How Much Time Is Needed for Document Translation?

We are often asked about how much time will be needed to translate a client’s documents. When it’s the first question a new client asks then the answer is something like “well that depends on the scope of the project (i.e., how much translation, by word count or other metric, is needed?).

 

So what happens when a client needs a project completed more quickly? One possibility is to divide the translation project up among more than a single translator.

 

An average translation rate for professional human translators is often around 2500 or so words per day. For some translators it can be more and for other somewhat less. This is the average rate for translation that we use to estimate project schedules. At our company we need to also allow time for a second translator (native speaking in the target language) to review the first translator’s work. This translator/proofreader process routinely results in high quality translations.

 

 

So what happens when a client needs a project completed more quickly? One possibility is to divide the translation project up among more than a single translator. When this is done it’s done with the client’s permission and mention that there could be some inconsistency in translation approach and style between the two linguists. The proofreader can then be instructed to “smooth out” the translation between the two translators during the review phase as much as possible. This approach can work well although our preference is to apply a single translator/reviewer team to a project when schedule requirements allow this.