Frequently asked questions: ordering translation services

Transly

Blog, Editing, Translation16 June, 2020

How is the translation service price formulated?

The price of a translation service contains remuneration for the work of a translator, proofreader and project manager (translation coordinator).

A translation may cost more depending on the language. For example, Estonian-Norwegian, Estonian-Japanese or Estonian-Lithuanian translations generally cost more than Estonian-Russian or English-Estonian translations. In addition, the price of translation depends on the field. It is difficult to find high-quality medical and technical translations that are nonetheless cheap. Work over weekends or on public holidays may also increase the price of a translation.

A good customer relationship ensures a better price. For example, if a translation agency uses translation software and you order a user manual translation from them every month, it is highly likely that the translated text is repeated to some extent and the agency can therefore offer you a discount, as these texts are already contained in the translation memory.

What is the difference between an interpreter and a translator?

Interpreters translate oral text and translators written text. Consecutive interpreting means that the text is interpreted after a person has stopped speaking. Simultaneous interpreting means interpreting while the person is speaking.

How fast is a translation completed?

Generally, a translator is expected to translate approximately five standard pages or 1,300 words per day. After that, the translation needs to be proofread and some time is spent on communication between the parties. Any translation that takes less time is considered an urgent translation and it is possible that the translation will be split between translators. If one text is translated by several translators simultaneously, the text may not be as coherent as it would have been if one person had worked on it.

Should I go for a calculation based on source or target text?

Calculation based on source text is more transparent, as the number of words tends to change during translation. This way, you can already plan the estimated cost of the translation when requesting a quote.

Why do you have a minimum fee?

Each text requires administrative work, regardless of its length. Even if a text is only half a page long, several people will still have worked on it.

How long is one page?

Usually, one page is estimated to be 1,800 characters including spaces, or 250 words.

How much does it cost to translate one A4 page?

Since one A4 page can contain half, as well as three, standard pages, it is difficult to tell you the price without examining the text. This is why we recommend providing the number of words when requesting a quote.

Why use translation software?

People often think translation software is something similar to machine translation. Occasionally some translators even say that they translate their texts themselves when asked if they use translation software. Actually, translation software merely provides assistance. Translation software itself does not translate. It stores all the translated segments in a translation memory and if a text contains repetitions or similar segments, the system recognises them and suggests them as a possible translation. A translator can then accept or reject the suggested translation or change the segment.

Therefore, translation software enables us to provide better translations, as translation memory is generally better than human memory. It also allows us to translate repetitive texts faster.

What is machine translation?

Machine translation is an application which translates text automatically. Machine translation applications include Google Translate, Bing Translator and Yandex.Translate. Although there is no doubt that a great future lies ahead for machine translation, it cannot yet replace translators.