Character counting methods Thread poster: AjaniO
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AjaniO 
Local time: 12:55
Japanese to English
This is my first post here, so hopefully I'm doing this correctly...
In any case, I have been working with a new agency (Japanese to English) for most of this year and recently I have noticed that their character count is significantly different from the counts that I get in Word or Trados.
The first time I noticed this, they said that they use their own software to produce a character count because Word often includes single-byte characters. Their software was speciall... See more This is my first post here, so hopefully I'm doing this correctly...
In any case, I have been working with a new agency (Japanese to English) for most of this year and recently I have noticed that their character count is significantly different from the counts that I get in Word or Trados.
The first time I noticed this, they said that they use their own software to produce a character count because Word often includes single-byte characters. Their software was specially formulated to count only double-byte characters, etc., so they had confidence that their count was correct.
I edited the document they gave me and removed all alphanumeric characters to see if I could get anywhere near their count. When I did this, I found that there was still a significant difference in the character count and at best, their count may have been closer to a word count rather than a character count.
I sent the edited document along with an analysis file from Trados and they replied in compliance with my count.
Recently, I received another assignment from them and after the last time, I made sure to check the character count. It turns out that there was a discrepancy of about 1000 characters without editing, and after manually removing all the non-Japanese text that I could find, the discrepancy was still about 500 characters.
I brought this to their attention with the same evidence as before and now they are not bending. They told me that their software is correct and basically explained to me that their software counts only characters that fall under the unique code assigned to Japanese text in Word and unfortunately they cannot provide me with proof via screenshot because their software is proprietary.
I read on another blog that this character count issue is a problem for this company and I have never had this issue with other companies (this is the first non-Japanese/American company that I have worked for).
Has anyone else had this issue before? Is this normal? Any advice to offer? ▲ Collapse
| | | | XX789 (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 18:55
English to Dutch
+ ...
| Well, the first thing I would do... | Dec 14, 2012 |
...is offer them a translation without the single-byte "Japanese" words. They don't pay for them, so you shouldn't copy them either.
Also politely explain that your word rate is based on your word count, and that if they force you to follow their word count, your word rate will of course need to be adapted to the new situation (read: raised by x0%).
This is iron logic and you will utterly defeat them with it.
| | | | Alex Farrell (X)
Japan
Local time: 01:55
Japanese to English
| Don't trust them | Dec 14, 2012 |
If everything you say is true, then they are obviously scamming you. You don't need special software to perform these counts. All you need is Microsoft Word.
I use the Japanese version, and when you do a count it gives you several results. One excludes all single-byte characters. It is the last one in the list and is called 全角文字 + 半角カタカナの数.
However, if you are using the English version of the software then I am not sure what it is called or if it... See more If everything you say is true, then they are obviously scamming you. You don't need special software to perform these counts. All you need is Microsoft Word.
I use the Japanese version, and when you do a count it gives you several results. One excludes all single-byte characters. It is the last one in the list and is called 全角文字 + 半角カタカナの数.
However, if you are using the English version of the software then I am not sure what it is called or if it even appears.
If you can (and if you haven't already), you should compare this count with the agency's. If the discrepancy remains and they still refuse to be flexible, then avoid taking assignments while making sure you receive any outstanding payments. After they've paid you everything, explain to them why you will no longer accept assignments from them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Don't buy it | Dec 14, 2012 |
It looks like a camouflaged scam, don't fall for it.
Your countermeasure would be to make it explicitly clear from the outset that your word count is to follow if they want jobs done by you.
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AjaniO
Local time: 12:55
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for the responses!
I declined the assignment stating that I didn't feel comfortable with such a large discrepancy and also pointed out that it didn't seem fair if there was no common method of evaluating the character count. No response from them after that...
I'll be careful with their assignments from now on, but it's a bit of a shame because they do pass a fair amount of work my way and they are good with payment. Then again, it's not a huge loss since they... See more Thank you for the responses!
I declined the assignment stating that I didn't feel comfortable with such a large discrepancy and also pointed out that it didn't seem fair if there was no common method of evaluating the character count. No response from them after that...
I'll be careful with their assignments from now on, but it's a bit of a shame because they do pass a fair amount of work my way and they are good with payment. Then again, it's not a huge loss since they pay below average rates for difficult/specialty translation.
The pieces of advice that you guys gave to me were really helpful and have emboldened my confidence to deal with these types of issues.
Much appreciated! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | | AjaniO
Local time: 12:55
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for the info | Dec 17, 2012 |
Katalin, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm not sure that it's the same company, but the company in question did start its business around that time, so I guess it's possible.
In my case, even after removing all alphanumeric text and looking at the word count instead of the character count, there was still a large difference between their count and my own.
I don't know exactly what is going within the company, but I'm leaning towards the opinion that they ... See more Katalin, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm not sure that it's the same company, but the company in question did start its business around that time, so I guess it's possible.
In my case, even after removing all alphanumeric text and looking at the word count instead of the character count, there was still a large difference between their count and my own.
I don't know exactly what is going within the company, but I'm leaning towards the opinion that they are trying to cheat me. They are pretty reliable in a lot of ways, but in my experience and as I've heard from other people on the net, they have a history of doing everything they can to save money, so I wouldn't put it past them.
One of the worst things about it is that when I first brought it up, they admitted that their count was incorrect and let me work at the count I quoted. When I brought it up a second time, they stood their ground and would not back down. ▲ Collapse
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