| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | How many words can you translate in 8 hours? Thread poster: areli_ash
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Alex Lago 
Spain
Local time: 21:55
English to Spanish
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I think the posters main problem is the fact they are dealing with very different subjects and consequently it would be very difficult to be an expert in all of them, my output varies greatly depending on the text’s subject matter.
If it is one of my "specialized" fields (that I translate on a regular basis) I can quite comfortably reach a level of 1,000 words per hour (translated, proofread and ready to deliver) and keep this up for as long as I want (I must mention I work for 90... See more I think the posters main problem is the fact they are dealing with very different subjects and consequently it would be very difficult to be an expert in all of them, my output varies greatly depending on the text’s subject matter.
If it is one of my "specialized" fields (that I translate on a regular basis) I can quite comfortably reach a level of 1,000 words per hour (translated, proofread and ready to deliver) and keep this up for as long as I want (I must mention I work for 90 minutes intensively focusing on nothing else and then rest for 30 minutes, so in an 8 hour day I will actually only work 6 hours and translate 6,000 words).
However if I am not familiar with the subject matter my speed can drop drastically, so I always try to stick to my "specialized" fields, obviously this is not an option for the poster so in their particular case I would say 25,000 words of very different subject matter is too much per week.
[Edited at 2015-02-13 17:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 16:55
Portuguese to English
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| I could probably do 4 kWords/day | Feb 16, 2015 |
If the text is not too technical, I can do 4 kWords/day at a productivity of 500 diracs (words/hour). So this is doable. If the week is 7 calendar days (including weekends), 7 days x 4 kWords = 28 kWords. I could condense it into 6 days working a bit more and then the seventh day for proofreading. However, in this case I would probably do partial deliveries, delivering each text when ready.
| | | | Jan Kovačič
Slovenia
Local time: 21:55
Member (2020)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
| Approximately 2500 | Feb 16, 2015 |
On average I translate approximately 2500 to 3000 words per day, however, it depends ona a lot of factors - topic, deadline, terminology, etc.
I believe that it's really hard to do the comparison, because not only that languages are different but people and their way of working as well. Myself I believe in quality over quantity so I rather translate less and better, than more and really sloppy. What usually takes me the most time is digging for terminology and googling.
CAT m... See more On average I translate approximately 2500 to 3000 words per day, however, it depends ona a lot of factors - topic, deadline, terminology, etc.
I believe that it's really hard to do the comparison, because not only that languages are different but people and their way of working as well. Myself I believe in quality over quantity so I rather translate less and better, than more and really sloppy. What usually takes me the most time is digging for terminology and googling.
CAT might increase your translating speed but I don't think it's essential, and it really depends on a person. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 15:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
| I agree with Henry, Robin, and Alex | Feb 17, 2015 |
I have very often translated at least 5000 words per day. I have even exceeded 10,000 on a number of occasions. (For the record, I do not use CAT tools.)
For me, this is feasible as long as the text is material I am familiar with and there are no time-consuming charts, graphs, or tables to deal with.
I also think that 5000+ words/day is sustainable on the basis of a 5-day working week (but if I translate, say, 25K words in a three-day period, then I will need a day of r... See more I have very often translated at least 5000 words per day. I have even exceeded 10,000 on a number of occasions. (For the record, I do not use CAT tools.)
For me, this is feasible as long as the text is material I am familiar with and there are no time-consuming charts, graphs, or tables to deal with.
I also think that 5000+ words/day is sustainable on the basis of a 5-day working week (but if I translate, say, 25K words in a three-day period, then I will need a day of rest before resuming work).
[Edited at 2015-02-17 20:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Not more than 2,500 wds | Feb 17, 2015 |
Unless, it is absolutely necessary (a last minute project, getting behind schedule), I generally do not take more than 2,500 words per day. I have tried it, and, even with CAT tools, there is a physical issue. I tend to get disperse.
| | | | aeiuli
Romania
Local time: 22:55
English to Romanian
+ ...
Well, recently I took a bit too many projects and ended up doing about 40000 words in a week. The largest chunk was really easy text, so that was not an issue; the issue is that I got cramps in both hands because I typed too much, and probably a bit too tense, feeling the pressure.
So the trouble is also if you can actually physically sustain such a speed.
| | | | DorothyX (X)
France
Local time: 21:55
aeiuli wrote:
Well, recently I took a bit too many projects and ended up doing about 40000 words in a week. The largest chunk was really easy text, so that was not an issue; the issue is that I got cramps in both hands because I typed too much, and probably a bit too tense, feeling the pressure.
So the trouble is also if you can actually physically sustain such a speed.
Of course there is something as top speed and average speed.
I can take 20,000 "new" words a week, vocabulary research and quality control included. (I have the impression that many high volume translators deliver their first scratch translation).
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 21:55
French to English
| preposterous wordcount | Feb 15, 2016 |
It's a preposterous wordcount to require day in day out and the person who decided on that figure knows nothing of translation.
If you're working at a university we can safely assume that you'll be translating research findings and other academic stuff. It could be really leading-edge/specialised to the point that you won't find much on Internet, and even if it isn't, it'll have been written by an academic, i.e. a highly educated person with extensive knowledge on the subject in ... See more It's a preposterous wordcount to require day in day out and the person who decided on that figure knows nothing of translation.
If you're working at a university we can safely assume that you'll be translating research findings and other academic stuff. It could be really leading-edge/specialised to the point that you won't find much on Internet, and even if it isn't, it'll have been written by an academic, i.e. a highly educated person with extensive knowledge on the subject in hand and who is used to talking to other people with the same level of education.
While I find this sort of text can be a wonderful challenge, it's not the type of stuff I can just reel off, it's not like the fashion catalogues with a fair amount of repetition and where it doesn't matter if you use the same expression twice because nobody ever sits and reads the entire text, it's not run-of-the-mill stuff you can just churn out without having to think much about what you're saying.
In my time as a PM I only ever knew of one translator who could translate 5000 words a day every day without it impacting quality. But he was amazing in more ways than one so he was always the exception to every rule. He was specialised in tech and finance.
The translators I would give academic stuff to never exceeded 2500 words a day. ▲ Collapse
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Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 22:55
English to Russian
| Sometimes it happens | Feb 15, 2016 |
Recently, I was approached by a client who asked me to translate 4300 words within one day. It is one of my top clients. I did it in time (without sleeping that night).
Next work inquiry for 4900 words was even tougher!.. I received a request for translation by email at midnight stating that I should return the translation "preferably by tomorrow cob or not later than next morning".
Well, ok, I did it again by next morning (again without sleeping). However I still don't understand wh... See more Recently, I was approached by a client who asked me to translate 4300 words within one day. It is one of my top clients. I did it in time (without sleeping that night).
Next work inquiry for 4900 words was even tougher!.. I received a request for translation by email at midnight stating that I should return the translation "preferably by tomorrow cob or not later than next morning".
Well, ok, I did it again by next morning (again without sleeping). However I still don't understand why they asked me to do such rush translation... As a team of professionals with decades of experience in the industry, they obviously must have realized that they expected too much from a human translator.
To summarize the foregoing, I don't believe in good translation with daily capacity exceeding 2000-2500 words. Well, higher capacity may be possible for one day as a maximum. But not day to day.
[Edited at 2016-02-15 22:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | A word is not just a word | Feb 15, 2016 |
If yuou translate the same text into different languages, you will find the word counts differ enormously from one language to another.
I know that my own source languages - Danish, Swedish and Norwegian - translate into around 20% more words in English, my target language.
The difference is even higher with German and Finnish, and I believe it goes the other way with Spanish and Italian - you get fewer words in English.
So translating 40 000 Spanish words ... See more If yuou translate the same text into different languages, you will find the word counts differ enormously from one language to another.
I know that my own source languages - Danish, Swedish and Norwegian - translate into around 20% more words in English, my target language.
The difference is even higher with German and Finnish, and I believe it goes the other way with Spanish and Italian - you get fewer words in English.
So translating 40 000 Spanish words is not the same as translating 40 000 Swedish words.
That would explain some of the differences, but far from all of them.
That is certainly how I reply when people complain that Scandinaivan rates are high. OK, on top of that we have to be able to live with the Scandinavian cost of living, but part of the difference is simply the difference in the language structure and the word counts.
Try finding EU documents or other texts that are supposed to be the same in different languages, and comparing the word counts.
It also makes a difference how many dictionaries and resources there are.
For me, with Danish as my source language and English as the target, life is comfortable in that respect - there are some very good Danish lexicographers who compile Danish-English-Danish dictionaries in all sorts of fields, as well as all the monolingual material in English.
As soon as you start working with more unusual other languages, there may be far fewer resources, and often research has to go through English. This will also affect how many words a translator working in a given pair of languages can manage in a day.
There are probably quite a lot of good resources for English to Spanish and Spanish to English, but if you are translating 25k words a week, you won't have time to use them much!
Translating academic texts on different subjects, 25 k words a week in any language is not IMHO sustainable, even if it might be possible for one week. I could not do it myself in my language pairs. ▲ Collapse
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 21:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
| No comparison | Feb 16, 2016 |
I don't think we can compare the output of a freelancer with what should be expected from someone in an in-house position in an academic institution such as a University. While I could probably do 25,000 words in a week if I had to, although it might mean having to reject offers from other clients, I don't think someone working in the in-house position described should have an arbitrary quota imposed on them like that. In fact, I think it's absurd.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 21:55
French to English
| arbitrary quota | Feb 16, 2016 |
neilmac wrote:
I don't think we can compare the output of a freelancer with what should be expected from someone in an in-house position in an academic institution such as a University. While I could probably do 25,000 words in a week if I had to, although it might mean having to reject offers from other clients, I don't think someone working in the in-house position described should have an arbitrary quota imposed on them like that. In fact, I think it's absurd.
I quite agree. Working in-house, you can get sucked into long meetings, and you're supposed to have working hours at the end of which you go home and get on with the rest of your life. As free-lancers, we can well decide to work more hours, but then that gets reflected in our bank balance once the clients start coughing up. An in-house translator just gets paid the same whatever they do (bosses rarely want to pay for overtime if you simply haven't been productive enough, whatever your "excuse")
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Kieran Scarffe (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:55
German to English
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| Factoring in the need for rest | Feb 17, 2016 |
When push comes to shove we can probably all double our normal average output – but only in very short bursts of, say, a couple of hours. Consequently this only applies to instances when we are working on a short text or perhaps maximizing output to meet an approaching deadline.
As the OP is employed full time as a translator I believe it would be very reasonable for her to explain to her employer that there is a big difference between maximum output and sustained output. In fact ... See more When push comes to shove we can probably all double our normal average output – but only in very short bursts of, say, a couple of hours. Consequently this only applies to instances when we are working on a short text or perhaps maximizing output to meet an approaching deadline.
As the OP is employed full time as a translator I believe it would be very reasonable for her to explain to her employer that there is a big difference between maximum output and sustained output. In fact once the need for rest has been factored in, the employer might realise that the translator's output will be greater in the medium to long term if expectations are actually lowered, as taking proper, regular breaks increases stamina.
As freelancers we too achieve less (and earn less) if we don't take the need for rest seriously: it is all well and good feeling good about yourself because you have managed an enormous output over the course of a few days - but if you then need to take a day or two off, what have you actually achieved? (I admit I sometimes like to do this so as to be able to have a planned break from work, but if there are several contracts lined up, all with their own deadlines, constantly pushing yourself to the limits is eventually going to mean turning work away for the sake of recuperation.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Abdo Mormesh
Malaysia
Local time: 03:55
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Around 1000 words per day | Oct 20, 2016 |
Hello,
My name is Abdo Mormesh, I'm very new to ProZ.
I like to do what I do. And I have been translating English - Arabic for some time now.
For me I do about 1000 and max to 1500 words per day and pretty much okay with the speed.
Thank you,
Abdo
[Edited at 2016-10-20 07:17 GMT]
| | | | Asmanizan
Malaysia
Local time: 03:55
Malay to English
+ ...
| Average output at 1500 - 2000 words per day | Oct 20, 2016 |
I know this topic has been a while and I however still wish to share my 2-cent.
I have been translating English - Malay vice versa and to my humble experience, 1500-2000 words per day is a fair and comfortable number of words I could commit to translate in a day.
This is inclusive of researching, proof-reading and 'ready to be delivered condition'. I believe quality of a translation is of equally important because sometimes, the subjects or topics are new and need som... See more I know this topic has been a while and I however still wish to share my 2-cent.
I have been translating English - Malay vice versa and to my humble experience, 1500-2000 words per day is a fair and comfortable number of words I could commit to translate in a day.
This is inclusive of researching, proof-reading and 'ready to be delivered condition'. I believe quality of a translation is of equally important because sometimes, the subjects or topics are new and need some research.
Rather than to rush and eventually stresses myself while at the same time compromise with the translation quality to reach a bigger number of output, I choose to give focus and work on it at a comfortable pace.
Regards,
AM ▲ Collapse
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