Translation Memories, Blessing or Curse?

A translation memory is a modern technology tool designed to help translators. It is essentially a database that saves previously translated segments of text. The main benefits of a translation memory are saved time and cost, more efficiency and consistency throughout translations.

Moreover, clients and translators must also analyze not only what are the benefits of the Translation memory are but also the the ethical questions posed by this tool. Firstly, it is important to note that the usual practice during the delivery of a translation to the client is for the translator to also deliver the translation memory database so it can be used in future translations, even if the client opts to use a different translator. It is clear to see how this process guarantees consistency. However, here is where a lot of problems can arise. It is true to say that in the majority of cases the the new text to be translated corresponds to the saved translation but there are cases where the corresponding saved translation does not make sense with the new source translation in its current context, especially in the case of literary translations or Marketing translations.

To navigate this problem it is important to understand the analytical nature of the Translation memory. A lot of Translation Memories match a previously translated segment to a new source segment on a percentage basis. For instance, if a translated target segment in the TM and its corresponding source segment match a new source segment to be translated word for word, this segment will be translated automatically and the analysis will return a statistic of 100% matching. But as outlined above, the contextual problem may occur. This is why the 100% segment needs to be checked by the translator. The whole process is not fool proof and we always need some degree of human intervention. This is why most translation services companies and translators will charge a fee even for segments that are 100% matching. The bottom line is that the 100% matching segments have to be checked.

Many clients are often surprised when they get their translation quote to find they are being charged for segments that have been previously translated word for word. Hopefully, the above explanation gives the client an insight into this dilemma. For information the 100% matches are usually charged at a lesser rate, for instance a revision translation rate per word so there is still a very evident cost saving. It is here that the client has to find the best translation rate per word to pay for 100% matching segments and repeated segments. This can lead to huge translation cost savings especially in the case of updates such as software or manuals.

Hopefully this article gives the reader an insight into the workings of the translation memory environment and with this technology, unlike most concepts in the technology world, the fundamental process will stay the same, we will always need some degree of human intervention!

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

For more information on our translation memory pricing matrix click on this link.

Remember that translation memory rates may cost more in the short term due to the extra processes and management involved but are worth it in the long term especially in the case where the translation is an update or there is a lot of repeated text!

Preparing for the Hispanic Market

More and more companies are translating their web content and commercial collateral into Spanish. Is this a coincidence?
Of course not, the importance of the Hispanic and Spanish markets should not be underestimated partly due to the fact that the vast majority of this active and expanding market is Spanish speaking only. Below we will discuss some of the more detailed facts of the Spanish market.
Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, in fact, after English it is the second most widely spoken language in the world with regard to commercial communication and the third most used on the Internet.
It is estimated that in three generations 10% of the world population will be Spanish speaking and that by the year 2040 the largest Spanish speaking population in the world will be in the united States of America with Mexico next.
Spanish is the second most studied language in the world with 20 million students mainly due to its growing importance in the commercial sector.
All the above points give us some idea as to why so many companies are translating all their commercial collateral into Spanish to take advantage of this huge growing market.
Here are some astonishing facts about the US Hispanic market alone.
• The Hispanic population is expected to account for 44% of the total US population growth before the year 2020 and 62% from 2020 to 2050. By 2050 the current Hispanic population of 44 million is expected to double.
• The average age of the Spanish population is 29 years old.
• Hispanic owned businesses increased 78% between 1985 and 2000.
• The Hispanic market accounted for over 600 billion USD in consumer spending last year.
In these uncertain times where the developed markets are saturated its important to open doors to other opportunities such as the Spanish speaking market. Moreover, translating into Spanish not only opens the door to the Hispanic US market but to another 21 countries in the world that have Spanish as their official language.

Its also important to note that the translation of websites and commercial material is not a straight cut deal where one simply asks the first Translation services company they find to translate everything into Spanish because they are cheap. While the Hispanic market may not be as developed as more established markets, corporate image is still a huge factor in breaking into these markets. Intertwined with Corporate image is the need for quality translation as in most cases a poor quality translation is worse than no translation at all and can destroy the public image of the entity in question. This is why it is so important to hire a translation services company that has experience in providing high quality work in the particular area of expertise in question while also fitting into the companies budget criteria. When requesting a translation quote there is usually a wide range of translation price differences one has to ask why some translation services are so much cheaper than others.
Most of the larger multinationals are already taking this expansion into the Spanish speaking market very seriously but for a lot of the medium and smaller sized companies it is a shame to lose such an opportunity especially in such challenging times?

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

For more information on our Spanish translation services click on this link or get an economically unbeatable Spanish translation quote here.

Automated Translation services Management

Is Online Translation Services Project Management the future?

Its ok to say that the majority of small and medium sized companies specialized in internationalization, localization and Translation services have their own modern and informative websites but they are now following the big players in the industry and providing online translation facilities.

I am not talking about automatic translation but automatic management of translation services where the Users submit directly the criteria of the Project, the files, personal information, Project details, expectations etc…. When all has been uploaded the translation quote and delivery dates will appear on the screen. Also, when the user replies with invoice information and the payment he receives an automatic mail confirming the transaction. At the same time the Project Manager receives all the Project details via the internal server.

From here the Project manager allocates all the resources according to the Schedule and all the relevant logistics – its all so simple.

Many companies are now perfecting a fully automated process thus cutting out the project managers. Based on the criteria chosen by the User the system automatically selects the appropriate resource. Following this a mail is sent to the translator giving him a certain amount of time to respond before the Project is offered to another translator. Although this automated system is a considerable outlay initially there is the obvious saving on administration costs.

Apart from giving the user a greater sense of security the system also gives the user the option of following the progress of the Translation via an Access key.

It seems very possible to automate the whole process, by-pass the middle man and get a reasonable profit. If this is the case, why don´t more translation companies do it? Maybe it´s only a matter of time, but the initial investment and the fact that most clients still want some form of human interaction means that the job of the Translation Project manager is still safe for now, at least. Also, some localization projects are very complicated and involve multiple stages and languages making it nearly impossible to automate.

Today, there are few companies that offer these type of services. Of course, the big players in the industry have offered this service for many years but now some of the medium and smaller translation agencies are offering it.

With all this taken into account I believe that that automated Project management will be an industry standard but for more complicated projects involving many words, stages and languages the Translation Project manager´s job is a long way from being automated.

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

For a greater insight into our translation project management click on this link.

One Stop Shop cuts translation rates

One Stop Shop Translations has just cut its translation rates by up to 20% for some language combinations. The cuts are in line with the current economic climate but in no way reduce the quality of the translation services produced by One Stop Shop.

One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “With these cuts on top of the cuts last November we see ourselves extremely competitive in the current market place. In fact I would go as far as to say that we are probably one of the most competitive in the world considering the quality of the translations we offer. We can afford to offer such great rates to our clients due to our low over head cost model and translator loyalty that we have built up over the years.”

One can request a translation quote here at or alternatively do an online translation quote here.

Translation rates and Prices

One of the main difficulties when choosing a Translation services company is understanding why the translation prices vary so much from vendor to vendor.

There are many factors that contribute to the price of translation apart from straight forward translation. Many translation companies include the revision cost within their translation rates whereas other translation company’s prices simply cover just translation within their translation rate.

With regard to the language combination it tends to be reliant on different factors:
• The supply of the language combination. The rarer the combination the more expensive it tends to be.
• The cost of living in that particular target language country. For instance the cost of Scandinavian languages tends to be a lot higher than other languages as the living costs and average wage costs in countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark tend to be much higher. Translation into Spanish is one of the cheapest rates per word as there is a high supply of Spanish translators and the cost of living in these countries tends to be much lower.

The level of expertise required for the subject matter. In addition to be being a qualified translator the translator may also need to be qualified in the subject matter being translated. For instance a general business text will cost a lot less to translate than a medical text that requires a medical qualification in addition to a translation qualification.

The type of translation requested has a bearing on the translation rate. For instance in the case of software localization the rate may be higher as the translation rate includes resizing of the translated strings. In other cases the translation rate is charged separately to the additional services. For instance, in the case of desk top publishing the typesetting of the translated pages is charged separately to the translation itself.

Finally, does the company use translation memories? This may increase the rate. Translation memories involve a complicated workflow where the files to be translated need to be converted into a compatible for the TM environment. However, this extra work and cost is beneficial in the long run as previously translated texts can be re-used thus saving time, ensuring consistency and quality and cost in the long run.

As one can see there are many factors that have a bearing on the translation rate. The best thing to do is to shop around when requesting a translation quote. Request an itemized translation quote per word, language combination and additional translation service required. If you have requested three to four different translation quotes and you receive an itemized quote in this format it should be easy to compare which agency is the cheapest. Alternatively, it may give us an idea of where to outsource different translation services. For instance we may outsource French, German and Italian to company A, Spanish to Firm B and Publishing to Firm C as they are the cheapest in these respective services.