LSPs per territory.
Asia, $106.3M, 2.8%
Scandinavia, $130M, 3.4%
Rest of Europe, $637M, 16.8%
UK, $565M, 14.9%
USA, $2,334M, 62.1%
When considering these figures it is important to note that the LSP model is more developed in the UK and USA. For instance in mainland Europe there are a lot more sole translators.
While a lot of the growth can be attributed to globalization we cannot forget the importance of the internet. The internet has revolutionized the way that we exchange information and has exponentially increased the amount of information available. Translated information can reach any corner of the earth with the click of a button. The industry continues to grow as other countries, specifically those in Asia and the Middle East, follow this example in an effort to expand their audience reach to the United States and Europe.
The growth of the translation services industry and the role the internet plays in promoting this growth consolidates an upward trend. With the online marketplace getting more diverse, the demand for translation is ever increasing. The scope for the development of the non-English speaking translation market is phenomenal.
The importance of the translation services sector is growing in importance to the extent that what officially existed as an unrecorded industry up until 20 years ago is now a thriving industry with an expected value of $25 billion in the coming years. The importance of man’s need to communicate will always drive the sector upwards.
Studying the translation sector allows us to see the growth of society towards Globalization. The need to cross cultural barriers is at the core of modern business and in this process translators are revolutionizing global communications.
When analyzing the translation services sector a very common term used is language service provider (LSP). Other services provided by LSP’s include interpreting, localization, internationalization and supporting technologies. Interpreting involves the translation of one spoken voice to another. Localization is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and desired local "look-and-feel." Internationalization is the process of planning and implementing products and services so that they can easily be adapted to specific local languages and cultures, a process called localization. Supporting technologies are those that technologically aid a user in learning or honing his or her language skills.
The reason that there hasn’t been much data collected on LSPs until recently is due to the fact that most LSPs were privately held and were reluctant to divulge such information. Recently with acquisitions some LSPs have grown so large that they are now publicly traded. The first data on LSPs was recorded quite recently, in the late 1990s, by the US Census and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Due to this lack of concrete information one can only make general predictions of the annual revenue spent on translation with a 9 to 21 billion dollars being a conservative estimate. Even without these concrete numbers to justify this figure there is no doubt that the importance of the LSP is increasing. Language options on websites, customer service calls and TV are testament to this.
According to Common Sense Advisory, the global language services market totaled $14.25 billion in 2008. Common Sense expects the industry to increase to around $25 billion by 2013, almost 11% five years. In the 2006 the US Department of Labor predicts a 24% increase in the number of US translators by 2016. To understand these statistics more we have a breakdown of the top 30 LSPs per territory.
Asia, $106.3M, 2.8%
Scandinavia, $130M, 3.4%
Rest of Europe, $637M, 16.8%
UK, $565M, 14.9%
USA, $2,334M, 62.1%
When considering these figures it is important to note that the LSP model is more developed in the UK and USA. For instance in mainland Europe there are a lot more sole translators.
While a lot of the growth can be attributed to globalization we cannot forget the importance of the internet. The internet has revolutionized the way that we exchange information and has exponentially increased the amount of information available. Translated information can reach any corner of the earth with the click of a button. The industry continues to grow as other countries, specifically those in Asia and the Middle East, follow this example in an effort to expand their audience reach to the United States and Europe.
The growth of the translation services industry and the role the internet plays in promoting this growth consolidates an upward trend. With the online marketplace getting more diverse, the demand for translation is ever increasing. The scope for the development of the non-English speaking translation market is phenomenal.
The importance of the translation services sector is growing in importance to the extent that what officially existed as an unrecorded industry up until 20 years ago is now a thriving industry with an expected value of $25 billion in the coming years. The importance of man’s need to communicate will always drive the sector upwards.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
German Translation Resources from englishtogermantranslation.net goes live!
englishtogermantranslation.net’s website has gone live offering German translation resources. The site has a collection of links from Employment to Travel resources.
The site is offered in English courtesy of One Stop Shop Translations.
englishtogermantranslation.net CEO, Mark Kieran says "Over the years I have always found it difficult to find German resources in English. We hope that the site offers the internet world a consolidated environment for the User to find German resources, a reference point for German".
The site is driven on reciprocal links and is very selective about the links uploaded to its directories.
The site is offered in English courtesy of One Stop Shop Translations.
englishtogermantranslation.net CEO, Mark Kieran says "Over the years I have always found it difficult to find German resources in English. We hope that the site offers the internet world a consolidated environment for the User to find German resources, a reference point for German".
The site is driven on reciprocal links and is very selective about the links uploaded to its directories.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
English French Interpreting in Madrid from One Stop Shop Translations
One Stop Shop Translations is now offering English to French and French to English for sworn, consecutive, whispered and business group Interpreting. While the company offers most other interpreting combinations it has an English to French Interpreting team of more then twenty specialised interpreters in their respective fields.
One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “With the English French English interpreting combination being by far the most popular on the Madrid market, to due its status as a hub for international conferences, One Stop Shop realised the importance of expanding its interpreting team for this particular combination.”
Now the company covers all interpreting services and language combinations but most importantly it covers all specialised fields per combination.
One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “With the English French English interpreting combination being by far the most popular on the Madrid market, to due its status as a hub for international conferences, One Stop Shop realised the importance of expanding its interpreting team for this particular combination.”
Now the company covers all interpreting services and language combinations but most importantly it covers all specialised fields per combination.
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