Re: Costs of Translation

[Tony Roder <tony -at- WELL -dot- SF -dot- CA -dot- US>]

In article <9412221907 -dot- AA21011 -at- manu -dot- manu -dot- com>,
mrw.EMAIL <manu!mrw -at- uunet -dot- uu -dot- net> wrote:

>I have a questions for you translation mavens.  My company's translation mavens
>are all on vacation (what nerve!), so I turn to you.

>We have prospect who wants us to translate our training curriculum into their
>language.  Does anyone have ballpark figures on translation costs?  For
>example, cost per page, cost for services, how translation companies charge,
>etc.

>I realize that these figures don't even touch the cost of preparing a document
>for translation.  I'm under the impression that it's real expensive.

>Last, any thoughts on the pain (or painlessness) of maintenance of translated
>material wrt updates, enhancements, changes, etc.?

A complete response to your questions, Mary, would take more time and
space than are available here, but in brief:

Translation costs vary significantly with the complexity of the material
and language (i.e. complex -> expensive, rare language -> expensive).  The
translation cost is generally quoted per word, with reasonable discounts
for volume (i.e. approx. 25 cents/word for European languages, discounts
for more than 75-100 pages). Additional services such as printing, etc.
are also negotiable.

It is not necessary to specially prepare a document for translation; the
document itself or an electronic file are sufficient.  And a good
translation company will know how to manage updates, new versions, etc.

By way of introduction, I'm a translator and president of the Northern
California Translators Association. If you want to discuss this at greater
length, please e-mail with phone number and we can continue.

T.

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Tony Roder, speaking his mind....