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Members speak.

CITLoB members regularly come together to debate the questions that shape our industry. Here's a snapshot of two such conversations.

From the archive · 26 September 2020

The quarterly meeting of CITLoB members on Saturday, 26 September 2020 was alive with two interesting discussions, and we're happy to share a brief summary of both here. Special thanks to Lalita Marathe and Pradeesh Joseph for summarising the discussions so well.

CITLoB members' quarterly online meeting, 26 September 2020
CITLoB members' quarterly meeting — 26 September 2020.

Is MTPE & AI a menace?

Moderator: Lalita Marathe

  • We have trained the engines but not the translators — they need proper training and guidance.
  • MTPE is a boon to language-service providers and linguists if it is used properly.
  • Linguists will have to adapt to and use MT if they want to survive and thrive.
  • To understand MT, organisational maturity and awareness of the entire scenario is very important.
  • Financial, lexical, language-pair and domain-specific issues must also be taken into consideration.
  • Resistance to using MT is the biggest hurdle.
  • India needs more post-editors and reviewers.
  • MT is very useful. However, AI could be a menace if it continues to be a word falsely claimed by those who don't understand what it means or its role in improving technology-driven language solutions.
  • CITLoB will organise webinars on relevant topics like MT, data science and AI so members can build a better understanding of the subject.
  • Everyone agreed that MT needs to be popularised among linguists, and more content on the internet needs to be translated from and into Indian languages.

Participated in the discussion: Sandeep Nulkar, Lalita Marathe, Anuj Jaisinghani, Saumitra Mahajan, Sanjeev Das, Biraj Rath, Sudheen, Anandsagar Shiralkar, Pradeesh Joseph.

Securing payments when working with LSPs & direct clients

Moderator: M. Sudheen (Crystal Hues)

  • Default and delay in processing payments from clients are issues of concern.
  • It impacts payments to freelancers and partner agencies as per the agreed SLA.
  • Conduct a client review every year; rate clients on the basis of their performance.
  • Written payment terms, SLAs and/or POs are a must if payment issues are to be avoided.
  • Companies may have the capacity to pay but not the intention to pay — assess both the ability and the intention to pay before every project.
  • A client background check is a must before signing any agreement.
  • Useful credibility indicators before accepting projects: domain checks and presence on social-media platforms.
  • Check the persons behind the company (founders).
  • Check client consistency, stability and performance history.
  • A bank guarantee is good protection but may not be practical — it's time-consuming, and the client may opt for another vendor in the meantime.
  • LSPs should factor non-payments of 2–3% of annual revenue into their pricing.
  • Don't be so eager to take on work that any of the above guidelines are ignored.
  • CITLoB members can request partner agencies to become CITLoB members too — a deterrent against payment issues and duping.