On the localization of products. Part 2: How is the price formed?
In the second part of the article by our technical writer Andrei Starovoytov, we will see how the price for translation of technical documentation is formed. If you don’t want to read a lot of text, see the “Examples” section right at the end of the article.
The first part of the article can be found here .
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So, you have roughly decided who you will cooperate in translating software. One of the most important moments in the negotiations is always a discussion of the price for services. For what exactly have to pay?
(Since all translation companies are different, we do not claim that everything will happen exactly as described below. However, I share my experience here)
1) UI & Doc word
It doesn’t matter if you ask to translate the gui or the documentation, the translators calculate the fee as “per word”. The “per word” fee is the main point in the price discussion.
For example, you are going to translate software into German. The translation company informs you that the price per word will be $ 0.20 (all prices in the article are in US dollars, prices are approximate).
To agree or not - see for yourself. You can try to bargain.
2) Linguistic hour
Translation companies have a minimum amount of words that need to be sent for translation. For example, 250 words. If you send less, you will have to pay for the “linguistic hour” (for example, $ 40).
Generally, when you send less than the required minimum, companies may behave differently. If you urgently need to translate 1-2 phrases, some can do it for free as a gift to the client. If you need to translate 50-100 words, you can issue a discount of 0.5 hours.
3) UI & Doc word for marketing
In some translation companies there is a service of “special translation” - most often it is used in cases when you need to translate something for marketing.
Such a translation will be done by an experienced “language luminary” who knows a bunch of idioms, competently uses epithets, knows how to rearrange the sentence, make the text more attractive, stay in memory longer, etc.
Cost of such a translation, respectively, will be more expensive. For example, if just for the transfer fee will be $ 0.20 per word, then for the "special" - $ 0.23.
4) Linguistic hour for marketing
If you need to make a “special” translation, but send you less than the minimum set by the company, you will have to pay for a “special linguistic hour”.
This hour will also be more expensive than usual. For example, if for a regular price of $ 40, then for a special one - about $ 45.
But again, the company can meet you. If a portion of the text is really small, they can issue it in half an hour of translation.
5) PM fee
Even at the preliminary negotiations, such a parameter as “payment to the manager” is discussed. What it is?
In large translation companies you are assigned a personal manager. All that you need to translate - send it to him, and he already performs all the organizational work:
- if your resources need to be prepared for translation, then the manager sends them to engineers (more on this in more detail later);
- if the company has many orders and many translators (native speakers) in different countries, the manager will agree on which of them is now free and will be able to quickly complete the translation;
- if translators have questions on translation, the manager will ask them to you, and then give the answer to the translators;
- if the translation is urgent, the manager will decide who can work overtime;
- if it is necessary to translate, and translators in another country have a public holiday, the manager will look for who can replace them, etc., etc.
In other words, the manager is the link between you and the translators. You send resources for translation + something for clarity (comments, screenshots, video) and that's it - the manager will take care of everything else. He will tell you when the translations will come.
For all this work, the manager also receives a fee. Often it is included in the cost of the order, it is a separate item and is calculated as a percentage of the order. For example, 6%.
6) Localization engineering hour
If there are a lot of different IDs, tags, etc. that you don’t need to translate, then the CAT tool will still calculate them and include them in the final price.
To avoid this, such a text is first given to the engineers who run it through the script, trap and remove everything that should not be translated. Therefore, no fee will be charged for these items.
After the text is translated, it is run through another script that adds these elements back to the already translated text.
For such procedures is taken as a fixed fee for the "engineering hour". For example, $ 34.
As an example, let's see 2 pictures. Here is the text that came to the translation from the client (with aidish and tagami):
But what will come to the translators after the text is run by the engineers:
There are 2 advantages - 1) removed unnecessary elements from the price, 2) translators do not have to dig with tags and other elements - there is less chance that someone will be in trouble somewhere.
7) CAT tool breakdown model
For translations, companies use various automated systems called CAT tools (Computer-Assisted Translation tools). An example of such systems can serve as Trados, Transit, Memoq and others.
This does not mean that the computer will translate. Such systems help to create translation memories so as not to translate what has already been translated. They also help to understand that from the previously made transfers can be reused in new ones. These systems help to unify terminology, break the text into categories and clearly understand how much and what to pay for, etc.
When you send a text for translation, it is run through such a system - it analyzes this text, compares it with the existing translation memory (if it exists), and breaks the text into categories. Each category will have its own price, and these prices are another negotiating point.
Let us, as an example, imagine that we turned to a translation company and asked how much it would cost to translate documentation into German. We were told that $ 0.20 per word. And then they call prices for various categories, into which the text is divided during the analysis:
1) Category No match or New words - 100% . This means that if nothing can be reused from the translation memory, then the full price is taken - in our example, $ 0.20 per word.
2) Context match category - 0% . If the phrase completely coincides with the previously translated one and the upcoming sentence has not changed, then such a translation will be free - it will simply be reused from the translation memory.
3) Category Repetitions or 100% match - 25% . If the phrase is repeated several times in the text, it will be charged 25% of the price per word (in our example, this is $ 0.05). This fee is taken for the translator to check how the translation of the phrase will be read in different contexts.
4) Category Low-fuzzy (75-94%) - 60% . If an existing translation can be reused by 75–94%, then a price in the amount of 60% of the price per word will be taken for it. In our example, this is $ 0.12.
Anything below 75% will cost as a new word - $ 0.20.
5) Category High-fuzzy (95-99%) - 30% . If an existing translation can be reused 95-99%, then a price of 30% of the price per word will be taken for it. In our example, this is $ 0.06.
All this is not so easy to understand by reading one text.
Let's look at specific examples - imagine that we began to cooperate with a certain company and send out various portions for translation.
EXAMPLES:
Portion 1: (translation memory is empty)
So, you began to cooperate with a new translation company and for the first time asked to translate something. For example, the following sentence:
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system will see that the translation memory is empty - there is nothing to reuse. The number of words is 21. All of them are defined as new, and the price for such a translation will be: 21 x $ 0.20 = $ 4.20
Portion 2: (let's imagine that for some reason you sent the exact same sentence for translation as the first time)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: In this case, the system will see that such a sentence has already been translated, and the context (the sentence in front of it) has not changed. Consequently, such a transfer can be safely reused, and nothing has to be paid for it. Price - 0.
Portion 3: (you send the same sentence for translation, but at the beginning a new sentence of 5 words was added)
What is a virtual machine? It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system will see a new sentence of 5 words and calculate it at full price - $ 0.20 x 5 = $ 1. But the second sentence completely coincides with the previously translated one, but the context has changed (a sentence has been added ahead of it). Therefore, it will be classified as 100% match and calculated as $ 0.05 x 21 = $ 1.05. This amount will be taken for the translator to check that the existing translation of the second sentence can be reused - there will be no grammatical or semantic contradictions associated with the translation of the new sentence.
Portion 4: (let's imagine that this time you sent the same thing as in the 3rd portion, with only one change - 2 spaces between sentences)
What is a virtual machine? It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: As seen in the screenshot, the system does not consider this case as a change in context - the translation of both phrases in the same order is already available in the translation memory, and it can be reused. Therefore, the price is 0.
Portion 5: (we send the same phrase as in the 1st portion, only change “an” to “the”)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system sees this change and expects that the existing transfer can be reused at 97%. Why exactly 97%, and in the following example with a similar slight change - 99%? Segmentation rules are sewn up in the internal logic of the system by its developers. More information about the segmentation can be found here . Usually costing default segmentation rules, but in some systems they can be changed to improve the accuracy and accuracy of the breakdown of text for different languages. Read more about how you can change the segmentation rules in memoQ here .
So, the ability to reuse a translation by 97% defines words in the High-fizzy category, and, according to our example, the price for such a translation will be $ 0.06 x 21 = $ 1.26. This price is taken for the translator to check if the translation does not contradict the changed part within the meaning and grammatically of the rest of the translation, which will be taken from the system’s memory.
The example given is simple and does not reflect the importance of such verification. But in many cases it is really important to make sure that the translation of the new part in conjunction with the old remains "readable and understandable."
Portion 6: (we send the same phrase for translation as in the 1st portion, only a comma is added after “computer”)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: Here everything is the same as in the 5th portion, only the system, according to its internal logic, determines that the existing transfer can be reused for 99%.
Portion 7: (we send the same sentence for translation as in the 1st portion, but this time the ending has changed)
It can be used together with the most popular OSs.
Comment: The system will see that the ending has changed and will calculate that this time the existing translation can be reused by 92%. In this case, the words fall into the Low-fuzzy category, and the price for this transfer will be calculated as $ 0.12 x 21 = $ 2.52. This price is taken not only to translate new words, but also to check how the old translation is consistent with the new one.
Portion 8: (we will send for translation a new sentence, which is the first part of the sentence from the 1st portion)
A virtual machine is an emulated copy of a physical computer.
Comment: After analysis, the system sees that the existing translation can be reused by 57%, but this ratio is not included in either High-fuzzy or Low-fuzzy. Under the contract, everything below 75% is treated as No match. Accordingly, the price is calculated in full, as for new words - $ 0.20 x 11 = $ 2.20.
Portion 9: (we send the sentence which half consists of the phrase which has already been translated and half from new)
If you work with it via RDP.
Comment: The system sees that the existing transfer can be reused 69%. But, as in the 8th portion, this ratio does not fall into either High-fuzzy or Low-fuzzy. Accordingly, the price will be calculated as for new words: $ 0.20 x 26 = $ 5.20.
Portion 10: (we send a new sentence for translation, which consists entirely of the same words as previously translated sentences, but only these words are in a different order)
An emulated computer operating system is called a virtual machine.
Comment: Although all these words were previously translated, the system sees that this time they are going in a completely new order. Therefore, they are assigned to the New words category and calculate the price for the translation in full - $ 0.20 x 16 = $ 3.20.
Portion 11: (send some text for translation, in which one sentence is repeated twice)
Do you want to save money? Parallels Desktop and Mac OS. Do you want to save money? Call us now and get a discount.
Comment: After analysis, the system sees that one of the sentences is used twice. Therefore, 6 words from the repeating sentence are entered into the Repetitions category, and the remaining 30 words into the New words category. The cost of such a transfer will be calculated as $ 0.05 x 6 + $ 0.20 x 30 = $ 6.30. The price for a repeated offer is taken to verify that its translation (when it was transferred for the first time) can be reused in a new context.
Conclusion:
After we have agreed on prices, a contract is signed in which these prices will be fixed. In addition, an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is signed - an agreement under which both parties undertake not to disclose to anybody the inside information of the partner.
Under this contract, the translation company also undertakes to provide you with a translation memory in case of termination of the contract. This is necessary in order not to remain at the empty trough, if you decide to change the localizer. Thanks to the translation memory, you will have all the previously made translations, and the new company will be able to reuse them.
Now you can start cooperation.
The first part of the article can be found here .
')
So, you have roughly decided who you will cooperate in translating software. One of the most important moments in the negotiations is always a discussion of the price for services. For what exactly have to pay?
(Since all translation companies are different, we do not claim that everything will happen exactly as described below. However, I share my experience here)
1) UI & Doc word
It doesn’t matter if you ask to translate the gui or the documentation, the translators calculate the fee as “per word”. The “per word” fee is the main point in the price discussion.
For example, you are going to translate software into German. The translation company informs you that the price per word will be $ 0.20 (all prices in the article are in US dollars, prices are approximate).
To agree or not - see for yourself. You can try to bargain.
2) Linguistic hour
Translation companies have a minimum amount of words that need to be sent for translation. For example, 250 words. If you send less, you will have to pay for the “linguistic hour” (for example, $ 40).
Generally, when you send less than the required minimum, companies may behave differently. If you urgently need to translate 1-2 phrases, some can do it for free as a gift to the client. If you need to translate 50-100 words, you can issue a discount of 0.5 hours.
3) UI & Doc word for marketing
In some translation companies there is a service of “special translation” - most often it is used in cases when you need to translate something for marketing.
Such a translation will be done by an experienced “language luminary” who knows a bunch of idioms, competently uses epithets, knows how to rearrange the sentence, make the text more attractive, stay in memory longer, etc.
Cost of such a translation, respectively, will be more expensive. For example, if just for the transfer fee will be $ 0.20 per word, then for the "special" - $ 0.23.
4) Linguistic hour for marketing
If you need to make a “special” translation, but send you less than the minimum set by the company, you will have to pay for a “special linguistic hour”.
This hour will also be more expensive than usual. For example, if for a regular price of $ 40, then for a special one - about $ 45.
But again, the company can meet you. If a portion of the text is really small, they can issue it in half an hour of translation.
5) PM fee
Even at the preliminary negotiations, such a parameter as “payment to the manager” is discussed. What it is?
In large translation companies you are assigned a personal manager. All that you need to translate - send it to him, and he already performs all the organizational work:
- if your resources need to be prepared for translation, then the manager sends them to engineers (more on this in more detail later);
- if the company has many orders and many translators (native speakers) in different countries, the manager will agree on which of them is now free and will be able to quickly complete the translation;
- if translators have questions on translation, the manager will ask them to you, and then give the answer to the translators;
- if the translation is urgent, the manager will decide who can work overtime;
- if it is necessary to translate, and translators in another country have a public holiday, the manager will look for who can replace them, etc., etc.
In other words, the manager is the link between you and the translators. You send resources for translation + something for clarity (comments, screenshots, video) and that's it - the manager will take care of everything else. He will tell you when the translations will come.
For all this work, the manager also receives a fee. Often it is included in the cost of the order, it is a separate item and is calculated as a percentage of the order. For example, 6%.
6) Localization engineering hour
If there are a lot of different IDs, tags, etc. that you don’t need to translate, then the CAT tool will still calculate them and include them in the final price.
To avoid this, such a text is first given to the engineers who run it through the script, trap and remove everything that should not be translated. Therefore, no fee will be charged for these items.
After the text is translated, it is run through another script that adds these elements back to the already translated text.
For such procedures is taken as a fixed fee for the "engineering hour". For example, $ 34.
As an example, let's see 2 pictures. Here is the text that came to the translation from the client (with aidish and tagami):
But what will come to the translators after the text is run by the engineers:
There are 2 advantages - 1) removed unnecessary elements from the price, 2) translators do not have to dig with tags and other elements - there is less chance that someone will be in trouble somewhere.
7) CAT tool breakdown model
For translations, companies use various automated systems called CAT tools (Computer-Assisted Translation tools). An example of such systems can serve as Trados, Transit, Memoq and others.
This does not mean that the computer will translate. Such systems help to create translation memories so as not to translate what has already been translated. They also help to understand that from the previously made transfers can be reused in new ones. These systems help to unify terminology, break the text into categories and clearly understand how much and what to pay for, etc.
When you send a text for translation, it is run through such a system - it analyzes this text, compares it with the existing translation memory (if it exists), and breaks the text into categories. Each category will have its own price, and these prices are another negotiating point.
Let us, as an example, imagine that we turned to a translation company and asked how much it would cost to translate documentation into German. We were told that $ 0.20 per word. And then they call prices for various categories, into which the text is divided during the analysis:
1) Category No match or New words - 100% . This means that if nothing can be reused from the translation memory, then the full price is taken - in our example, $ 0.20 per word.
2) Context match category - 0% . If the phrase completely coincides with the previously translated one and the upcoming sentence has not changed, then such a translation will be free - it will simply be reused from the translation memory.
3) Category Repetitions or 100% match - 25% . If the phrase is repeated several times in the text, it will be charged 25% of the price per word (in our example, this is $ 0.05). This fee is taken for the translator to check how the translation of the phrase will be read in different contexts.
4) Category Low-fuzzy (75-94%) - 60% . If an existing translation can be reused by 75–94%, then a price in the amount of 60% of the price per word will be taken for it. In our example, this is $ 0.12.
Anything below 75% will cost as a new word - $ 0.20.
5) Category High-fuzzy (95-99%) - 30% . If an existing translation can be reused 95-99%, then a price of 30% of the price per word will be taken for it. In our example, this is $ 0.06.
All this is not so easy to understand by reading one text.
Let's look at specific examples - imagine that we began to cooperate with a certain company and send out various portions for translation.
EXAMPLES:
Portion 1: (translation memory is empty)
So, you began to cooperate with a new translation company and for the first time asked to translate something. For example, the following sentence:
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system will see that the translation memory is empty - there is nothing to reuse. The number of words is 21. All of them are defined as new, and the price for such a translation will be: 21 x $ 0.20 = $ 4.20
Portion 2: (let's imagine that for some reason you sent the exact same sentence for translation as the first time)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: In this case, the system will see that such a sentence has already been translated, and the context (the sentence in front of it) has not changed. Consequently, such a transfer can be safely reused, and nothing has to be paid for it. Price - 0.
Portion 3: (you send the same sentence for translation, but at the beginning a new sentence of 5 words was added)
What is a virtual machine? It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system will see a new sentence of 5 words and calculate it at full price - $ 0.20 x 5 = $ 1. But the second sentence completely coincides with the previously translated one, but the context has changed (a sentence has been added ahead of it). Therefore, it will be classified as 100% match and calculated as $ 0.05 x 21 = $ 1.05. This amount will be taken for the translator to check that the existing translation of the second sentence can be reused - there will be no grammatical or semantic contradictions associated with the translation of the new sentence.
Portion 4: (let's imagine that this time you sent the same thing as in the 3rd portion, with only one change - 2 spaces between sentences)
What is a virtual machine? It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: As seen in the screenshot, the system does not consider this case as a change in context - the translation of both phrases in the same order is already available in the translation memory, and it can be reused. Therefore, the price is 0.
Portion 5: (we send the same phrase as in the 1st portion, only change “an” to “the”)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: The system sees this change and expects that the existing transfer can be reused at 97%. Why exactly 97%, and in the following example with a similar slight change - 99%? Segmentation rules are sewn up in the internal logic of the system by its developers. More information about the segmentation can be found here . Usually costing default segmentation rules, but in some systems they can be changed to improve the accuracy and accuracy of the breakdown of text for different languages. Read more about how you can change the segmentation rules in memoQ here .
So, the ability to reuse a translation by 97% defines words in the High-fizzy category, and, according to our example, the price for such a translation will be $ 0.06 x 21 = $ 1.26. This price is taken for the translator to check if the translation does not contradict the changed part within the meaning and grammatically of the rest of the translation, which will be taken from the system’s memory.
The example given is simple and does not reflect the importance of such verification. But in many cases it is really important to make sure that the translation of the new part in conjunction with the old remains "readable and understandable."
Portion 6: (we send the same phrase for translation as in the 1st portion, only a comma is added after “computer”)
It can be used together with the host operating system.
Comment: Here everything is the same as in the 5th portion, only the system, according to its internal logic, determines that the existing transfer can be reused for 99%.
Portion 7: (we send the same sentence for translation as in the 1st portion, but this time the ending has changed)
It can be used together with the most popular OSs.
Comment: The system will see that the ending has changed and will calculate that this time the existing translation can be reused by 92%. In this case, the words fall into the Low-fuzzy category, and the price for this transfer will be calculated as $ 0.12 x 21 = $ 2.52. This price is taken not only to translate new words, but also to check how the old translation is consistent with the new one.
Portion 8: (we will send for translation a new sentence, which is the first part of the sentence from the 1st portion)
A virtual machine is an emulated copy of a physical computer.
Comment: After analysis, the system sees that the existing translation can be reused by 57%, but this ratio is not included in either High-fuzzy or Low-fuzzy. Under the contract, everything below 75% is treated as No match. Accordingly, the price is calculated in full, as for new words - $ 0.20 x 11 = $ 2.20.
Portion 9: (we send the sentence which half consists of the phrase which has already been translated and half from new)
If you work with it via RDP.
Comment: The system sees that the existing transfer can be reused 69%. But, as in the 8th portion, this ratio does not fall into either High-fuzzy or Low-fuzzy. Accordingly, the price will be calculated as for new words: $ 0.20 x 26 = $ 5.20.
Portion 10: (we send a new sentence for translation, which consists entirely of the same words as previously translated sentences, but only these words are in a different order)
An emulated computer operating system is called a virtual machine.
Comment: Although all these words were previously translated, the system sees that this time they are going in a completely new order. Therefore, they are assigned to the New words category and calculate the price for the translation in full - $ 0.20 x 16 = $ 3.20.
Portion 11: (send some text for translation, in which one sentence is repeated twice)
Do you want to save money? Parallels Desktop and Mac OS. Do you want to save money? Call us now and get a discount.
Comment: After analysis, the system sees that one of the sentences is used twice. Therefore, 6 words from the repeating sentence are entered into the Repetitions category, and the remaining 30 words into the New words category. The cost of such a transfer will be calculated as $ 0.05 x 6 + $ 0.20 x 30 = $ 6.30. The price for a repeated offer is taken to verify that its translation (when it was transferred for the first time) can be reused in a new context.
Conclusion:
After we have agreed on prices, a contract is signed in which these prices will be fixed. In addition, an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is signed - an agreement under which both parties undertake not to disclose to anybody the inside information of the partner.
Under this contract, the translation company also undertakes to provide you with a translation memory in case of termination of the contract. This is necessary in order not to remain at the empty trough, if you decide to change the localizer. Thanks to the translation memory, you will have all the previously made translations, and the new company will be able to reuse them.
Now you can start cooperation.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/456014/
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