tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post8728724730894909739..comments2024-03-06T02:46:19.929+00:00Comments on Translation Tribulations: Equivalent Rates in Translation BillingKevin Lossnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-28445742847856059222012-09-23T10:14:48.049+01:002012-09-23T10:14:48.049+01:00Sometimes, of course, a good part of this whole di...Sometimes, of course, a good part of this whole discussion is meaningless. A quote from this morning's digest of the Yahoogroups memoQ forum is a reminder of this:<br /><br /><i>"Automatic propagation may be a feature of other CAT tools, but it doesn't work too well for my source language (which has no spaces and thus no "words")."</i><br /><br />The only truly sensible quotations are those which reflect the value of a project or the reasonable expectations of those involved with it. We may use a line price, a word rate and any number of other objective and subjective factors to arrive at a final quotation, but ultimately all that really matters is whether the quote and its terms are acceptable to both parties.<br /><br />Sometimes when I think back on some of the ludicrous discussions one finds on these matters, on ProZ for example, I have to smile. Not only are there endless electrons wasted debating the best units for quotation but also "proving" the superiority of one method over another. But most entertaining of all are the ideoillogical idiots who insist one must have a fixed word price which applies to all projects. Given that text difficulty varies widely, this would mean enormous differences in hourly earnings, exceeding those of my attorney sometimes and dropping far below what my cleaning lady makes at other times. These people define themselves by their "price". I expect that one of these days at a translator's gathering, some smart fellow will introduce himself to me with the words, "Pleased to meet you Kevin! I'm Ten Cent. Like the rapper, but 80% cheaper so I get more work."Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-16408702498406727842012-09-17T10:54:01.855+01:002012-09-17T10:54:01.855+01:00Thank you very much, Kevin!
I used to have some ho...Thank you very much, Kevin!<br />I used to have some homebrew, simplistic formulas to determine the ratio between line and word prices (ST and TT), especially since I prefer to quote "fixed" prices, but they are nothing in comparison to your elaborate model.<br />I will certainly need some time to find my way around your spreadsheet - at first glance it's overwhelming, but it's exactly what I was looking for when trying to establish my own formulas. Thanks!!!<br />PS: And by the way, I am going to Warsaw!Valerij Tomarenkohttp://anmerkungen-des-uebersetzers.comnoreply@blogger.com