Poll: I have started doing more post-editing of machine translation in the past year or two. Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I have started doing more post-editing of machine translation in the past year or two.".
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That translation is being, and not so gradually anymore, morphed into something like MTPE ("fundamentally transformed", to quote a phrase that various kinds of self-described progressives seem so fond of using). Anyway, I'll miss all of those super-friendly, recent liberal arts graduates who work, and very hard, at the Starbucks I frequent, for money they can put towards graduate school tuition (that is just one of the reasons I like to go and spend my cash there), after robotic machines at the ... See more That translation is being, and not so gradually anymore, morphed into something like MTPE ("fundamentally transformed", to quote a phrase that various kinds of self-described progressives seem so fond of using). Anyway, I'll miss all of those super-friendly, recent liberal arts graduates who work, and very hard, at the Starbucks I frequent, for money they can put towards graduate school tuition (that is just one of the reasons I like to go and spend my cash there), after robotic machines at the counter take over from them. When that happens, I'll probably head to a library instead.
[Edited at 2022-07-18 00:04 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-07-18 00:05 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-07-18 08:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Is it really necessary for us to regurgitate this topic every single week?
| | | | | False, I don't do PEMT | Jul 18, 2022 |
So far, I have refused all PEMT jobs that have come my way. For starters, I don’t enjoy editing or proofreading other’s work as much as enjoy translating and then I haven’t found a client willing to pay a decent rate for PEMT…
[Edited at 2022-07-18 08:39 GMT]
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Maciek Drobka 
Poland
Local time: 05:31
Member (2006)
English to Polish
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| I see MTPE as an opportunity if approached with reason | Jul 18, 2022 |
I used to flatly refuse any MTPE jobs that came my way.
This changed approx. 1 year ago, when an existing client said that a new large project would be based on MTPE. With some reservation, I decided to give it a try. The project was mainly simple user interface + some information/mild marketing content for a health and wellbeing app. I carefully tracked my time spent translating the project, and found that the resulting average hourly earnings were more than double my non-MTPE aver... See more I used to flatly refuse any MTPE jobs that came my way.
This changed approx. 1 year ago, when an existing client said that a new large project would be based on MTPE. With some reservation, I decided to give it a try. The project was mainly simple user interface + some information/mild marketing content for a health and wellbeing app. I carefully tracked my time spent translating the project, and found that the resulting average hourly earnings were more than double my non-MTPE average for this client!
That experience changed my approach to MTPE. Currently, I accept MTPE projects that offer a satisfactory combination of (1) fairly easy content AND (2) a good base rate. When (1) and (2) are met, I have found I can work at a sustained resulting rate that is at least twice as high as my standard non-MTPE rate. In other words, my MTPE-based earnings per hour, which is a key performance indicator for me as a translator, are at least twice as high as my non-MTPE earnings.
I still refuse MTPE projects where the content is too complex for MT (which means marketing projects in my area of work) or the rate does not seem fair enough to me. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 05:31
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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| ProZ staff: excessive use of True/False combo | Jul 18, 2022 |
Please stop using the true/false combo in quick polls. I'm begging you.
These are simple Yes/No questions, not some personality tests out of women's mags. Or are they?
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 05:31
German to English
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Unfortunately, MTPE is the future for some areas of translation, whether we like it or not. I take on MTPE jobs when I don't have any translation projects
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 05:31
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| It certainly | Jul 18, 2022 |
I have started doing more post-editing of machine translation in the past year or two.
It certainly feels that way.
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Sadek_A
Local time: 08:31
English to Arabic
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Philip Lees wrote:
Is it really necessary for us to regurgitate this topic every single week?
I believe it is. Part of "showcase it heavily for it to look like the new norm"!
Teresa Borges wrote:
I don’t enjoy editing or proofreading other’s work
Heavy exposure to other people's translations and/or style-guides ultimately results in consuming reviewer's own style while at the same time contracting that specific style to those being reviewed. Kind of like the reviewer's style is slowly moving out into others. That loss must be remunerated very very well, not at the lousy rates currently on the offer!
| | | | | I can't vote | Jul 18, 2022 |
False, I do less than in 2008-2009, when I found out first-hand that long stretches of MTPE damage your brain, self-esteem and sentiment of purpose in this earthly world, while contributing to early ageing, loss of hair, skin greying and joint pain.
Philippe
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 05:31
French to English
Barbara Carrara wrote:
Please stop using the true/false combo in quick polls. I'm begging you.
These are simple Yes/No questions, not some personality tests out of women's mags. Or are they?
T/F had gone away after it was requested last time, but maybe that was just someone going on holiday who is now back.
C'mon Proz, this is a website for linguists! It *hurts* me to click on "False" when there's nothing false about a statement and all I want to say is "No, this statement doesn't apply to me".
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 05:31
French to English
Philippe Etienne wrote:
False, I do less than in 2008-2009, when I found out first-hand that long stretches of MTPE damage your brain, self-esteem and sentiment of purpose in this earthly world, while contributing to early ageing, loss of hair, skin greying and joint pain.
Philippe
You're a braver person than me, I have only done some short jobs, and "only" got a blistering headache (the kind that makes me hate the universe and want to scream at everyone).
It's pretty telling though, whenever an editing job gives me a headache like that, I know that the client lied about how the translation was produced, because even the worst of human translators don't do that to me. Even the one for whom I had to tell the PM "no the translator didn't use Google, because Google doesn't make that many mistakes".
(Google doesn't make spelling mistakes)
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| It does, at least it's not immune from them | Jul 18, 2022 |
Kay Denney wrote:
(Google doesn't make spelling mistakes)
I remember one instance when Google made a spelling mistake and a couple of instances where it came up with non-existent words to avoid translating something that made no sense to it. To answer the poll question: No, I stopped using MT altogether because Google no longer wants my money (I used to have it running most of the time in my CAT tools to economize typing effort, so most of my projects were technically MTPE; now they are 100% human, and this did not change my work pace or work quality). Btw, Microsoft doesn't want my money either, so I thought I'd have to install something to replace Office, but my Office still appears fully functional, never mind the recurring activation prompts (what is the ultimate goal of a corporation? to turn as many people as possible into cash flows, and MS just failed at it in my case, and so did Google, because the cash flows they used to rake in from me have ceased for good – hopefully)
| | | | | I don't take PE jobs | Jul 19, 2022 |
MT is there to support translators, not for agencies to maximise their profit.
MT *can* help you to work faster and translate better (sic), but only if *you* have control over it.
| | | | Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 07:31
English to Russian
| MTPE vs non-MTPE rates | Jul 19, 2022 |
Can anyone explain why on earth the MTPE pay rate must be lower than that for conventional translation? In theory, MT helps you type words faster and as a result you can translate more words over the same amount of time, right? Right. This way your client benefits from sooner translation for the same money (and we still remember that rush translation costs extra pay, don't we). Then why should agencies rip off translators even more? Does anybody know their reasoning?
2000s:
Wh... See more Can anyone explain why on earth the MTPE pay rate must be lower than that for conventional translation? In theory, MT helps you type words faster and as a result you can translate more words over the same amount of time, right? Right. This way your client benefits from sooner translation for the same money (and we still remember that rush translation costs extra pay, don't we). Then why should agencies rip off translators even more? Does anybody know their reasoning?
2000s:
What agencies/clients do when they want double productivity from the translator? They pay the translator double rate.
2020s:
What agencies/clients do when they want double productivity from the translator? They pay the translator half rate.
[Edited at 2022-07-19 17:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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