How Long Does It Take?

Since 2009, we have offered services in a wide range of services and included many important elements as part of the process. In addition to being a Multilingual Language Services Provider (MLV), we collaborate with our freelance and full-time team members in services and areas, in which they are qualified and experienced. Not only is the quality of the services that we provide and meet our customers’ expectations important, but delivery on time is also critical.

So, how much time is needed to offer services? The answer to this question is important whether you are a customer or a service provider because predicting the exact time needed for different services and completing the work within the stipulated time is the keystone of our business. In this article, you will find the answer to the following question: “How long does it take to complete each service?”.

How Many Words Can Be Translated Per Day?

We provide translation services in line with adopted international quality standards. At the translation stage, translators are expected to deliver translations in line with the grammar rules of the target language, general project instructions, and project-specific instructions. How long it takes for a translation project to be completed is influenced by many different factors. These factors (whether a CAT tool is used, the subject matter, the style of the text, the translator's proficiency in the subject, or their typing speed) also significantly affect efficiency and translation speed.

How many words can a translator translate per day? Although the answer to this question may vary from translator to translator, an experienced professional translator can translate 3500-5000 words per day, provided that the document they are working on does not require a special approach. Translation speed can, of course, vary depending on the language, style, and subject matter, the minimum output that we expect from our translators per day is between 3000 and 3500 words.

How Many Words Can Be Proofread Per Day?

We comply with the rules and procedures in our "Quality Criteria" document, which is based on the international quality standard ISO 17100: 2015 code. In proofreading projects, the proofreader is expected to compare the source text with the target text and analyze it in terms of accuracy, completeness, and consistency in addition to implementing necessary corrections. A professional proofreader can proofread an average of 4000-6000 words per day. The number of words proofread per day may also vary depending on the quality of the text submitted to the proofreader and the level of detail of the instructions. As with every service, some proofreading can be done more quickly. In that case, up to 8000 words can be proofread per day.

How Many Words Can Be Edited Per Day?

In editing assignments, we expect the editor to read the text in the target language and refer to the source text, when necessary, to make the text more fluent, relevant, and interesting, and to remove any identified errors to improve the quality of the text, in line with international quality standards.

An editor's daily performance is heavily influenced by the type of text to be edited (advertising copy or technical text), the structure of the text (length, complexity of sentences and phrases), and primarily how well the text to be edited is written (whether instructions are followed, fluency). An editor who is experienced in the subject matter can edit 10000-15000 words per day. The minimum performance expected from an editor for editing is 6000-8000 words per day.

How Many Words Can Be MTPEd Per Day?

In the Machine Translation Post Editing (MTPE) phase, the post-editor is expected to correct the target text (MT output) created by the MT tool in line with the customer's requirements and make it suitable for the purpose and target audience of the text. How many words can be MTPEd per day? This varies according to the language, style, and area of the relevant text. The level of MTPE required (full post-editing, light post-editing, premium MTPE) is also a consideration.

MTPE is usually completed slightly faster than translation. Therefore, it is possible to offer 5000-7000 words of MTPE per day. A post-editor who specializes in the subject matter and is accustomed to providing MTPE services can MTPE up to 8000 words per day. This wide range is greatly affected by the demand for light or full MTPE or the quality of MT.

How Many Words Can Be Transcribed Per Day?

Transcription, which means the transcription of the audio content (sound recording, video recording, etc.) in the same language, is one of the most requested services. For transcription, which is most in demand in the media sector today, the audio/video recording is listened to first. Audio data can be transcribed by listening to it once through. Writing speed may be slower than speaking speed for most people, so the transcriber will transcribe the audio by stopping the recording from time to time and continuing the recording after listening and writing the parts that they understand. For incomprehensible parts, the recording can be rewound and listened to again.

How many words can be transcribed in an hour? The answer to the question depends on the number of speakers in the audio, media, the accents of the speakers, etc. In addition, transcription speed will also be affected by if a time-coded file is created and the quality of the recording.

A ratio of 3 to 1 and 5 to 1 is usually considered in transcription. In other words, a 1-hour recording can be transcribed in 3 to 5 times the total time. An experienced person can transcribe in 2 or 2 and a half times the recording length. For a person who has just started working on transcription, it may take up to 5 times more, but ideally, this time should be shortened to 1:3 and 1:4.

How Many Words Can Be Voice-Overed Per Day?

Voice-over, which means expressing and recording any written content verbally, is used in many different areas (promotional films, TV, radio, and internet advertisements, cinema films, and other visual content). The time required for each voice-over service is not the same. In addition to voice-over, dubbing, studio unavailability or montage may also cause the process to be prolonged. At the same time, whether the voice-over is requested as lip-synchronous or time-synchronous, or the number of voice-overs that should be included in a single recording may extend the duration of the voice-over service.

It is possible for a voice actor who is an expert in their field to offer 800-1000 words per hour and a maximum of 5000 words per day. The daily working efficiency includes editing the recording and making it ready for use.

How Many Hours Can an Interpreter Interpret Per Day?

Whether remote or on-site, simultaneous interpretation is a more tiring service for the interpreter compared to other translation services. A maximum of three seconds after the speaker begins speaking, the simultaneous interpreter begins interpreting into the other language, and the interpretation is concluded a few seconds after the speaker is done speaking. Simultaneous interpreters translate in turn every 20-30 minutes.

A simultaneous interpreter can be expected to interpret for events lasting a maximum of 6-8 hours a day. At all events exceeding half an hour, 2 simultaneous interpreters are needed. If simultaneous interpretation service is requested for remote events, hourly agreements can be made for events lasting less than 4 hours. In on-site events, the interpreter should allocate one full day to that service, considering the time the interpreter will arrive at the venue. Therefore, hourly wages are not appropriate for on-site events.

If you are planning workshops for the participants of your event and want to divide the participants into groups during these activities, you should have as many interpreters as the number of groups in your event. Whether the event is onsite or remote will not change this requirement.

How Many Words Can Be Transcreated Per Day?

Creative translation (transcreation) is a service that distinguishes itself from other types of translation because, in creative translation, creativity is involved in the process as well as translation. While in other types of translation, the translation remains loyal to the text and the meaning in the text, a different perspective is acquired in creative translation and the text is adapted to a different culture and language. Translators do not only translate the text into the target language when providing creative translation services. On the contrary, they create a new text suitable for the culture of the target language. The translator focuses on not the translation of text or words, but on the appropriate transfer of the intended message to the target. In this respect, it can be said that localization is also included in the creative translation process.

Creative translation is about creation. Therefore, creative translation progresses more slowly than other translation services. While at least 3500-4000 words can be translated per day, productivity in creative translation is 2000-4000 words per day depending on the nature of the work. More than one translation option may be requested, especially in advertising and marketing texts. Therefore, translation speed in transcreation projects is lower than in normal translation projects.

How Many Words Can Be Subtitled Per Day?

Subtitle translation is a service whose value is increasing day by day, especially with the developments in the media sector and the ease of access to video content. Subtitling is the display of a text in the target language on the screen at the same time as an image or audio in a different language. The translation of the text is usually done using subtitle programs.

Subtitle translation can be done in two ways: by listening directly or from a text that has already been transcribed. A translator who translates the text to be subtitled directly by listening will require more time, because the translator must first adopt the language and accent, then transcribe what they understand and edit the time codes. If the video to be translated into subtitles has a script, the time required is less because the translator will only need to translate. Of course, it is possible to mention other factors that affect the process: the language of the content, its length, subject, the timing for subtitles, etc.

If the translator translates the relevant video/audio recording by listening directly, the process will progress more slowly compared to the situation where the source script is given. Let's talk about other factors that can affect a translator's subtitle translation speed. In both cases, it is very important to watch the video in all subtitle translation works. Remaining loyal to the text while translating subtitles will cause cultural elements to be skipped or some meanings may not be conveyed to the target. Only in this way is it possible to convey meaning.

Although it differs according to language, usually 100 to 160 words per minute can be spoken in a video/audio recording. In most languages, it is assumed that there are 120 words per minute. To accurately predict productivity in subtitle translation, it is important to know how many words per minute are spoken in the video on average. Considering this calculation helps in measuring speed in this business.

A translator can translate subtitles for an average of 30 minutes to 60 minutes of video per day. The fact that the translator has been doing the same job on the same topic for a long time (for example, translating the subtitles of the same series) enables the translator to work more quickly. A translator who is experienced in the subject can offer subtitle translation for videos for about 1 hour per day.

For all services, many factors are taken into account in the production process. Although each service contains different elements, in general, the delivery time may vary according to criteria such as the source language, target language, length of the content, how long the service needs to be completed, and the level of urgency. Clarifying different issues in your service requests and providing full details of your request allows us to better assist you. If you want to determine the services and details you need, do not hesitate to contact us .

Written By: Gamze Korkmaz

Date of Publication: 08/24/2022

Target Audience: Translators, Interpreters, Those who Need Translation Services, Those who Need Interpretation Services, Those Who Want to Get Further Information about Translation Industry