Poll: How much of your working time is devoted to actual translation? (First draft, without proofreading)
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Aug 9, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How much of your working time is devoted to actual translation? (First draft, without proofreading)".

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Vera Schoen
Vera Schoen  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 00:43
Member (2008)
German to Swedish
+ ...
About 60 % Aug 9, 2018

For the first draft about 60 %. Proofreading and several QA checks followed by editing also take quite some time. And let’s not forget invoicing etc. Those too are part of the work that needs to be done.

Maria Simmen
Shiva Amin
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:43
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
More than 80 percent Aug 9, 2018

I don't do drafts. I try to create a finished product as I go alone. Just a few days ago I delivered a 109-page job that I had allowed 2 days to proofread. I found that it read very well and I found almost no typos of little mistakes, so I was able to finish the proofreading in a day.

Ricardo Suin
Natalia Pedrosa
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I don't know (it depends) Aug 9, 2018

Some projects require much terminological research, others don’t: usually, projects from a repeat customer tend to become easy over the years. Lately, I have been doing a lot of transcreation and these projects take much more time: the number of words is not the point, it’s how one conveys the message…

[Edited at 2018-08-09 08:43 GMT]


Liena Vijupe
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
I don't know Aug 9, 2018

Who measures this type of thing anyway? I prefer to just get the job done, then get on with the next one.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Catherine De Crignis
Alexandra Speirs
Christine Andersen
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
About 10% Aug 9, 2018

I dictate a rough draft (10%), then polish it and do the research (80%), then check/proofread it (10%).

I couldn't imagine translating sentence by sentence or even page by page. Dictation ensures a natural flow.


 
Catherine De Crignis
Catherine De Crignis  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:43
Member (2012)
English to French
+ ...
Depends, maybe 70-75% on average Aug 9, 2018

It depends on what I’m working on. Some projects require a lot less research than others. Transcreation can also be quite time-consuming. I try to create translations that are as polished as possible as I go along, so my proofreading doesn’t take that long.
Only on specific projects do I save the research for the end (the research bit is what keeps me going - I love writing, but it often gets boring after a few pages).
Apart from that, about one day per week is spent on "all the
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It depends on what I’m working on. Some projects require a lot less research than others. Transcreation can also be quite time-consuming. I try to create translations that are as polished as possible as I go along, so my proofreading doesn’t take that long.
Only on specific projects do I save the research for the end (the research bit is what keeps me going - I love writing, but it often gets boring after a few pages).
Apart from that, about one day per week is spent on "all the rest" (marketing, admin, training...).
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Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:43
French to English
10% Aug 9, 2018

My first draft is barely more than a read-through. It's more a matter of "let's put the first thing that comes into my head and skip the bits I don't know and I'll clean it all up later". I get it done as quickly as possible, then I know how much work is left, how many tricky bits are going to need thorough researching, how many rough bits will need sharpening up and smoothing over. In fact, I can't really rest properly until I have done that.

For some mundane translations like fash
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My first draft is barely more than a read-through. It's more a matter of "let's put the first thing that comes into my head and skip the bits I don't know and I'll clean it all up later". I get it done as quickly as possible, then I know how much work is left, how many tricky bits are going to need thorough researching, how many rough bits will need sharpening up and smoothing over. In fact, I can't really rest properly until I have done that.

For some mundane translations like fashion catalogues, the first draft is often pretty good and I just have to check up on a couple of terms that turn out to be mis-spellings, and maybe just correct a bit here and there where I've missed something. Then it's perhaps more like 50%.
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Shiva Amin
Christopher Schröder
 
Gibril Koroma
Gibril Koroma  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 19:43
French to English
+ ...
60-70 Aug 9, 2018

For me proofreading is almost as important as translating.

 
Platon Danilov
Platon Danilov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 01:43
English to Russian
+ ...
around 70% more or less Aug 9, 2018

First, the research takes 10-20% of the time, then the translation, and finally, proofreading/polishing may take 20-30%.

 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 00:43
English to German
Over 80% Aug 10, 2018

I basically do it all in one go. When re-reading, I find maybe three typos in a whole day's work (the type that the spellchecker doesn't catch, obviously).

Interesting how differently we all work - with relatively few replies in this thread, we have covered a huge range of approaches.


Christine Andersen
Liena Vijupe
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 00:43
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I don't know, but a lot Aug 10, 2018

I try to get it right first time - so I read the text, do the research and make notes in the margin, solve any issues and check the terminology before I start translating.

OK, for a 108-word job, that doesn't usually take very long... and I spend more time on administration, but I also take the time to find earlier jobs for the same client and sort out style etc. in advance if that sort of thing is involved.

Proofreading is not my favourite job, so I try to keep it to a
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I try to get it right first time - so I read the text, do the research and make notes in the margin, solve any issues and check the terminology before I start translating.

OK, for a 108-word job, that doesn't usually take very long... and I spend more time on administration, but I also take the time to find earlier jobs for the same client and sort out style etc. in advance if that sort of thing is involved.

Proofreading is not my favourite job, so I try to keep it to a minimum.
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Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:43
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Working time Aug 11, 2018

Working time includes.
1. Translating
2. Revising
3. Researching
4. Reading, replying e-mails
5. Accounting/invoicing/statistics
6. What else?

I voted 80%, but I'm not sure.


 


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Poll: How much of your working time is devoted to actual translation? (First draft, without proofreading)






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