| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Super short deadlines Thread poster: Aleksandra Kloc Raspini
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Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 11:19
German to English
| The result of subcontracting | May 30, 2021 |
In my experience, end clients with experience using translation services often have realistic expectations regarding deadlines, and may for example hire an agency to have a 10k-word document translated and delivered in 7 days. However, for various reasons, agencies will outsource projects to other LSPs at a lower rate and shorter deadline, who, in turn will also subcontract the job at an even lower rate with an even shorter deadline, and so on. The result is downward pressure on rates with a pot... See more In my experience, end clients with experience using translation services often have realistic expectations regarding deadlines, and may for example hire an agency to have a 10k-word document translated and delivered in 7 days. However, for various reasons, agencies will outsource projects to other LSPs at a lower rate and shorter deadline, who, in turn will also subcontract the job at an even lower rate with an even shorter deadline, and so on. The result is downward pressure on rates with a potential negative effect on the quality of the end product due to reduced time for translation, checking, etc. Unfortunately some translators desperate for work will take these assignments and get caught on a never-ending hamster wheel of rush jobs. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Multiverse Solutions s.r.o. (X)
Local time: 17:19
Polish to English
+ ...
| Missing factors | May 30, 2021 |
1. Quality of translation depends on quality of the source.
Which includes both language (grammar, style, flow of reasoning, etc) and form (file format, text formatting, non-text elements, etc).
2. When you know what you do, 10,000 words per day is not a problem. High quality.
Problems multiply when you need to do research to understand the text (see 1. + 'not my field' + 'what does it mean'). Actually, it is not about problems, but about expenditure of tim... See more 1. Quality of translation depends on quality of the source.
Which includes both language (grammar, style, flow of reasoning, etc) and form (file format, text formatting, non-text elements, etc).
2. When you know what you do, 10,000 words per day is not a problem. High quality.
Problems multiply when you need to do research to understand the text (see 1. + 'not my field' + 'what does it mean'). Actually, it is not about problems, but about expenditure of time (measurable, may be reflected in the rate).
3. Timing problems are client's / agency's problems, not mine.
If I can manage to work high above regular workload, why would I care about their side? I care only when I cannot match these requirements and... jealous about competitors?
4. High daily workload = time off afterwards
When you run two weeks non-stop at these hypothetical 10,000 wpd (which is not uncommon with high-level clients), you may need to take a day, or a week off after the task is completed. The rate for such translations is not for "rush" work, but to compensate for human limitations. Including family / business / household matters, etc.
All in all, it's easy and simple. No need to worry. No need to complain.
Some jobs will be missed, some cash unearned. Less work = time to upgrade the organisational side. Less money = time to design new competitve approaches (upgrade of skills, areas of interest, taking courses on specific subjects, learning new software, etc).
I know, nothing is that easy. It's just an overview of my own experience. You may adopt it and adapt it. Or not... If there is one thing that the translation business has taught me over the years, it is finding solutions, instead of pondering about problems. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 12:19
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Regarding splitting work | May 30, 2021 |
Regarding the issue of splitting work, I have done some jobs for agencies who prohibit outsourcing work by contract. Can't imagine why, possibly a confidentiality concern?
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 17:19
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
| Condescending | May 30, 2021 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
I would like to read those 10,000 words translated in 24 hours... just for a laugh.
We've had this discussion in the fora before, and I rest my case. The fact that some, probably most people can't do it does in no way mean that it is "absolutely infeasible". Some people are able to achieve this kind of speed if necessary, and at high quality. Believe it or not. Insinuating that anyone who is able to work at such a speed produces subpar quality is condescending, insulting and uncalled for.
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Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| That too, but not really | May 30, 2021 |
Paul Dixon wrote:
Regarding the issue of splitting work, I have done some jobs for agencies who prohibit outsourcing work by contract. Can't imagine why, possibly a confidentiality concern?
Mainly, they just don't want anyone to entice them with their first-world respectable old veteran native credentials, skim most of the money, and then part it out to a semi-educated non-native virtual sweatshop.
Plenty of people on their way out of the business are willing to sell their reputation and good name. Fortunately, most of the same rich-world miscreants are deathly afraid of litigation.
[Edited at 2021-05-31 15:48 GMT]
| | | | | Not convinced without evidence to the contrary | May 30, 2021 |
Erik Freitag wrote:
Insinuating that anyone who is able to work at such a speed produces subpar quality is condescending, insulting and uncalled for.
But probably true.
I could churn out 10k of easy well-written unadventurous text in my field in a day.
But only just.
It’d be accurate. It wouldn’t be badly written.
But it wouldn’t be the best piece of English. That takes time.
And it would be a horrible day.
(And that’s not the kind of text I translate. Nor the kind of quality I provide. Etc etc.)
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 17:19
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| I used to get such texts for proofreading... | May 30, 2021 |
ca. 10k words in 2 days, they would send me this stuff to proofread. It sounded as if it had been translated by a robot, numerous typos, terrible flow, the text didn’t have any integrity, terminology issues, etc. I had to double check with the client if this had been machine translated. Nope, it’s been done by super humans who translate super fast.
Science measured the range of quality human attention span, very precisely.
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| Random typos = humans involved | May 31, 2021 |
"Super fast budget humans" tend to have inconsistent crappy output
Pure MT is instead grating, but consistently so
Lingua 5B wrote:
ca. 10k words in 2 days, they would send me this stuff to proofread. It sounded as if it had been translated by a robot, numerous typos, terrible flow, the text didn’t have any integrity, terminology issues, etc. I had to double check with the client if this had been machine translated. Nope, it’s been done by super humans who translate super fast.
Science measured the range of quality human attention span, very precisely.
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Ana Cuesta
Spain
Local time: 17:19
Member
English to Spanish
| Best-case vs. worst-case scenarios and life in between | May 31, 2021 |
When discussing working practices, or when assigning/accepting jobs, I don’t find it that helpful to focus on what’s possible/impossible but on what is sustainable in the long run. The fact that there is someone somewhere who can churn out X thousands of words in a day if the text is very well written, error-free and easy peasy (or 120% right up their ultramicroniching alley) by working non-stop uninterrupted after a good night of sleep when Jupiter is aligned with their sun doesn’t mean o... See more When discussing working practices, or when assigning/accepting jobs, I don’t find it that helpful to focus on what’s possible/impossible but on what is sustainable in the long run. The fact that there is someone somewhere who can churn out X thousands of words in a day if the text is very well written, error-free and easy peasy (or 120% right up their ultramicroniching alley) by working non-stop uninterrupted after a good night of sleep when Jupiter is aligned with their sun doesn’t mean one can take that speed for granted without asking for trouble.
I accept 2000 (new) words per working day as a rule, which used to be the industry standard. Have I done 4000 words in a day? Sure, occasionally. 3000 words per day is not that rare. But I have also had days when, for whatever reason, I have struggled to finish (to my satisfaction) 1000 words. When accepting a job, I want to know I’ll be able to honour the deadline even if life is not perfect and things (normal, everyday things) get in my way. And I also want to know I’ll still be able to squeeze in that tiny but urgent job which arrives from a regular client while working for someone else (in my mind, that’s what long working hours are for). Above all, I want to enjoy my job and keep my adrenaline levels in the healthy zone (burn-out someone? Been there, not nice). ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Insulting... | May 31, 2021 |
Erik Freitag wrote:
We've had this discussion in the fora before, and I rest my case. The fact that some, probably most people can't do it does in no way mean that it is "absolutely infeasible". Some people are able to achieve this kind of speed if necessary, and at high quality. Believe it or not. Insinuating that anyone who is able to work at such a speed produces subpar quality is condescending, insulting and uncalled for.
I am not going to change my opinion. I don't believe it's possible to deliver good quality in 24 hours. You might find it condescending, insulting, arrogant, uncalled for, but it's my opinion, like it's your opinion you can do it. Thank you very much.
[Edited at 2021-05-31 10:57 GMT]
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:19
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Definitely possible ... been there. | May 31, 2021 |
Erik Freitag wrote: Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
I would like to read those 10,000 words translated in 24 hours... just for a laugh. We've had this discussion in the fora before, and I rest my case. The fact that some, probably most people can't do it does in no way mean that it is "absolutely infeasible". Some people are able to achieve this kind of speed if necessary, and at high quality. Believe it or not. Insinuating that anyone who is able to work at such a speed produces subpar quality is condescending, insulting and uncalled for.
12000 words in one night? A perfectly good translation of an important technical document.
Sure can do - done it!
Once - when the left hand reordered an "extremely urgent" translation already requested weeks before by the right hand from the same company. All I had to do was to triple check for any differences.
10000 words of a first time seen text in 24 hours? - yeah sure ...
As Lingua 5B said "done by super humans who translate super fast"!
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| Oh definitely | May 31, 2021 |
If you stray outside your niche, 2000 words in a random unfamiliar topic can be migraine-inducing and exhausting.
If it's from the exact same stack of standardized bureaucratic paperwork or interview transcripts you've been grinding at for months, however, then 2000 words is easy even without CAT tools, and an absolute breeze with them.
Ana Cuesta wrote:
When discussing working practices, or when assigning/accepting jobs, I don’t find it that helpful to focus on what’s possible/impossible but on what is sustainable in the long run. The fact that there is someone somewhere who can churn out X thousands of words in a day if the text is very well written, error-free and easy peasy (or 120% right up their ultramicroniching alley) by working non-stop uninterrupted after a good night of sleep when Jupiter is aligned with their sun doesn’t mean one can take that speed for granted without asking for trouble.
I accept 2000 (new) words per working day as a rule, which used to be the industry standard. Have I done 4000 words in a day? Sure, occasionally. 3000 words per day is not that rare. But I have also had days when, for whatever reason, I have struggled to finish (to my satisfaction) 1000 words. When accepting a job, I want to know I’ll be able to honour the deadline even if life is not perfect and things (normal, everyday things) get in my way. And I also want to know I’ll still be able to squeeze in that tiny but urgent job which arrives from a regular client while working for someone else (in my mind, that’s what long working hours are for). Above all, I want to enjoy my job and keep my adrenaline levels in the healthy zone (burn-out someone? Been there, not nice).
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Daryo wrote:.
10000 words of a first time seen text in 24 hours? - yeah sure ...
As Lingua 5B said "done by super humans who translate super fast"!
It’s a shame we have no easy way of verifying all these claims of 10,000 words of high quality.
But if anyone translating from the Scandi languages wants to send me such a text, I’ll gladly have a look with an open mind and report back.
Until then I will remain sceptical.
Partly because anyone who could produce that much high-quality work would already have retired to their private island.
| | | | | Not logical (+1) | May 31, 2021 |
I don't claim to be a superman, but it seems to me the ability to translate 10,000 words source within 24 or 48 hours of time is, humanly speaking, unsustainable and infeasible.
If so, we, all of us, I mean around not less than 400,000 translators over the world, wouldn't have any reason to exist amid the translation Planet as human translators. And this website wouldn't even exist either...
It's not logical at all, indeed...
I don't dream of a world only m... See more I don't claim to be a superman, but it seems to me the ability to translate 10,000 words source within 24 or 48 hours of time is, humanly speaking, unsustainable and infeasible.
If so, we, all of us, I mean around not less than 400,000 translators over the world, wouldn't have any reason to exist amid the translation Planet as human translators. And this website wouldn't even exist either...
It's not logical at all, indeed...
I don't dream of a world only made up by translation machines or robots or call them what you will.
If we all of us are ready to accept such a fearful outlook, thus don't expect those robots will wait for you to make their own life nor to give your daily bread-and-butter to maintain your own life.
I shudder to think!...
Sometimes, we need to see a bit further than the end of our nose, don't we?...
[Modifié le 2021-05-31 19:18 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:19
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Explanation - no superhuman capacities implied | May 31, 2021 |
on the contrary.
@Ice Scream
Ice Scream wrote: Daryo wrote:.
10000 words of a first time seen text in 24 hours? - yeah sure ...
As Lingua 5B said "done by super humans who translate super fast"! It’s a shame we have no easy way of verifying all these claims of 10,000 words of high quality. But if anyone translating from the Scandi languages wants to send me such a text, I’ll gladly have a look with an open mind and report back. Until then I will remain sceptical. Partly because anyone who could produce that much high-quality work would already have retired to their private island.
As written words have no intonation, there is nothing to verify, just to clarify:
12000 words in one night? A perfectly good translation of an important technical document.
Sure can do - done it!
Once - when the left hand reordered an "extremely urgent" translation already requested weeks before by the right hand from the same company. All I had to do was to triple check for any differences
That part is a statement of fact - it seems clear that the translation of this important technical document was delivered in one night because it was almost the same as one other previously done for the same company - it's easy to "translate" 12000 words of highly technical text when all you have to do is to check for differences - absolutely no feat of superhuman capabilities suggested.
as for the following part:
10000 words of a first time seen text in 24 hours? - yeah sure ...
As Lingua 5B said "done by super humans who translate super fast"!
if you compare what Lingua 5B said said about translations "done by super humans who translate super fast" ("It sounded as if it had been translated by a robot, numerous typos, terrible flow, the text didn’t have any integrity, terminology issues, etc.") it should be clear that this part is not any kind of statement of fact but was intended to express pure doubt / scepticism / irony / sarcasm (select the option that will be best noticed by those who claim it being routinely feasible).
OK, I admit it - the title "Definitely possible ... been there." was a deliberate provocation (part of the sarcasm), which should become apparent as you read the whole post. My mistake for not making it more explicit.
So we are in fact in agreement - I'm as much sceptical as you about such claims - can't see any place for Stakhanovism in translating.
Sorry, no private island on the horizon so far ....
[Edited at 2021-05-31 19:56 GMT]
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