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Post by onlyMark on Jun 6, 2016 6:54:33 GMT
I may need a translation done. It'd be from German to English and not using Google translate or the like but a proper human. It's not a technical document and uses common words. It could be in the range though of 80,000 words or more. More along the lines of a book than anything else.
I'm willing to pay for it.
Any ideas?
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Post by lagatta on Jun 6, 2016 17:16:48 GMT
Hello Mark; the only qualified translator I know is very busy now. One ides would be to look at Linkedin. You might want to try changing your thread title; when I clicked on it, I thought it would be a discussion of translation issues in general. Something indicating that you are seeking a qualified German translator.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 6, 2016 20:08:10 GMT
Two good ideas. I'll look into it. Thanks.
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Post by rikita on Jun 6, 2016 22:31:33 GMT
there are a few german-to-english translators where i work, so i could ask around if anyone is interested, though i guess it'd also depend how much you'd pay, whether you'd want it official with an invoice and all or not, how fast, etc. else, a translator-website i know is proz.com, so there you'd easily find translators ... just be careful if you find someone who is very cheap, i've recently had to correct translations that had been outsourced to a cheap agency, and it looked almost like they did use google translate ...
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 6:11:47 GMT
Thanks rikita, I'll be looking at that website closely, it is interesting. I did find another one that does gives rates per hour without having to ask for a quote. You do have to join it though to get more info but it initially gives an idea. What I have no idea of is how slowly/quickly someone does translate stuff. In one hour you'd do two pages? more? less? I haven't a clue at all. I'll follow through on proz.com when the final draft is done of the work I want translating. This is the one that gives some prices - www.upwork.com/hire/translation-english-german-freelancers/ |
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Post by rikita on Jun 7, 2016 7:06:35 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jun 7, 2016 7:31:40 GMT
Many translations are paid per word or per line. It depends on the length, text difficulty (jargon or not).
What you could do, Mark, if you find someone is get them to do a page or two and give you a quote for the total. You would also get a small idea of their work -- to see if there are mistakes or typos.
Looking at the Upwork link, I'm surprised at what huge differences there are in per hour rates, given that I would expect these people to be professional translators. From $15 to $44.44!
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Post by lagatta on Jun 7, 2016 8:59:31 GMT
Nobody I know translates (written translation, not interpreting) by the hour. Always by word or sign - in some places by standard line.
Of course interpreting (which is usually much more lucrative) is charged by the hour or often by the day or half-day - as even interpreting for an hour winds up taking up half your day unless it is right next door.
You may well be able to negotiate a somewhat cheaper price because of the nature of the job. Not only because it is non-technical, but because it is probably interesting. Literary translation is often paid less than technical, and many translators will provide a lower rate or package deal for an interesting project (remembering that they do have to eat and pay rent or mortgage)...
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 9:44:59 GMT
Hmmm.... interesting subject it seems.
With basic rule of thumb maths, a word count of 75,000 at 2,500 words per day (8 hours) would mean (75000/2500 = 30), 30 x 8 = 240 hours.
If someone wants say 20 euros and hour, then 240 x 20 = 4800 euros.
Just a second...........
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 9:45:47 GMT
*collapses on floor and writhes around in agony*
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 9:47:58 GMT
*still on floor, now unconscious*
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 9:48:54 GMT
*wakes up wondering how much money my daughters could earn if I put them on the streets*
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 9:53:36 GMT
*dismisses that idea to make money as I'd only be inconvenienced picking them up and dropping them off at different street corners. Though it might be viable if we lived in the middle of a city. Worth remembering.*
Err..... I might have to come up with a cheaper option/different solution. It is inconceivable I'd pay anything like that amount. A few hundred maybe. Thousands, no. Not in a million years.
I might then go through a bit of a process with these websites and ask for a quote, as suggested. See what happens.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2016 10:25:55 GMT
My own calculations (after checking a few internet sources) give me a cost of just under 3000 euros.
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Post by bjd on Jun 7, 2016 10:53:01 GMT
Mark, don't you and your wife speak German? Since you obviously speak and write in English, then do it yourself. If you want to polish up the style, there are professional editors who can do that. You would also see why it would cost a lot to have done.  |
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 10:59:47 GMT
k2, further looking brings me to somewhere around that figure as well. It might have to be done.
bjd, it might be an option.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 7, 2016 12:27:04 GMT
Yes, it would certainly be at least that - there is no way that could total just a few 100 £, € or $. Your English is excellent; I'd suggest attempting to translate it yourselves. And while translations done by Google and their ilk are dreadful, sometimes it can be a useful tool if you are stuck, though you also need good German, English and bilingual dictionaries. Many are available online; I was just using Duden the other day: www.duden.de And Oxford has a great site: www.oxforddictionaries.com/ |
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 7, 2016 13:01:01 GMT
My English is reasonable enough for being a native, the problem would be I'd spend half my time looking up German words as I'm not so good in that language.
LEO is a good translation dictionary as well.
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Post by bjd on Jun 7, 2016 13:23:31 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jun 7, 2016 13:48:24 GMT
Great ad!
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Post by bjd on Jun 7, 2016 14:34:02 GMT
Yes, when I was in Canada in January, my son and daughter-in-law went to see a series of award-winning advertisements at the movies. This was one they particularly appreciated -- that's why I remember the name of the agency.
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Post by rikita on Jun 7, 2016 22:31:13 GMT
if you do it yourself and there are words you can't find in the dictionary/phrases you can't figure out you can always ask me. i don't have time to translate the whole text, but i can certainly help out here and there ...
another way if you want it done by someone would be to find someone who does it without invoice/paying taxes/etc., maybe even a student, there you might manage to get the rates down quite a bit, though the quality might also not be as good as by an experienced professional ... though even then, i'd think it will still be soemthing like 2000 euro - translating takes time ...
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Post by lagatta on Jun 8, 2016 0:43:57 GMT
Yes, a lot of people don't realize how hard and painstaking it is. Though some of us geeks love dat.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2016 5:38:06 GMT
It is generally recommended for people to only translate from another language to their own native language. And if they have been living out of their own country for more than five years, their language skills risk being a bit outdated.
I have actually become much better translating from English to French because when I translate from French to English I immediately realise how much English has slipped away from me, even in sentence construction.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 8, 2016 6:15:43 GMT
You didn't do too bad with that post k2. I do notice you tend towards uncomprehensibility some times though.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 8, 2016 10:52:21 GMT
Well, lots of unilinguals do that as well.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2016 15:40:10 GMT
bjd, I had a reply from Elan just to see what the rates are.
They would charge Euros 11,828.25
*gulp*
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Post by lagatta on Jun 9, 2016 16:11:28 GMT
Actually, I'm not surprised. Remember that there is profit in there for the company as well as the translator's fees.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 16:11:53 GMT
 Some people are willing to pay a fortune just because they think that paying a fortune ensures top quality. On the other hand, don't believe the cheap places either, because there is no end to their inventiveness when it comes to chargeable extras. "file transfer" "formatting" "font surcharge" "punctuation fee" "rate for more than 5 paragraphs"
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 9, 2016 19:39:45 GMT
I think I might set myself up as a translator.
On second thoughts I doubt there is much call for Nottinghamshire Dialect to English.
I know where the money is now though for translations in this internet age.
I just need to learn Cat.
Mind you, I think all say do say is, "Death to humans".
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