our blog
Reasons Why Your Translation Volume May Be Different from the Client’s One
23 February 2023
The volume of translation for the customer and the translator is not always the same
There are times when a client sends you 5K words for translation, but your CAT tool thinks they gave you 10K (the volume of technical translations is usually measured in words). No one wants to do extra work. Before you turn on the panic mode, go through this list.
* * *
First and foremost, the problems of possible misunderstanding:
- Are all the documents in the package included in your assignment? Maybe some of them were assigned to another translator?
- Do you and the client have the same analysis settings? For example, in memoQ, the Homogeneity flag strongly influences analysis results.
- Is there any TM in the project at all? Perhaps the client simply forgot to add it when creating the package.
* * *
If this does not help, there may be problems with the TM:
- If there is a TM, is it activated? For example, in Trados Studio, look at the Enabled checkbox.
- If the TM is online, is the TM server enabled and are you connected to it? In memoQ, active online TMs are highlighted in yellow.
- Is the name of the TM file too long? If it is, disconnect the TM, give its file a shorter name, and reconnect it.
- Is the path to the TM file too long? If it is, disconnect the TM, move its file closer to the root of the disk, and reconnect it.
- Do the TM file name and path contain characters of unusual languages (acute accents, umlauts, hieroglyphs)?
- Is the TM file blocked by anything? Does the file have a Read only attribute? Is it being scanned by your antivirus? Is the file in the cloud storage (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive)?
- Is everything okay with the TM file itself? Does it need to be re-indexed (Trados Studio) or restored (memoQ)?
- The scope of the translation may depend on the version of the CAT tool. Compare the versions of the programs—yours and the client's one.
If this does not work as well, you will have to send screenshots to the client.
Recommended content
How to fix the «Failed to load project from …» error in Trados Studio
About another error in Trados Studio Let’s analyze the Trados Studio error: Failed to load project from … There is an error in XML document (X, Y). Unexpected end of file has occurred. Unexpected end of file while parsing Name has occurred. The error is caused by a violation of the structure of the SDLPROJ […]
A Few Abbreviations Every Technical Translator Should Know
Useful information for technical translators Here is are a few abbreviations you will encounter regularly if you work in technical translation:
How to Prevent Data Loss If Your CAT Tool Crashes
Useful tips about working with CATs If your CAT tool crashes and there is a risk of losing the completed portion of your translation, the first priority is to preserve the work you have already done. Only after securing the data should you attempt to fix the issue. Otherwise, you may have to redo the […]
Why Word May Refuse to Check Spelling
Useful tips about working in Word Why Word may refuse to check spelling: Go to File → Options → Proofing, then select the Check spelling as you type checkbox and clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only checkbox (see image). Select the text you want to check, then verify that the correct language […]
How to replace “straight quotes” with «guillemets» in Word
Useful tips about working in Word We already know how to quickly replace straight quotes with guillemets in Trados Studio and memoQ. Sometimes this has to be done not in the CAT tool but directly in the “monotext,” the text in the target language in Word. The easiest way to do this is to use […]
