The Cult of the CAT
How much have translation memories really helped grass-roots translators?
The rise of computer-assisted translation, from Trados in the mid-’90s to today’s myriad of purpose-developed translation memory software, has been stratospheric. It has transformed the working environment for translators beyond recognition. But, 20 years down the line, who have been the real winners and losers in this digitisation of the language industry?
When Trados et al first appeared they were received with the usual mix of excitement, apathy and dread. Those who could see the efficiency savings and potential for faster, more consistent translations were excited. Those who couldn’t see what all the fuss was about, were accordingly unimpressed. And those who saw only the need for them to learn a new tech skill were filled with foreboding.
In judging the pros and cons of CAT, we need to consider its impact from two perspectives. Firstly, for the LSPs and how it’s revolutionised their workflows. And, secondly, from the point of view of the grass-roots translator.
Thanks to translation memory software, LSPs can now manage massive volumes of linguistic data in any combination, for nearly all the languages on earth. No question, a huge advantage. It has allowed them to scale up and grow exponentially whilst improving efficiency, translation consistency and therefore quality.
This obviously benefits major clients, too. Their translations are generally better, more consistent and they need only approach one provider to cater for all their required language combinations. This is especially true of technical translations or those with plenty of repetition. And, of course, the terminology and glossary tools are indispensable.
But what of lowly translators? Do they really benefit to the same extent as LSPs and major consumers?
CAT tools have become so entrenched in the industry that newcomers are likely to have come across them even before starting their first professional job. But, although nearly every industry nowadays requires digital skills in addition to the core task, these skills still need updating regularly to keep up with industry advances. This takes time and money.
For freelancers, the procurement costs of some industry standard tools are exorbitant and do not reflect the cost advantages of using them. SDL Trados Studio 2019 Freelance will normally set you back an eyebrow-raising €695 with the Freelance Plus version retailing at a whopping €855. And then you need to upgrade each year at additional cost.
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Ok, that’s the cost but what’s its value? Well, there are two aspects to ROI here. Some LSPs will only work with you if you own a compatible version of SDL or other major TM software, so you could argue that owning one will give you access to more agency work. But this is not an advantage, it’s a baseline. Like owning a PC or laptop.
And what about efficiency savings? SDL’s website boasts of “valuable time you could save on project organisation and error-checking, so that you can spend more time increasing your revenue through translation”.
Sounds great, but in reality, agencies and even direct clients won’t pay you a cent for repetition or even near 100% matches (in some cases). So this is all work you have to do for free. After all, the sentences still need to be checked even if they do flash up as 100% match.
And most translators are not likely to be working on more than two or three jobs at the same time, so project organisation is not really an issue — and if it is, there are plenty of free project management tools that will do a better job, like Airtable or Trello.
So, in fact, this is effectively more price pressure on freelancers who are already getting an increasingly smaller piece of the pie.
And what about the issue of polluted TMs? In Canada, a number of LSPs have just been given leave to sue the “Translation Bureau or, more accurately, […] the Attorney General of Canada; the Translation Bureau being a federal institution” for being “forced to work from a Translation Memory that is flawed and polluted and that has not been revised according to standard practice, which complicates the translator’s work while also substantially reducing remuneration”. Keeping your TMs clean is now a serious headache for many major LSPs and with the volume of data flowing through their CAT tools, managing it all is a full-time job for several people.
So what about freelancers who use TMs and work primarily with direct clients? Surely, they benefit from efficiency savings too. Well, yes, to a certain extent — but they need to find the time to clean up and manage their TMs as well. And, as mentioned above, the advantages are mainly for technical translators or niches with lots of repetition.
I work with a number of institutes and think-tanks, including SWP and DIW Berlin, and the language in their papers is fairly unique. Yes, there are some sentences that come up every now and then in concordance searches, but that does not justify purchasing a tool that costs close to a grand. Glossaries and terminology tools are far more important for these kinds of texts. And a simple Excel file will often suffice.
In summary, it’s clear that the digitization of the industry and introduction of TMs has undoubtedly benefitted major companies with high volume translation needs. The LSPs, too, have been able to cut costs and enjoy efficiency savings and improved quality, leading to considerable industry growth. Indeed, 2019 saw the rise of the first Super Agencies.
However, it appears that all this growth has not been passed on to those doing the ‘actual work’. Translators on the front line have been squeezed by higher entry barriers, price pressure and diminishing returns.
Of course, given the current economic crisis caused by COVID-19, this all seems relatively academic. But when it’s all over and we emerge from lockdown, will there be an upheaval of the industry to provide greater rewards for grass-roots translators? The evidence would suggest otherwise. It seems that, for translators at least, the CAT has become a necessary evil.
Note: If you do need a CAT tool but won’t or can’t spend a fortune, I recommend working with a free TM like Wordfast Anywhere. It’s powerful, free and platform-independent. Oh and did I mention it was free? It is.
