| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Translation speed - large volume project Thread poster: e-solutions (X)
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e-solutions (X)
United States
Local time: 05:58
Russian to English
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An agency asked me if I could handle a translation of 10 manuals:86000 words, with 508 pages, but I've never done such a large volume project.
Any advice/guidance as to how long that will take?
At the capacity of 2,000 words per day, that's 43 days. At the capacity of 5,000 words per day, that's 17 days. I am new to translation industry and have never timed myself with regard to translation speed. The average of those two is about a month. Is that feasible?
... See more An agency asked me if I could handle a translation of 10 manuals:86000 words, with 508 pages, but I've never done such a large volume project.
Any advice/guidance as to how long that will take?
At the capacity of 2,000 words per day, that's 43 days. At the capacity of 5,000 words per day, that's 17 days. I am new to translation industry and have never timed myself with regard to translation speed. The average of those two is about a month. Is that feasible?
Many thanks!
P.S. I am native in the target language. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | A few questions... | Oct 31, 2010 |
Do you master the subject? Have you seen the manuals? Are there many repetitions? Do you use a CAT tool?
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Teresa Borges wrote:
Are there many repetitions? Do you use a CAT tool?
In my limited experience, manuals tend to contain huge amounts of repetitions. If you have manuals for 10 related products, it's almost guaranteed that significant portions of text will be repeated 10 times (once in each manual). On top of that, many things will be repeated internally within documents.
The terminology is bound to be tricky but limited. I.e. there will be a few (dozen) terms you will struggle with as you translate the first manual, but when you are done with the first, the remaining 9 will be a LOT easier in that regard.
I think these factors make a large project of this kind much easier than many other large projects you may come across.
I can't venture a guess about how much time this should take for you. If this was my project and the job seemed doable to me in terms of terminology/content, I wouldn't hesitate to take it on with a one-month deadline. If there was a lot of repetition and/or a rush fee, I would perhaps consider a 20-day deadline, but of course it's impossible to tell without seeing the text and the stats.
Also, in projects like this, it's very important to get a client-supplied glossary or at least previous translations of similar material. They are bound to have many house terms with preexisting translations, and the less of them you have to make up as you go along, the better.
| | | | Robert Forstag 
United States
Local time: 05:58
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Very basic advice | Oct 31, 2010 |
If you are new to translation, and have never done such a large project, you really ought to consider whether you can do a professional job on such material, especially if you are not a specialist in the subject matter in question.
In general, and if you are highly comfortable with the material, I would still advise not committing to more than 3000 words a day. This gives you a deadline that should prevent you from becoming completely enslaved by the project (and, in a best-case sce... See more If you are new to translation, and have never done such a large project, you really ought to consider whether you can do a professional job on such material, especially if you are not a specialist in the subject matter in question.
In general, and if you are highly comfortable with the material, I would still advise not committing to more than 3000 words a day. This gives you a deadline that should prevent you from becoming completely enslaved by the project (and, in a best-case scenario, enables you to surprise the client by completing the job prior to the agreed deadline).
A general word to the wise: If you have the freedom to set a deadline, always give yourself more time than you think you need. This allows you to deal with unforeseen matters that may arise, and also (within limits) to accept other jobs while working on a a project you have already committed to.
[Edited at 2010-10-31 13:00 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to German
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In memoriam | One more thing | Oct 31, 2010 |
Translating doesn't mean that you can simply start typing away. You will have to get familiar with the product first and there might be a lot of reading to do. It will take a couple of pages until you will reach your final translation speed. Don't underestimate this phase. Also count in extra time to proofread your translation before delivery.
| | | | Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 11:58
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
| contradictions | Oct 31, 2010 |
Tatyana Oleneva wrote:
I am new to translation industry
I've had a look at your profile and CV and a couple of things strike me as being very strange.
- Being new to the translation industry as you mention in this post contradicts your 10 years' experience stated on your profile.
- Being expert in software and localisation fields contradicts with posting a sample translation of a poem.
As others have pointed out, experience and specialisation are the 2 factors that will have the biggest influence on your translation speed. It is very hard to give advice if both factors are misleading.
Another factor to be considered in a large project is the use of a CAT tool. But as you specialise in software, then no doubt you have already taken this into consideration?
[Edited at 2010-10-31 13:45 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 11:58
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| In the world of super heroes perhaps. | Oct 31, 2010 |
Tatyana Oleneva wrote:
At the capacity of 2,000 words per day, that's 43 days. At the capacity of 5,000 words per day, that's 17 days. I am new to translation industry and have never timed myself with regard to translation speed. The average of those two is about a month. Is that feasible?
In-house employees commonly have 5 days on/ two days off schedule, for a reason. They would probably significantly reduce their productivity ( on all levels) if they worked 17 days in a row at full capacity, without any day off.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | Now that you mention it, Emma.. | Oct 31, 2010 |
Emma Goldsmith wrote: Tatyana Oleneva wrote:
I am new to translation industry I've had a look at your profile and CV and a couple of things strike me as being very strange.
Interesting mix between AE and BE, BTW.
So, Tatyana, what exactly seems to be the problem?
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Tatyana Oleneva wrote:
An agency asked me if I could handle a translation of 10 manuals: 86000 words, with 508 pages, but I've never done such a large volume project.
If this were me, I'd want to see the files before giving any indication of possibility, so that I can check for repetition. If the 10 manuals have lots of overlap, and you use CAT, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to do it.
If it were me, I'd commit to 3000 words per day (assuming the text is reasonably clear and in a subject field that requires only average terminology research). That's 29 days, in other words 6 weeks.
I recently did a 40 000 word job for a client who gave me 6 weeks to do it. Just to give you an idea -- telling a client that you'll need 6 weeks is not unreasonable and you should not worry that the client will think that you are a slow translator (and therefore a poor translator) because of it.
At the capacity of 2,000 words per day, that's 43 days.
If your capacity is 2000 words a day, then that is nothing to feel ashamed of. 43 days is 9 weeks.
The average of those two is about a month. Is that feasible?
Don't go for the average -- go for the appropriate. If your usual speed is 2000 words a day, don't quote as if your usual speed is 3500 words per day.
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If possible, I always use MS Word in combination with CATs to process translations since its many good functions improve my productivity significantly (e.g. spell-checking, copy and paste, formatting, style, vocal input etc.)--by comparing with many well-knows CATs.
Soonthon Lupkitaro
[Edited at 2010-10-31 14:02 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:58
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Emma Goldsmith wrote:
I've had a look at your profile and CV and a couple of things strike me as being very strange.
- Being new to the translation industry as you mention in this post contradicts your 10 years' experience stated on your profile.
I think the problem lies with ProZ.com's profile system: On the profile page itself it says "translation experience" even though this experience may be in the translation *industry* (e.g. localisation, editing, reviewing, voice-over, QM, terminology, interpreting etc). Tatyana's résumé shows that she has been in localisation and text processing for quite a while -- that is not the same as translation, even though it would count as being in the translation industry.
Being expert in software and localisation fields contradicts with posting a sample translation of a poem.
Does it really?
Another factor to be considered in a large project is the use of a CAT tool. But as you specialise in software, then no doubt you have already taken this into consideration?
I'm not trying to defend Tatyana, but:
As someone myself who has had exposure to both translation and localisation I can tell you that the tools used in localisation do not always compare with the productivity type of tools used by translators. If I had to choose between translating something with a general-translation CAT tool or a software localisation tool, I'd take the CAT tool any day.
The fact that one is an expert in localisation does not necessarily mean that one would be knowledgeable about CAT and its capabilities.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 02:58
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | Agree with Samuel. | Oct 31, 2010 |
Also: Don't you have other clients on the side that need some attention from time to time?
There is a good reason why my favorite agency client (top-notch and extremely quality-oriented) never assigns more than 2000 words/day. Their translators are darn' good and therefore in high demand. Such translators have their own portfolio of regular clients and do not commit themselves to a single project over a long period of time while neglecting their other clients.
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Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 11:58
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
| point taken, Samuel :) | Oct 31, 2010 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
she has been in localisation and text processing for quite a while -- that is not the same as translation, even though it would count as being in the translation industry.
You may well be right.
What worries me is that an outsourcer who is checking through Tatyana's profile may make the same mistake as me, thinking, wrongly, that 10 years' translation experience actually means what it says
The fact that one is an expert in localisation does not necessarily mean that one would be knowledgeable about CAT and its capabilities.
You may well be right here too. Again, I must have been misled by the fact that Tatyana has listed SDL Trados under the software she has. I thought, wrongly, that she was knowledgeable about CATs.
By the way, I actually like the idea of a technical translator posting a poem as a sample translation, although I don't think I'm daring enough to do it myself. I obviously need to practise thinking out of the box.
[Edited at 2010-10-31 15:05 GMT]
| | | | e-solutions (X)
United States
Local time: 05:58
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | To Emma Goldsmith: | Oct 31, 2010 |
Emma,
The ProZ site is a work in progress. I've been registered here for many years while working full time for MIT. And yes, I've taken this on as a full time job only recently. Thank you for pointing out contradictions. I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions.
| | | | Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 11:58
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
Tatyana Oleneva wrote:
I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions.
Sorry, maybe I was too hasty!
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