| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: How many non-technical words can you translate per day (proofreading included)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 23:52
Spanish to English
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patyjs wrote:
... took "technical" to mean "un-challenging" ...
why is it that some of the world's major media enterprises pay me twice or three times the rates bandied about on this site in order to secure for themselves the benefit of my specialist understanding of their mere 'technical' documents?
MediaMatrix
| | | | Jocelyne S 
France
Local time: 05:52
French to English
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| Another take on non-technical | Jul 27, 2010 |
I don't translate technical texts, but I understood the "non-technical" in the question to mean "not full of repetitions".
I have the impression that many technical texts are full of repetitions and that a good TM can often mean that translators are able to churn out a large amount of words per day that would be impossible with a non-repetitive text. (I've seen people on Proz.com who claim to be able to translate 8000+ words per day, for example.)
I suppose we'll never ... See more I don't translate technical texts, but I understood the "non-technical" in the question to mean "not full of repetitions".
I have the impression that many technical texts are full of repetitions and that a good TM can often mean that translators are able to churn out a large amount of words per day that would be impossible with a non-repetitive text. (I've seen people on Proz.com who claim to be able to translate 8000+ words per day, for example.)
I suppose we'll never really know what was actually meant, though.
Best,
Jocelyne ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Definition of "technical" | Jul 27, 2010 |
I agree with everyone else. "Technical" doesn't define complexity, and technical translations are often easier and faster, especially when the vocabulary and subject matter are familiar. Inversely, a slap-dash report written in haste "for information only" can take a lot of time because the meaning is hard to parse.
I once worked for an organization where the the administrators admitted that the technical-semitechnical-nontechnical scale was essentially used to reward their best tra... See more I agree with everyone else. "Technical" doesn't define complexity, and technical translations are often easier and faster, especially when the vocabulary and subject matter are familiar. Inversely, a slap-dash report written in haste "for information only" can take a lot of time because the meaning is hard to parse.
I once worked for an organization where the the administrators admitted that the technical-semitechnical-nontechnical scale was essentially used to reward their best translators and pay less to beginners or translators who required a lot of revision. In any case, the newbies were given only the most straightforward texts and paid at the bottom rung of the latter. The toughest texts were given to the "self-revising" translators they could rely on, and were consistently deemed "technical."
As for my productivity, if all goes smoothly, I can do up to 4,000, but not for many days in a row; if the text is challenging, I may do a whole lot less - with time out to unwind from the stress. I find that the 2,000-word standard, on average and over time, is a pretty reliable benchmark.
[Edited at 2010-07-27 10:00 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Depends on what you mean with "non-technical" | Aug 12, 2010 |
My throughput for a "technical" text of medium difficulty on a familiar subject is between 4000-5000 words/day. On an "easy" technical text or a simple general text I usually manage around 6000 words/day. On occasions, for very straight-forward texts (or doing a lot of overtime), I've managed to slightly exceed 8000 words in one day.
Jocelyne S wrote:
I have the impression that many technical texts are full of repetitions and that a good TM can often mean that translators are able to churn out a large amount of words per day that would be impossible with a non-repetitive text. (I've seen people on Proz.com who claim to be able to translate 8000+ words per day, for example.)
I disagree, most of the technical texts are NOT full of repetitions, and it is not easy to churn out a large amount of words, specially for highly technical texts. The only cases where you can expect a high volume of repetitions are for example texts including a BOM (Bill Of Materials) with the drawings.
I have managed on occasion to achieve 8000 words/day, but this is not the rule. It usually means either a very simple text or very long hours. I can "peak" to that rate if necessary, but I cannot sustain that more than 2-3 days, because then fatigue starts taking its toll and I start making mistakes. When I am requested to do this (usually for a tender or other rush job) then I charge extra, because by the time I finish I need urgently to take a few days off. Not the kind of assignment I like, but it pops up at least once a year...
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