CAT translation grid for pharmaceutical texts
Автор темы: Cindy Schoeman
Cindy Schoeman
Cindy Schoeman
Южноафриканская Республика
Local time: 12:17
африкаанс => английский
+ ...
Feb 12

Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone can help me with a good CAT grid for the translation of pharmaceutical texts. According to the agency, it will be mostly for clinical trials. I have extensive experience in this area but normally the agency would provide their rates and I would either accept or not. I'm also really not good with numbers... My 100% rate for these kinds of texts is usually 0.034 Euro per word.

If someone could help me out with an example of a good CAT grid,
... See more
Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone can help me with a good CAT grid for the translation of pharmaceutical texts. According to the agency, it will be mostly for clinical trials. I have extensive experience in this area but normally the agency would provide their rates and I would either accept or not. I'm also really not good with numbers... My 100% rate for these kinds of texts is usually 0.034 Euro per word.

If someone could help me out with an example of a good CAT grid, I would be incredibly grateful.
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Andriy Yasharov
Andriy Yasharov  Identity Verified
Украина
Local time: 13:17
английский => русский
+ ...
CAT grid Feb 12

When working with a CAT tool, the following CAT grid may be applied to your rate:


  • New Words: 100%

  • 50-74%: 100%

  • 75-84%: 60% of the word rate

  • 85-94%: 55% of the word rate

  • 95-99%: 25% of the word rate

  • 100%: 0%

  • Repetitions: 0%



Sometimes a better fuzzy match grid can be applied:

No match is 100% of the word rate
50-74% matches are 100%
... See more
When working with a CAT tool, the following CAT grid may be applied to your rate:


  • New Words: 100%

  • 50-74%: 100%

  • 75-84%: 60% of the word rate

  • 85-94%: 55% of the word rate

  • 95-99%: 25% of the word rate

  • 100%: 0%

  • Repetitions: 0%



Sometimes a better fuzzy match grid can be applied:

No match is 100% of the word rate
50-74% matches are 100% of the word rate
75-84% matches are 50%
85-94% matches are 50%
95-99% matches are 20%
100% matches are 10%
Repetitions are 10%
Context Matches are 10%
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Ana Vozone
 
Ana Vozone
Ana Vozone  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:17
Член ProZ.com c 2010
английский => португальский
+ ...
0,034 cents per word Feb 12

for pharmaceutical texts is less than a third of my rate... Is this what your agency offers you?

Zea_Mays
Jorge Payan
expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Нидерланды
Local time: 12:17
Член ProZ.com c 2006
английский => африкаанс
+ ...
@Ana Feb 12

Ana Vozone wrote:
For pharmaceutical texts is less than a third of my rate... Is this what your agency offers you?

Cindy is from South Africa. One of my US clients that usually offers me 5c per word recently opened a branch in South Africa, and the South African branch promptly offered me 1.5c per word, and they have no difficulty finding people to work at that rate. There is an oversupply of skilled bilinguals in South Africa, and thanks to Corona more people now know about translation as a profession.


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Нидерланды
Local time: 12:17
Член ProZ.com c 2006
английский => африкаанс
+ ...
. Feb 12

.

[Edited at 2025-02-12 14:34 GMT]


 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
Великобритания
Local time: 11:17
голландский => английский
+ ...
Grid Feb 12

Andriy Yasharov wrote:

When working with a CAT tool, the following CAT grid may be applied to your rate:

New Words: 100%
50-74%: 100%
75-84%: 60% of the word rate
85-94%: 55% of the word rate
95-99%: 25% of the word rate
100%: 0%
Repetitions: 0%



That's a horrible grid.

There is no justification for applying any discount to 75-84% matches, they just aren't useful.

0% rate for 100% matches and reps is also outrageous - unless they are locked by the agency, and the translator is explicitly only responsible for the segments they translate and not the quality and consistency of the document as a whole (in which case, why not just run the whole thing through DEEPL and be done with).


expressisverbis
Zea_Mays
Vanessa Dias
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anton Konashenok
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Бельгия
Local time: 12:17
Член ProZ.com c 2020
французский => голландский
+ ...
Usefulness Feb 12

Rachel Waddington wrote:
That's a horrible grid.

There is no justification for applying any discount to 75-84% matches, they just aren't useful.


60% is even higher than the grid I use since the year 2005, where 50% is applied for 75-84% matches.

I don't agree, by the way, that those matches aren't useful. Everything above 80% mostly means that you only have to change a few words. I can't really measure it, but I have always got the impression that those matches cost me less than half the time I would need for no matches.

As far as non-paid 100% matches are concerned, they don't even have to be locked to not touch them. Customers aren't entitled to anything more than they pay for.

[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-12 15:17 GMT]


 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
Великобритания
Local time: 11:17
голландский => английский
+ ...
Free labour Feb 12

Lieven Malaise wrote:

As far as non-paid 100% matches are concerned, they don't even have to be locked to not touch them. Customers aren't entitled to anything more than they pay for.

[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-12 15:17 GMT]


It's going to take a certain amount of labour and expertise to work around the 100% matches and repetitions, and I don't see why that should be the translator's job if they aren't being paid for it.

But the main issue is that if the 100% matches are not reviewed, the quality of the document as a whole is going to be rubbish. There are almost certain to be terminological inaccuracies, and mistakes made in the past will propaged through into the new document. Some of the matches will be completely wrong in their new context. And the text will not flow well if it is a patchwork of sentences from different translators that hasn't been reviewed.

The (in my view) essential step of reading the finished translation through to check that it all makes sense and reads well won't be possible because how are you going to just read the sections you translated and skip the reps and 100% matches?

All that is fine if the customer explicitly accepts that the translator is only responsible for the segments they translate, and not the quality of the overall document (I would definitely want that in writing). But I do wonder why anyone would pay a professional translator and not let them do their job of providing a quality translation.


Lija Lija
expressisverbis
Zea_Mays
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anton Konashenok
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Бельгия
Local time: 12:17
Член ProZ.com c 2020
французский => голландский
+ ...
Agency behaviour Feb 12

Rachel Waddington wrote:
But the main issue is that if the 100% matches are not reviewed, the quality of the document as a whole is going to be rubbish. There are almost certain to be terminological inaccuracies, and mistakes made in the past will propaged through into the new document. Some of the matches will be completely wrong in their new context. And the text will not flow well if it is a patchwork of sentences from different translators that hasn't been reviewed.


It's simply not your responsibility if you're not paid for it. I work for an agency that has one end client in particular that occasionally asks to translate very technical stuff. Those documents are typically very long and consist for 90% or more of locked existing translations. Those translations contain errors and terminology that is translated in sometimes 3 different ways. It's basically one big mess, but the agency nor the end client seem to care. So I don't care either, meaning that I focus on the parts that I'm asked to translate making sure that it is done properly, but ignoring the rest.

It's not the first time I encounter this kind of behaviour from an agency/end client. There is another end client that a few times a year asks for updates of already translated documents (user manuals, also with locked segments). Years ago I pointed out that the existing translation was sometimes of very low quality, but I was told to ignore it. So I ignore it.

I used to make my agency clients aware of this kind of problems, but that was when 100% matches were still paid by default. Nowadays more (still a minority, but still...) agency clients no longer pay for 100% matches. And that's fine, but you simply can't expect to get a certain service if you refuse to pay for it.

Personally I believe locking segments is a terrible idea, because it creates several problems the PM or end client that doesn't speak your language knows nothing about. But to each their responsibility.


 


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CAT translation grid for pharmaceutical texts







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