Poll: My lowest threshold to consider a 'fuzzy match' is: Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "My lowest threshold to consider a 'fuzzy match' is:".
This poll was originally submitted by Richard Jenkins
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more ... See more This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "My lowest threshold to consider a 'fuzzy match' is:".
This poll was originally submitted by Richard Jenkins
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629 ▲ Collapse
| | | | megane_wang 
España
Local time: 01:23
Miembro 2007
inglés al español
+ ...
| A 90% may be too low, or very high... | Jul 31, 2007 |
Note that I almost always work in technical translations. If we just move onto marketing materials... some of this can be different.
When this 10% means that a phrase is negative, or a word takes a different meaning, a previous entry that "fuzzily" matches a new one may be simply useless in Spanish and even worse in Catalan. As a result, stating that a 90% match means 90% less job is false (you need to translate the whole thing to make it sure that you don't skip an important detail... See more Note that I almost always work in technical translations. If we just move onto marketing materials... some of this can be different.
When this 10% means that a phrase is negative, or a word takes a different meaning, a previous entry that "fuzzily" matches a new one may be simply useless in Spanish and even worse in Catalan. As a result, stating that a 90% match means 90% less job is false (you need to translate the whole thing to make it sure that you don't skip an important detail and get nonsense, and you, or a colleague, have to proofread the result).
To be honest, though, from a 70-80% fuzzy match I still may get a suggestion I can use for consistency reasons. But that almost never happens below that.
If "fuzzy matches" are only to be considered an excuse to reduce my bills, then a 99% is not a match at all (CAT tools should be used to get better quality translations, not to cut the translator's income through "Trados scales" and dont-know-what)
This is why I created my "Trados" rate. What I never tell is... is this rate is above or below any other rate?  
Ruth @ MW ▲ Collapse
| | | | MikeTrans
Alemania
Local time: 01:23
italiano al alemán
+ ...
| Fuzzy matches are not that productive, because... | Jul 31, 2007 |
...the sentences are too long most of the time. What I want to retrieve are logical parts of expressions within a sentence and so, I don't care about the fuzzy percentage.
Trados, DVX, SDLX etc.. are all not able to make longer parts of sentences available without having to start a manual concordance search.
Trados...
has the "automatic concordance". But this tool also only considers the word quantity (percentage) and not the occurences of words IN A ROW, which is... See more ...the sentences are too long most of the time. What I want to retrieve are logical parts of expressions within a sentence and so, I don't care about the fuzzy percentage.
Trados, DVX, SDLX etc.. are all not able to make longer parts of sentences available without having to start a manual concordance search.
Trados...
has the "automatic concordance". But this tool also only considers the word quantity (percentage) and not the occurences of words IN A ROW, which is more important. It's however the best feature in the hole program.
DVX is not able to show short sentences against long sentences in the TM, which clearly shows that the fuzzy percentage is not the only important criteria.
SDLX:
lacks of autotext and has bad terminology assistance but a very reliable concordance, but also fails to make sentence portions available without manual search.
The best program in relation to fuzzy match is:
Fusion...
but this program really cannot be made worse, as far as term insertions are concerned and plenty of bugs, not worth a normal, critical workflow.
My conclusion:
Presently, there is no serious CAT tool on the market that really helps to increase productivity: In the time necessary to make a concordance search or compare fuzzy matches (or whatelse you like to call them), I write half of all this nice reply.
good work!
Mike ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jussi Rosti
Finlandia
Local time: 02:23
Miembro 2005
inglés al finlandés
+ ...
by how low fuzzy matches people accept! I accept lowest 85%, but I see that well less than 20% of the translators have marked 80-100% on the poll.
Maybe it's different with other languages? In Finnish, which is strongly inflectional language, lower matches are virtually useless, since as the grammar of the sentence changes, many words change in it, and the correct translation for 75% match in source is probably about 30-40% match in target. Editing this match is typically much more ... See more by how low fuzzy matches people accept! I accept lowest 85%, but I see that well less than 20% of the translators have marked 80-100% on the poll.
Maybe it's different with other languages? In Finnish, which is strongly inflectional language, lower matches are virtually useless, since as the grammar of the sentence changes, many words change in it, and the correct translation for 75% match in source is probably about 30-40% match in target. Editing this match is typically much more time consuming that re-translation (since careful checking against copy-paste type errors takes more attention than not to make those errors in the first place).
I can imagine that in less inflectional languages the situation may be more favourable for the translator. Still...
[Edited at 2007-07-31 15:18] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| 90% is for me the lowest threshold to accept a fuzzy match | Jul 31, 2007 |
Although in practice, things are different because generally clients consider a 60% a fuzzy match. I totally disagree with this policy since it takes more time to compare what matches and what doesn’t than making a simple copy source and doing the corresponding translation from scratch. But unlikely, sometimes I can’t change reality; I just have to adapt myself to today’s market.
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Alemania
Local time: 01:23
Miembro 2003
polaco al alemán
+ ...
| I work permanently with 30% fuzzy match threshold | Jul 31, 2007 |
in SDL Trados and 60% (or 50%, depending on job) in Transit Satellite.
When working with technical text an explanation in brackets in identical sentences may lower the match value so far, that you have something about 40% and just need to delete part of the sentence.
OTOH, when the match coming from the TM is worthless I simply don't use it. However, would I have set my threshold higher, I could possibly lose valuable informations.
Jerzy
| | | | | Sometimes it can be a problem... | Jul 31, 2007 |
Contrary to one may think, fuzzy matches sometimes are not a good help. From my point of view and my experience translating with CAT tools, in some cases, it is necessary to translate a whole sentence again although it is a 90% fuzzy match. I agree with some of the colleagues in that a word, in some contexts, has not the same meaning, so you must retranslate it or adapt it to the subject you are translating.
| | | | Vito Smolej
Alemania
Local time: 01:23
Miembro 2004
inglés al esloveno
+ ...
LOCALIZADOR DEL SITIO | A fuzzy match is the mother's little helper | Jul 31, 2007 |
... a vocabulary with the context browser thrown in. In a lot of cases it answers my ID's mulling over the question :"How should I phrase THIS now..."
I am usually at 65-70%.
Please note that 65% in Slavic languages may be equivalent to 85+ in English.
[Edited at 2007-07-31 18:02]
| | |
|
|
|
Personally, I think CAT tools should only be used by translators and they shouldn’t be used to make the word count, because when you translate you have to check everything even 100% matches and repetitions. For instance, there are cases when the phrases are no well segmented or the TM has mistakes or doesn’t meet the criterion set in the client’s guide. That’s why I think it’s difficult to apply a rate based on fuzzy matches and if I had to set a lowest threshold for a fuzzy match I wo... See more Personally, I think CAT tools should only be used by translators and they shouldn’t be used to make the word count, because when you translate you have to check everything even 100% matches and repetitions. For instance, there are cases when the phrases are no well segmented or the TM has mistakes or doesn’t meet the criterion set in the client’s guide. That’s why I think it’s difficult to apply a rate based on fuzzy matches and if I had to set a lowest threshold for a fuzzy match I would say 90%. ▲ Collapse
| | | | David Russi
Estados Unidos
Local time: 17:23
inglés al español
+ ...
| Depends on the text and the TM | Jul 31, 2007 |
When a TM contains lots of formatting and other codes, the text in 90% matches can be virtually identical.
Sometimes, if the client made many global changes (for example, changed the name of a product,), low fuzzies can be close to 100 percent matches (except ofr the one change involved).
Of course, other times 90% matches can be useless.
| | | | | Absolutely right! | Aug 1, 2007 |
David Russi wrote:
When a TM contains lots of formatting and other codes, the text in 90% matches can be virtually identical.
Sometimes, if the client made many global changes (for example, changed the name of a product,), low fuzzies can be close to 100 percent matches (except ofr the one change involved).
Of course, other times 90% matches can be useless.
Yes, I entirely agree with this David. Sometimes a 90% match is useless, and in other cases a 60% match can help.
| | | | | What are you using the statistic for? | Aug 1, 2007 |
If it is to help you with the JOB of translating, then I concur 100% with Jerzy, set the limit as low as possible, so that you get maximum information from you carefully collected TMs (I know Jerzy is a fan of "Big Mama" TMs! ).
But if it is to help with PRICING your translations, then anything under 100% should not be discounted, since it requires your checking/proofing/editing time, even if you get some help on the ... See more If it is to help you with the JOB of translating, then I concur 100% with Jerzy, set the limit as low as possible, so that you get maximum information from you carefully collected TMs (I know Jerzy is a fan of "Big Mama" TMs! ).
But if it is to help with PRICING your translations, then anything under 100% should not be discounted, since it requires your checking/proofing/editing time, even if you get some help on the side. (That's why you forked out so much money for a good CAT, isn't it? Don't give it all away a second time with "fuzzy matching".)
Thanks to Richard for launching us into this discussion. ▲ Collapse
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: My lowest threshold to consider a 'fuzzy match' is: | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
![William [Bill] Gray](https://cfcdn.proz.com/profile_resources/130405_r43c0e14f4c70f.jpg)
Login to reply/comment 
