Are Discounts for Fuzzies Justified?

Are Discounts for Fuzzies Justified? While the use of software for different applications in the translation industry has now become common it has been seen that many translators are now using a popular tool called “Trados” for simplifying their work. While the use of Trados is becoming something of a rage there are many agencies that look for freelancers specifically those who are using the software for their work. The use of Trados has reduced the amount of effort that is needed in order to translate as it helps in identifying matches of repetitions within the text. The matches are identified as total matches or partial matches that are colloquially known as “Fuzzies”. Even though the software is aimed at simplifying the effort put in by the translators, many agencies are asking for people using Trados simply because they would like to ask the translator to provide some discounts for these total and partial matches. There is a divided stand between freelancers over the issue of providing discounts to total matches and to fuzzies. So, are discounts for fuzzies justified? While some say that competitive levels are making it more difficult to avoid providing discounts there are others who do not agree. While agencies justify it by saying there is no need to translate repetitive easy sentences many translators would agree to discounts if the sentences are repeats of total matches. They say fuzzies have to be scrutinized with care and therefore it is not possible to provide discounts to these. While some are of the opinion that they have spent so much money on the investment for the software and cannot provide discounts, there are others who feel that using the software has made their work much simpler and discounts are justified. They also feel that since the use of the software has become more universal they would not have to invest in any other software thereby actually reducing investment overheads. What was the advertising gimmick of the company is now slowly turning to providing discounts to complete matches and fuzzies. While many feel that a reduced rate for complete matches is justified they do not hold the same opinion for providing discounts to fuzzies.