This infographic shows how to use translation memory to drive down costs, decrease turn-around time & improve consistency.

1. How to drive down costs,
decrease turn-around time &
improve consistency with
Translation Memory
Keep Your Translation Memories Separate
TMs are as unique as the content used to build them and isolating
content improves consistency and decreases costs by limiting
variances. In other words, it’s a good idea to keep separate legal
and marketing TMs.
For example, “Definitions are provided for guidance only” can be
found in legal and other types of content, but for technical content
it might be referring to something else, like software. By combining
your TMs you run the risk of decreasing the efficiency of your TM
and convoluting your ICE match rates.
What is Translation Memory (TM)?
TM is a database that stores segments of translated text in order to
aid human translators, so the same sentence never needs to be
translated, or paid for, twice.
How it works.
When you submit a file for translation, preferably in an editable
format like a Word Document, the content is put into the TM. Then,
the content is evaluated in segments against the database of
previously translated terms and phrases. When the TM finds a
match, it shares it with the human translator working on the text.
They can accept or overwrite the suggestion depending on how it
fits with the context of the current document. As your TM grows so
does the likelihood of more matches, resulting in faster and more
consistent translations at a lower cost.
2. Exact Match (AKA “100% matches”)
This occurs when the same sentence has been translated before
and the TM is able to find a word-for-word and in-sequence match
in both the source document and the database, but the
surrounding content may be different.
“Definitions are provided for guidance only. Definitions used in
the agreement shall have the same meaning under this
addendum, unless expressly stated otherwise. These definitions
do not apply at anytime outside of the European Union."
Exact Match Example:
“The Definitions provided are considered agreed and understood
by all parties. Definitions used in the agreement shall have the
same meaning under this addendum, unless expressly stated
otherwise. These definitions do not apply at anytime outside of
the European Union."
Source
Exact Match
1. In Context Exact Match (ICE)
This is ultimately what your aiming for. An ICE match is an exact
match that occurs in exactly the same context. In other words, the
sentences surrounding the analyzed segment, as well as the
segment itself, are exactly the same.
ICE Match Example:
“Definitions are provided for guidance only. Definitions used in the
agreement shall have the same meaning under this addendum,
unless expressly stated otherwise. These definitions do not apply
at anytime outside of the European Union."
Source
ICE Match
“Definitions are provided for guidance only. Definitions used in the
agreement shall have the same meaning under this addendum,
unless expressly stated otherwise. These definitions do not apply
at anytime outside of the European Union."
Definitions used within the agreement shall have the same
meaning under the addendum, unless expressly stated
otherwise.
“Definitions are provided for guidance only. Definitions used in
the agreement shall have the same meaning under this
addendum, unless expressly stated otherwise. These definitions
do not apply at anytime outside of the European Union."
Source
High Fuzzy Match
Low Fuzzy Match
Definitions used within the agreement will have the exact same
meaning under within the addendum, unless expressly stated
otherwise.
3. Fuzzy match
When the segment match is not exact, it is a "fuzzy" match.
Usually, percentages are assigned to these kinds of matches. For
example, a fuzzy match can range from low (0%) to high (100%).
Fuzzy Match Example:
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About VIA
VIA provides accurate translation with a 99% on-time delivery rate. With a global network of over
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Not all matches are created equal: TM will
make suggestions on three types of
matches
The more consistent you are with your
messaging in your source documents, the
more likely you are to get ICE matches.
Adopting glossaries and style guides can
help you achieve the best match-rates
possible for best-cost scenario.
If the fuzzy match does not impact the
context of the document then it can be
less expensive to just use it. However, if it
happens to change the meaning, such as
in a legal contract, the translator may want
to change it to be more accurate.