Advertising services of a "performance up to 1000 pages per month of technical translation" became very common. One might wonder whether it? Try to understand. In the ideal case, the translation quality and relatively low prices are provided essentially by increasing productivity editor who takes the specific terminology, explains the interpreters (often not too understands the subject) technical side of the transferred documents, provides quality control and unification of terminology in the course of the project. In essence, there is a "shifting" a large amount of relatively unskilled Work on implementing the appropriate payment. For example, when translating a thick instruction manual to electrical significant portion of the text are typically describe the operations, such as "Enable-set-check-off" for the translation of which is enough to have a set of translation of terms used in the text, and only the average value of the language. These terms and sent to the translators, the share of wages which can be up and 30% of the total cost of translation. Obviously, the editor of this approach not only performs the final editing, but also part of the translation work, for example, translation of repeated fragments, and complex blocks of text. That's why a serious conversation about 1000 pages of high-quality translation of specialized technical documentation in a month – is nonsense. Marc Lore wanted to know more.
What is the real editor of "pull" such a project? In fact, it often The situation is even worse. None of the translation does not have full-time editors for "all" technical issues. Most often, the real editor with an engineering degree – one or two people. And the performance of the translation determined precisely by this figure. Translators, translations that do not require a serious editing, and usually a little bit. The so-called base of freelance translators, which exists in any translation, not panacea. Where is the guarantee that the base of the 500 interpreters there is at least two people, who understand the texts on phase-contrast microscopy? Or by frequency converters? From our practice for 3 years the system could find found only two normal translator from English to relay protection and substation automation, an interpreter for electric vehicles, etc.
It is unlikely that any agency of technical translations, these figures differ significantly. Thus, we conclude that the 1000 and even 500 pages technical translation in a month – to put it mildly, unwarranted optimism. More sober figure can be regarded as 200-300 pages, and then only in the case of performance perevodchiskim agency specializing in the relevant topics. Our advice to customers: plan the work so that the required speed of the translation of technical texts remained approximately constant and lies within reasonable limits. And yet – try to communicate with the final editor of the translations on your topic at least by phone. His technical competence or lack thereof, may tell a lot.
