Cost of Developing a Term Base? Thread poster: Joanie G
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Joanie G 
Sjedinjene Američke Države
Local time: 21:28
English to French
Hello everyone!
One of my clients has asked me to give him a quote for developing a term base on a large, 40k-word project. While I have worked on my own term base before, I have never done it specifically for a client, so I frankly have no idea what to charge for it. How do you usually go about estimating that kind of thing?
Any help would be very welcomed!
Thanks,
Joanie
| | | | Kevin Fulton
Sjedinjene Američke Države
Local time: 00:28
German to English
| Charge by the hour | Jun 22, 2015 |
Depending upon your own resources and familiarity with the subject matter, it could take a considerable amount of time to put together a reliable glossary. First, in conjunction with the client, you need to decide the scope of terminology. Will it include only terms specific to the company or industry, or should it also include other uncommon terminology found in the document? Once you've selected a term, you have to test it for validity (just pulling a term off e.g. Linguee might not work in ev... See more Depending upon your own resources and familiarity with the subject matter, it could take a considerable amount of time to put together a reliable glossary. First, in conjunction with the client, you need to decide the scope of terminology. Will it include only terms specific to the company or industry, or should it also include other uncommon terminology found in the document? Once you've selected a term, you have to test it for validity (just pulling a term off e.g. Linguee might not work in every situation – online resources can be unreliable). You'll also have to charge for time for your initial analysis as well as for consulting with the client. Don't be shocked if it takes a while to produce a useable term, so be very cautious when asked for a time estimate by the client. You might wind up working for minimum wage! ▲ Collapse
| | | | LilianNekipelov
Sjedinjene Američke Države
Local time: 00:28
Russian to English
+ ...
| About $50-100/hr | Jun 23, 2015 |
it is more of a lexicographer's work, most likely for some MT program, or to give other projects to some cheap translators in the future. Charge whatever top IT people charge per hour.
[Edited at 2015-06-23 07:44 GMT]
| | | | Angela Malik
Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo
Local time: 05:28
German to English
+ ...
| Soem ideas for you | Jun 23, 2015 |
Hi Joanie,
First, a few questions: is this a 40,000 word project that you yourself are translating/have translated? Are you very familiar with the client and the text/terminology itself? Do you have a program like MultiTerm Extract which can help you pinpoint important/repetitive terms?
All of those factors will reduce the amount of time you will need to create a termbase based on the project.
Here's how I personally would approach the project:
... See more Hi Joanie,
First, a few questions: is this a 40,000 word project that you yourself are translating/have translated? Are you very familiar with the client and the text/terminology itself? Do you have a program like MultiTerm Extract which can help you pinpoint important/repetitive terms?
All of those factors will reduce the amount of time you will need to create a termbase based on the project.
Here's how I personally would approach the project:
First I would clarify with the client exactly what the scope of the termbase will be, what types of terms etc. and also what type of attributes the client wants for each term (just a translation, or also context notes, product notes etc?) and then I would do one of two things:
If I were asked to translate the project and create the termbase as a side project while I translate, I would probably suggest charging a specific percentage of the cost of translation or charge a higher rate for the translation itself, then charge per hour only for the time it takes to "finalise" the termbase (double-checking questionable terms, collaborating with the client, finding evidence to support certain terms etc.) I would choose this approach because the client is likely to feel more comfortable if most of the project is charged on a per-word rate -- at the same time you are still compensated for the work you do.
OR if you are not the translator, I would suggest starting the termbase and working for an hour to get a more reliable idea of how long it could take. (Charge the client for that hour) Then on that basis I would overestimate the time I think it will take to complete the termbase project.
Someone else might have a better idea but this is what I can come up with before my first cup of coffee is completely consumed this morning ▲ Collapse
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I consider the preparation a termbase is much more than a simple compilation of terms.
I believe that it is a good idea to charge for the translation and the termbase separately. I am not sure whether the termbase is or can be subject to some kind of intellectual rights protection (on your behalf of course). It would also matter whether or not the client intends to sell the termbase.
I would probably agree on a certain basic number of specific fields to be included, th... See more I consider the preparation a termbase is much more than a simple compilation of terms.
I believe that it is a good idea to charge for the translation and the termbase separately. I am not sure whether the termbase is or can be subject to some kind of intellectual rights protection (on your behalf of course). It would also matter whether or not the client intends to sell the termbase.
I would probably agree on a certain basic number of specific fields to be included, then specify a unit price per term basis which would be twice of the translation price per word (as a starting minimum) and then increase this unit price for each extra field/detailing demanded.
Have fun ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Moran
Irska
Local time: 05:28
German to English
+ ...
| Be practical | Jun 23, 2015 |
On a 40k word job unless it is regular work it doesn't make sense to spend that much time on a termbase.
As suggested above, run terminology extraction (e.g. use the 45 day free version of MemoQ) and cull the list to get the frequent terms into a TBX file. Then spend a few hours reading the document to add obviously important terms. Bill that by hour, let's say four hours.
After that if you are translating on the job add terms as you go. In general, large companies pay ... See more On a 40k word job unless it is regular work it doesn't make sense to spend that much time on a termbase.
As suggested above, run terminology extraction (e.g. use the 45 day free version of MemoQ) and cull the list to get the frequent terms into a TBX file. Then spend a few hours reading the document to add obviously important terms. Bill that by hour, let's say four hours.
After that if you are translating on the job add terms as you go. In general, large companies pay €1 per new term. A few hundred terms is what you will be aiming for.
A few hundred Euros is likely to be their budget. Charging IT consultant rates like a few thousand Euros for a few days of work is unlikely to work out.
The cynical comment regarding the MT system or cheap translators is unhelpful. Aside from the fact that it is none of your business, a bad translator with a good termbase is still a bad translator. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Joanie G
Sjedinjene Američke Države
Local time: 21:28
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you so much to everyone who has replied! Lots of great suggestions and tips!
| | | | | Contexts of words | Jul 13, 2015 |
LilianNekipelov wrote:
it is more of a lexicographer's work, most likely for some MT program, or to give other projects to some cheap translators in the future. Charge whatever top IT people charge per hour.
[Edited at 2015-06-23 07:44 GMT]
I am quite tiresome with repetitive termbase making since any word has a number of translation based on the contexts the word is going to be applied.
Soonthon L.
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| Cost of Developing a Term Base? | Dec 18, 2024 |
Hi Joanie,
Providing a quote for developing a term base for a client can indeed feel challenging if it’s your first time doing it professionally. The rate often depends on factors like the complexity of the terminology, the level of research required, and the format or software the client wants you to use.
To start, you might want to estimate the time it will take to compile the term base. Break it into tasks like extracting terms, researching definitions, and organiz... See more Hi Joanie,
Providing a quote for developing a term base for a client can indeed feel challenging if it’s your first time doing it professionally. The rate often depends on factors like the complexity of the terminology, the level of research required, and the format or software the client wants you to use.
To start, you might want to estimate the time it will take to compile the term base. Break it into tasks like extracting terms, researching definitions, and organizing the information. From there, apply your hourly or project rate to calculate a fair price.
If you’re looking for guidance on industry-standard rates or want to compare approaches, this article might provide some helpful insights: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/it-consulting-rates/
Best of luck with the project! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italija
Local time: 06:28
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
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