Pre-Bastille day we outlined what we thought were some reasons why translation rates might not be where we, as translation professionals, might like or expect them to be.
Now here are some facts on what professional translators actually do charge for their services in a market that we can identify in-house.
The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO – in Canada’s most populous province and home to the Capital) conducted a survey of independent (freelance) translators in 2005, and another of salaried translators in 2007.
Seeing as Canada has 2 official languages (French and English), we’ll only look at those freelancers who self-identified as working in ‘foreign’ languages as that seems more likely to reflect a general translation-market trend.
[The rates we are identifying here are all in $CDN; while it’s worth less than $U.S. (althoug barely right about now) or the €, it is relative – by that I mean that while Canadian translators are charging $CDN they are also spending them, and not a currency that goes further in the global market. The rates are therefore easily comparable to the United States or to the € zone. If you’re making €, £, or $U.S. while living somewhere they are worth many times the local currency then…well…maybe you don’t care either way.]
Here is some of the information gleaned:
49% of respondents stated translation as their full-time employment; 47% said it was a part-time occupation.
The respondents identified ‘individuals’ as their largest client base, followed by translation agencies, companies and finally government.
Rates:
60% of respondents charge between 15¢ and 20¢ per word, 13% said they charge more than that rate and 17% said less. These figures are consistent with prior ATIO surveys conducted in 1996 and in 2000.
67% of respondents said they charge more for rush jobs, which they generally results in a percentage premium. While the percentages varied as widely as 5% to 62%, the most common premiums fell between 10% and 20%.
Flat Fees:
59% of respondents said they had a flat fee for documents such as certificates and diplomas.
79% of respondents had a minimum fee for small jobs, fairly evenly split between 15$, 20$, 25$ and 35$.
Revision:
62% of respondents said they had a revision rate, although they were split between charging per word or per hour.
Per word rates varied greatly, although 4 or 5 cents were the most common.
Per hour the rates varied from 25$ to 55$ per hour with 40$ being the most commonly charged.
7/24/2009
7/13/2009
Translation Rates. Part 1
It’s easy to understand why translation rates are an often-debated subject in the world of translation, maybe now more so as ‘La crise’ certainly hasn’t been helping anyone’s bottom line. Professional translators and translation companies:
1. know what they need to charge in order to make a profit/living; and
2. understand that they are trained professionals with a skill that is both in demand and valuable.
Clients who don’t understand point number 2 and are content to settle for poor translations (for want of money or indifference to quality) are themselves poor professionals, as I’m sure they take their own services quite seriously.
However, regardless of my opinion on the professional practices of some, the fact remains that there are translators (accredited or not) and agencies (or sometimes ‘factories’ for that matter) able to put translations out for very low rates; and clients who are willing to bypass translation professionals altogether.
Reasons for this?
Access to Automatic Translation software. Google translate, reverso, babelfish, wordlingo and a preinstalled ‘widget’ in our macbooks: you know them, have used them and it’s very hard to argue against them absolutely. Maybe the small restaurant owner in a touristed locale would have offered a free meal to someone who was willing to sit down with a menu and work it out for them. Now you have the aforementioned AT tools and maybe cork listed on a Turkish menu instead of mushrooms (according to a friend trying hard to learn the language in the country).
Someone translating in a country with a very low cost of living. They might be able to shave several cents per word off of a rate that would be an absolute minimum in Western Europe or North America;
Bilingual or multiple language speakers offering translations and charging less than a translator with proper training. A client who sees the bottom line first and who maybe won’t understand the final product anyway might be inclined to take the cheaper rate over one that reflects the work of a professional;
Agencies employing an army of people in a country with a low cost of living or very low minimum wage standards. With many people dedicated to translating texts and therefore working on quantity, the business can charge lower rates and rely on volume to turn a profit.
Are we overreacting? Are there a plethora of reasons we're ignorant towards? Let us know what you think.
In the next instalment of the translation rate saga we'll outline some rates in Canada as identified in a survey conducted by an association of professional translators.
1. know what they need to charge in order to make a profit/living; and
2. understand that they are trained professionals with a skill that is both in demand and valuable.
Clients who don’t understand point number 2 and are content to settle for poor translations (for want of money or indifference to quality) are themselves poor professionals, as I’m sure they take their own services quite seriously.
However, regardless of my opinion on the professional practices of some, the fact remains that there are translators (accredited or not) and agencies (or sometimes ‘factories’ for that matter) able to put translations out for very low rates; and clients who are willing to bypass translation professionals altogether.
Reasons for this?
Access to Automatic Translation software. Google translate, reverso, babelfish, wordlingo and a preinstalled ‘widget’ in our macbooks: you know them, have used them and it’s very hard to argue against them absolutely. Maybe the small restaurant owner in a touristed locale would have offered a free meal to someone who was willing to sit down with a menu and work it out for them. Now you have the aforementioned AT tools and maybe cork listed on a Turkish menu instead of mushrooms (according to a friend trying hard to learn the language in the country).
Someone translating in a country with a very low cost of living. They might be able to shave several cents per word off of a rate that would be an absolute minimum in Western Europe or North America;
Bilingual or multiple language speakers offering translations and charging less than a translator with proper training. A client who sees the bottom line first and who maybe won’t understand the final product anyway might be inclined to take the cheaper rate over one that reflects the work of a professional;
Agencies employing an army of people in a country with a low cost of living or very low minimum wage standards. With many people dedicated to translating texts and therefore working on quantity, the business can charge lower rates and rely on volume to turn a profit.
Are we overreacting? Are there a plethora of reasons we're ignorant towards? Let us know what you think.
In the next instalment of the translation rate saga we'll outline some rates in Canada as identified in a survey conducted by an association of professional translators.
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