# Translators: how fast are you?



## MarionM

Hello,

First of all, I'm not sure this question fits in this forum. If it doesn't, well, I'm really sorry.

I was wondering how many signs translators here translate _on average_ in an hour. I know it depends on a lot of things - I'm just curious to know a rough figure.

Marion


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## tatius

Salut Marion!

It is hard to answer: it depens on the text, how tight is the deadline... it also depens on inspiration and mood... Anyway, I usually try to not exceed 2500-3000 words per day. The quality worth it.


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## danielfranco

There. Done.






Just kidding. Depending on the complexity of the terminology, one can go between 2000 to 3000 words per workday. But there can be extremes: when working on a medical research study consent form, sometimes a page can take me all day long. Or, like yesterday, I translated a 2500 word letter to a parent in two and a half hours.
I think the standard falls within the one mentioned already, but it also depends on what your contract says! 
Bueno bye.


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## Kräuter_Fee

I agree with the previous responses. 

... and it also depends on the language you're translating, if it's your B language (your first foreign language) you'll be faster than if you're translating your C language (since your knowledge is generally lower).


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## cyanista

Kräuter_Fee said:


> ... and it also depends on the language you're translating, if it's your B language (your first foreign language) you'll be faster than if you're translating your C language (since your knowledge is generally lower).



What about translating from your native language versus translating into your native language? The latter is surely easier and faster? Or is it not always so?


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## Fernita

cyanista said:


> What about translating from your native language versus translating into your native language? The latter is surely easier and faster? Or is it not always so?


 
Translating into your native language is generally easier and faster. This is just my opinion. It also depends *on what you´re translating*, of course.

Fernita.


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## Kräuter_Fee

cyanista said:


> What about translating from your native language versus translating into your native language? The latter is surely easier and faster? Or is it not always so?



Usually translators shouldn't translate into any language but their native language, however sometimes you have to (inverse translation). And yes, it takes longer and the quality is much lower. No matter how good you speak a foreign language, you will never be a native. 
At university we take subjects which involve inverse translation (into both our B and C language) though.
For some types of texts (like contracts) which follow a pattern it's easier.


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## fenixpollo

There was a recent thread called Can a monolingual be a good translator? in which some people gave their opinions about whether it's better to translate from L1 to L2 or vice versa.  

I think that your ease, speed and accuracy in translating to or from your native language (L1) depends on how fluent you are in your "B" or "C" languages (L2 or L3) and what the text is. Some translators have nearly equal speed and fluency both to and from their native language.

Very little of the translation I do is into my native language -- I'm always asked to translate into Spanish. I'm much slower translating into Spanish than I am translating into English, however.   But I couldn't give you a "words per minute" figure.


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## KateNicole

I, like Fenix, almost always translate into my second language. I guess the edge that I have is that I studied the language in college, so my command of language mechanics is much greater than that of the many other people where I live that _speak_ Spanish as their first language, but never _studied_ Spanish at a place of higher education. However, I do not work at a translation firm--I just happen to work at a place where most of us are bilingual and do a lot of translating, whether we're qualified or not .
In all honesty though, I sincerely think that the translations I have produced have been of a very high quality. If I am translating a document with a lot of specialized vocabulary, 500 words could take me 2 hours. If the document does not involve specialized vocabulary, I could translate several pages in a few hours, but this doesn't include proofreading and such.


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## lauranazario

I have been a translator for years and I have to confess I have no idea of what my actual (or average) "translation speed" is.

Like many people here said, speed increases with how familiar you are with the topic you are translating. To me, the more I know about (or the more comfortable I feel with) the core topic/area at hand, the faster I can render a translation, as words and/or equivalencies come quicker to mind.

There are so many aspects that can affect one's translation speed performance from one document to the next: convoluted writing style on the original, use of too technical or too regional words on the original, formatting (yes, as a translator I have had to format my translations to match the originals), working conditions, mental fatigue, and the list could go on and on!

For the last couple of nights (and I will continue tonight) I have been tackling a 196-page witness deposition translation (SP to EN). I have set (and met) a goal of 30 pages per evening... that's working at home after an 8-hour regular workday at the office. I have translated those 30 pages in roughly 4 hours each night. I guess I have to do a word count on each 30-page "block" and report back here to you. Maybe we can all benefit from some 'live' stats. 

Saludos,
LN


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## Montgomery

Hi everyone,

I am a fresh translator, just starting, I graduated from university two months ago. I truly love it and hope to become a good translator or interpreter. 
Just wanted to add something (hopefully funny) here.
When I had my first experience in interpreting last year, I noticed that after a few minutes of interpreting from Polish to Spanish for example, it was far more difficult for me to change into Polish. I know it sounds stupid, especially as I'm Polish, but during many years of learning English and five of Spanish I neglected my own language. 
Naturaly, it's easier and faster for me to translate from other languages to my own, but there are moments in which I notice the lack of my native vocabulary or at least the slower way of finding it in my mind. 
We were told at school that it may happen, especially if we work a lot with other languages. There's not much left but reading a lot, preferably some classics.


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## lauranazario

lauranazario said:


> I have been tackling a 196-page witness deposition translation *(SP to EN)*. I have set (and met) a goal of 30 pages per evening... that's working at home after an 8-hour regular workday at the office. I have translated those 30 pages in roughly 4 hours each night. I guess I have to do a word count on each 30-page "block" and report back here to you. Maybe we can all benefit from some 'live' stats.


As promised, here are the 'live' stats. 

Please bear in mind that these numbers represent the output of a person who is translating late into the night AFTER having completed a full day's (8-hour) stint at the office, so a bit of physical and/or mental fatigue may or may not be a factor here.

First 30-page "block": 4469 target words
Second 30-page "block": 5094 target words

Saludos,
LN


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## gian_eagle

I agree with LN, it dependes on the amount requested, there, you know if you could do it, or, otherwise, don't accept it.


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## loladamore

MarionM said:


> I was wondering how many signs translators here translate _on average_ in an hour.
> 
> I know it depends on a lot of things - I'm just curious to know a rough figure.
> 
> Marion


 

_*On average*_, I would say 1,500 words per hour. But then add another hour for the 2 words you couldn't decipher and 1 phrase you can't work out how to put into the TL!


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## ireney

loladamore said:


> _*On average*_, I would say 1,500 words per hour. But then add another hour for the 2 words you couldn't decipher and 1 phrase you can't work out how to put into the TL!


 

Oh dear! That sounds like me (especially since this day I am doing science fiction and the authors keep inventing new words like "watcheye", "flowmetal" and some other ghastly ones or use expressions such as "cognitors of the Ivory Tower". 

I do most words per hour (about 2000 to 3000 per hour usually) than loladamore but I also spend more hours trying to come up with the right translation of some others.


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## Span_glish

It's a great relief to read some of your experiences, because that's exactly what I go through. 
LN, 30 pages in 4 hours is amazing!  
I just keep hoping that I'll get better and faster.  Like some of you already mentioned, you might get a good speed but then you get stuck with something new or that's just on the tip of your tongue but can't come out.  
I keep reminding myself that this is not a repetitive job, there is something different to learn everyday and that's one of the things that I love about it.


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## Lugubert

For those much-more-than-1000-per-hour counts, are you using Trados or similar help? I'm happy when I exceed 500 (net). That equals 4000 per 8-hour day, and few bosses would dare to ask for more than 1500-2000.

On the low end, I once used one day for a word (this was before the invention of the Internet). A special kind of bearing was mentioned for a huge container crane. I researched the U of Technology's library, and called one of the world's major bearing producers. Nothing. Then I managed to find the UofT's bearing expert. He hadn't heard of that particular kind either. We chatted for a while, and arrived at a word, commenting in unison, "If this isn't the correct name, a least it should have been."

Pause for some 12 years.

Then I just happened to come by an article, using "our" word! Probably it was obvious (a rather "dictionary" translation), but it was nice to finally know that our combined instincts worked.


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## diseña

I've been thinking about doing a course in translation, but after reading this thread I'm already starting to have second thoughts!

30 pages in 4 hours (presuming they are A4 size sheets of paper) seems virtually impossible to me, and even 3000 words per hour, which is 50 words per minute (a lot of people can't even type that fast), almost a word a second, is still pretty amazing.

Are you people some kind of cyborg translating robots, or just telling porkies?


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## ireney

It's certainly much, _much_ slower in the beginning! 
Before you learn how to do it (and whatever your courses teach you you have to find your own way although, of course, courses do help a lot!) it seems to take for ever. Heck even proofreading takes forever!

For instance take Lugubert's example: I highligt and note words which I can't translate at the moment and move on unless they are crucial to the general meaning. Sometimes the right word will just pop in your mind after a while.
Having read the whole text/book before starting translating speeds things up very much etc.

P.S. I actually came up with _the_ word once after about a year. No one else thought it was a big deal, the word I'd used was fine by all means but it wasn't _the_ word 

P.S.2 Using anything but dictionaries makes life more complicated for me to say the least. I just can't stand translation tools (on-line automatic translators)


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## Tresley

For me, it's not the speed of translation that counts.....it's the quality!!! 

I like to take pride in my work, I agonise for ages over some small 'soupçon' of a word, innuendo, word play, analogy, technicality, onomatopoeia, double meaning, those untranslatable words (how to express those?), proverbs, sentiment and feel. 

For me, speed is not the essence of the job..... it's quality. 

If people talk about speed of translation, then I think that they must not really be taking that much care, attention and have pride in their work.

Poems take me ages to translate! I'm talking sleepless nights, trying to work it all out and come up with ideas that rhyme! How to best render a poem!?!? You agonise!! Believe me!! 

Then you get the scripts where things are typed wrong, misspelt, full of errors!! Oh heck! You know how it is. You have all been there. 

For me translation is an art, not a race. Who cares how long it takes, as long as you get it right. 

I thank Word Reference and all it's wonderful visitors/helpers for being here to help. You have all helped me here and I have tried to help others in return. Thank you.


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## Etcetera

Translating into one's native language is obviously easier. 
I've noticed that at the beginning, translating may be very slow, but when you get to know the text better, you can translate it more quickly. 


> For me translation is an art, not a race. Who cares how long it takes, as long as you get it right.


Well said, Tresley! I wholeheartedly agree with you. 
Sadly, more often you have deadlines and have to think not how to make your translation better, but how to do it in time...


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## ireney

Tresley will you please, please say a good word from me to the publishing houses you work for? I don't mind if I have to move, honestly I don't, if it means I won't have to bargain with my "bosses" all the time, asking for a few more days!


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## diseña

But... a word every 2 seconds (loladamore), nearly a word a second (ireney), probably about 10 words a second after a full day's work (lauranazario)... are you just uber-fast translators or is this the norm? ...because it seems like you are translating faster than most people can write.


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## loladamore

I can't speak for the others, but I type from 40-80 words per minute, depending on how many of them are words like a, in, is, and words ending in -ion, and depending on how familiar the vocabulary is. Plus you can often copy and paste repeated bits, so you seem to go faster.
Sometimes it's as straightforward as just writing it all down again in the target language, on automatic pilot - no thinking involved. That happens when you spend a long time on a particular subject: it's like sight-reading music. If you've had enough practice and you're technically good enough, you can play the score immediately.
I suppose you could compare Laura's skills to those of a studio session musician: she just turns up and plays straight off, never having seen the sheet music before. I have to read it through, first, and there tend to be bits I have to work on for a while. I'm OK playing familiar chords and scales, but then someone turns up with dissonant, syncopated counterpoint and it takes all day to master the first line!

(Shut up about music!)

Does that make sense?


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## diseña

Lola, that is a great explanation, thanks! (I'm a musician myself so you couldn't have chosen a better analogy ).


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## ireney

disena let me make one thing clear: I am not talking about translating poetry or philosophy or any kind of "deep" book/article. These can take for ever.

How many articles and books do you think there are that are all that difficult? I am typing fast, I am good at finding the right words/expressions and although the average seems indeed high, I don't think I am one of the most quick translators around since I will pause whenever there's need for it.
If there is one thing I do boast about is my knowledge of Greek. I am more than good in this department and that makes things easier.
Turst me, I know what a hasty translation looks like. Since I also work as a proofreader ranting about the idiocy of the translator tends to become a hobby of mine (I mean Chapterhouse = the house of a chapter? ).


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## Lugubert

Besides tools like Trados (which doesn't translate, but remembers every sentence that you've written, so if it reoccurs, you just hit a key, and it is written) there are tools in Word like Autocorrect, macros and shortcuts. When I type fed and hit F3, my Word writes the translation of something like "According to U.S. federal law, this product may only be sold to or on order of a physician." If you get a sufficiently reoccurring customer, supplying similar texts written by consistent authors, Trados lets you manage several thousands of words per hour. (No, I don't get a commission from them, and smart customers pay less for repeats or near matches.)


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## Maja

The job I recently applied for, demands 2500 per day (an average 8-hour-working day), but it is computer science, more precisely Microsoft software, so the terminology is new (basically recently invented and adopted and transliterated).
But when it comes to books or some other text that is  more " fluent", I think that more words of QUALITY text can be done. 
Speed comes with time, and I guess some expressions more easily come to mind when they are used many times compared to none or just few. 
It all depends on the text, and smt even within the same text (say book for example), you can have bits that you go through fast (for me those are dialogues and events), and those that takes forever to do (like descriptions etc.), especially if there is several expressions with very subtle differences in a meaning and you just have one expression for all that in your native language. 



ireney said:


> I highligt and note words which I can't translate at the moment and move on unless they are crucial to the general meaning.


I also do that!


Tresley said:


> I like to take pride in my work, I agonise for ages over some small 'soupçon' of a word, innuendo, word play, analogy, technicality, onomatopoeia, double meaning, those untranslatable words (how to express those?), proverbs, sentiment and feel.
> For me, speed is not the essence of the job..... it's quality.


  I agree! I am also a perfectionist, and I double-check and triple-check everything, consult various dictionaries, and on top of that I am also very peculiar about my own native language and I try to use the most correct grammar and spelling and form so that lectors don't have much to do!!! It is really hard to do all that and still get some decent  amount of words done. 
That is why I usually pass my deadline!!!


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## jester.

This might be considered chat: Guys, you are just describing the job of my dreams


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## lauranazario

Lugubert said:


> For those much-more-than-1000-per-hour counts, are you using Trados or similar help?


I can't use Trados because they haven't come up with a Mac version (yet).
I do all my translations on a word processing program (MS Word)


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## lauranazario

Tresley said:


> If people talk about speed of translation, then I think that they must not really be taking that much care, attention and have pride in their work.


I respectfully disagree... sometimes translators _have_ to have a notion of how "fast" they can work --because that's the way we will be able to know if we can accept a translation job of X number of words to be delivered in a matter of Y number of days.


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## lauranazario

diseña said:


> But [...]  probably about 10 words a second after a full day's work (lauranazario)... are you just uber-fast translators or is this the norm? ...because it seems like you are translating faster than most people can write.


I guess I am "fast" in the sense that the words usually come quickly to my mind and I can form coherent sentences quickly as well.
Plus... practice and experience also weigh heavily on the equation. I have been a professional translator for many years now so you can say I have polished my abilities.  



			
				loladamore said:
			
		

> I suppose you could compare Laura's skills to those of a studio session musician: she just turns up and plays straight off, never having seen the sheet music before.


Thank you so much Loladamore! That was a lovely (and accurate) metaphor. 

And you are, for the most part, right on the money. When I'm given a translation, I just open the page and begin translating... stopping if necessary to consult a dictionary or do some terminology research. I don't stop to read the document beforehand.


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