| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Offering post-editing services: yes or no? Thread poster: Elisa Fernández Vic
|
|---|
Elisa Fernández Vic wrote:
I have recently been contacted by an agency for post-editing services and, while I refused, this has left me thinking about why should or should not one offer this service.
(...)
What are your thoughts on this subject? An also, how much should you charge for it (comparing to your standard translation rates)?
I'm not sure anyone "should" offer any service - I do very little proof-reading, for example, but many colleagues lap it up. I do think anyone "could" offer any service that's lawful and pays enough. If you think you can earn enough per hour/day to meet your targets, and you have the skills, then by all means consider it.
That is the short answer.
As you have no doubt spotted, there is some opposition to PEMT. Most of it, in my view, is more akin to objections about how it is implemented, which while they are valid objections to current practice, are not valid reasons for dismissing PEMT as undesirable or worse, full stop:
a) The pay is rubbish. True. Don't do anything where you're not comfortable with the money you earn. It's true the commonest purveyors of PEMT work are not shining beacons of best practice generally, and (like people who use the words "best rate") are probably best avoided whatever work they offer. But low earnings per se are not a reason to consider a thing undesirable, otherwise we would hold nursing and cleaning in low regard.
b) PEMT work adversely affects the quality of your other output. I've always viewed this as a bit straw-clutchy, frankly. But let's take it face value. Is it a universal effect meaning no-one should do PEMT ever, or does it vary from person to person? How is it different from reviewing human-generated rubbish to excess? How is it different from other factors adversely affecting output e.g. living in an environment where the target language is less often heard/seen? I'd agree with moderation in all things. That doesn't mean no-one should ever do PEMT, ever.
c) PEMT slows the translation process down, because it adds a step, the output from which has to be discarded (almost) in its entirety. It's true PEMT is not appropriate for every type of job (although no doubt the proponents, as mentioned in a), try to use it where they shouldn't). That does not mean PEMT is inappropriate for all jobs. And slowing the process down is not unique to PEMT. Any useless human translation does the same.
More in a similar vein here: http://cbavington.com/blog/2015/06/26/pemt-haze/
d) a new one to me, it is a "misnomer". Easily rectified. Change the name. Call it fluffy kitten, willowy blonde, Star Trek, seafood paella or machine-generated target text review. Whatever you like. A rose by any other name. Does it change the situation? No, thought not.
In short - if you think you'll enjoy the work and the pay is good, go for it. If you don't, don't.
| | | |
if it generally takes more time than translating from scratch, why is this still being offered?
Any translator (who knows what they are letting themselves in for) would then logically charge their translation rate or more in order to make it worth their while. Wouldn't agencies soon stop asking for this if it costs them more than normal translation?
| | | | | Sometimes it works | Aug 29, 2015 |
Gabriele Demuth wrote:
if it generally takes more time than translating from scratch, why is this still being offered?
I only tried it once, with a simple text (an interview) I started work on, and thought "surely MT could whizz through this?"
I reckon I saved about 30% of the anticipated time. I am a fairly slow typist, so having a few correct words I could just shift around a bit was useful to me. But that was me, then. Any sort of "general" application is obviously inappropriate with the current state of the technology, and not all pairs and subject fields will get the same results, and some output, by some accounts, is unusable. Fair enough. It shouldn't always be used: this should not be taken as "it should never be used".
| | | | Phil Hand 
China
Local time: 09:16
Chinese to English
Gabriele Demuth wrote:
if it generally takes more time than translating from scratch, why is this still being offered?
Any translator (who knows what they are letting themselves in for) would then logically charge their translation rate or more in order to make it worth their while. Wouldn't agencies soon stop asking for this if it costs them more than normal translation?
The same reason that most of the jobs on the job board are for 2-4 cents. The fact that they are there - and presumably some people are doing them - doesn't mean that it's good practice.
| | |
|
|
|
jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 21:16
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Fixing an MT segment is often much easier than fixing a fuzzy match TM segment | Aug 29, 2015 |
Some 80% match (or even higher) MT segments does take more time to fix than translating from scratch and the clients usually apply discount on those segments on your PO.
| | | |
jyuan_us wrote:
Some 80% match (or even higher) MT segments does take more time to fix than translating from scratch and the clients usually apply discount on those segments on your PO.
You mean "Some 80% match (or even higher) TM segments does take more time to fix than translating from scratch and the clients usually apply discount on those segments on your PO."
a) I can trust my own TM.
b) It certainly helps to use TM matches for highly repetitive text.
c) Working with my own TM doesn't take as long as translating and especially typing every single sentence from scratch.
d) 80% match (or even higher) - you mean in terms of TM match? - takes longer to fix than translating from scratch? That's certainly not my experience.
e) What's the match going to be with MT (machine translation)? Well you can't trust it because you didn't "build" or "feed" it and from what I've seen the results are awful. That's not a 80% match. So according to you, that's going to take a very long time to fix.
d) Clients usually apply a discount to those segments (you mean TM segments) on your PO?? Yes. if you let them.
[Edited at 2015-08-30 00:23 GMT]
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Offering post-editing services: yes or no? | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
