There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question: ‘How long does translation take?’
But, as a professional translation service, we understand why this is the number one question on everyone’s mind in relation to their translation requirements either to meet a deadline or to get an idea of budget. Time is money after all.
As a rough estimate, you could set a daily benchmark of around 1,800 words. However, translation involves multiple factors that can impact turnaround times in various ways depending on the complexity of the work involved.
In this article, we will explore the steps you can take to ensure your project runs as smoothly and effectively as possible.
The key factors that impact translation turnaround time
The first thing to note is that the more detail you provide your translation professionals with upfront, the more accurate their predictions on how long the project will take will be. So think in advance about your project, its purpose, and the audience.
Here are some points to guide you through that process and to help understand the expectations and timescales involved.
- Write a clear brief
It always helps to know more information about the background of the project to help with context. This can get us up to speed quickly.
- Tell us about the purpose of your translation project, for example, informing, educating, etc.
- Who is your intended audience?
- What is their cultural background?
- What is their reading level?
- Have you had other translations done before?
- Do you have any other brand-related documents to share?
- Consider the quality and format of the source text
This can affect the amount of time taken for translation too. If the content is particularly dense in terms of technicality, full of idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms or is quite diverse in its scope, allow a little more time for a turnaround.
- Is the original cohesive and coherent prose? Or disjointed and in smaller sections?
- Will the translator need to do any research?
- What is the size, scope & complexity of the project?
- Larger projects obviously take longer and may involve multiple translators.
- Allow time for the various latter stages, including proofing, editing, and signing off on larger projects. This is often directly linked to content complexity and length.
- What specialisms are involved?
- Does your project require a subject matter expert translator?
- Is there a lot of repetition of specialist terminology, abbreviations etc?
If there is a lot of repetition, this may save time as we can use translation memory to streamline the process. But if the topics are very specialised, this may require added time for research and understanding of the meaning and intention behind the words on the page.
Bubbles Translation – what we do and how we can help
We’re here when your business is ready to break into a new market, overhaul your brand materials, or create new training material for an international team.
Our translation services will ensure your message is not lost, whether you’re communicating in 20 languages or just two. Bubbles’ translators will make certain your message is consistent and convincing, presenting your business at its best around the world.
We’re here to guide you through the process of understanding the service you need, choosing your language service provider and helping the actual translation process run smoothly so you can focus on meeting your deadlines and achieving your business goals.
We’ve put together this guide to help you get the best from your translation agency and to make your transition into doing business overseas as straightforward as possible.
Start today, get in touch with us and our dedicated project managers will come back to you without delay.
