| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: At peak speed and without a CAT tool, how many source word can you translate in 1 hour? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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John Walsh 
Italy
Local time: 08:50
Italian to English
I'm a fast typist too but I often leave letters out or rearrange their order. Fortunately, MSN usually takes care of that. Too bad we don't have a tool like that for this forum.
[Edited at 2005-12-22 17:55]
[Edited at 2005-12-22 19:03]
| | | | John Walsh
Italy
Local time: 08:50
Italian to English
Anyway, I often have documents where I can put my "auto pilot" on and just translate away at an incredible rate. I was suprised to hear it's not the same for everybody.
| | | | Allen Harris
United States
Local time: 01:50
French to English
+ ...
After seeing this poll and discussion, I've refined what I mean when I say my rate is 300 words per hour. For me, that means if you give me 300 words to translate from French to English (disregarding other factors for the moment), I can return the target text in 60 minutes -- translated, composed and checked. And that’s by hand, using pen, paper and dictionaries. That’s what I mean. I suppose if the question is how many words I can crunch in an hour using a keyboard, then I think the rate wi... See more After seeing this poll and discussion, I've refined what I mean when I say my rate is 300 words per hour. For me, that means if you give me 300 words to translate from French to English (disregarding other factors for the moment), I can return the target text in 60 minutes -- translated, composed and checked. And that’s by hand, using pen, paper and dictionaries. That’s what I mean. I suppose if the question is how many words I can crunch in an hour using a keyboard, then I think the rate will be much higher. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Giles Watson
Italy
Local time: 08:50
Italian to English
In memoriam | I honestly don't see the point of the poll... | Dec 22, 2005 |
...mainly because I can hardly remember when I last translated anything for money without a CAT tool. What's the point?
As it stands, the poll seems to be about typing speeds, and I envy some of the respondents the skills they claim. I would however point out that it is unprofitable in the long term to go down the "how much" route with translation, or indeed any other service. The trick is to crank up the "how well", and get paid accordingly.
FWIW
Giles
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Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:50
Flemish to English
+ ...
| Enter the Dragon. | Dec 22, 2005 |
I have been wondering what how fast you can translate when using Dragon Dictate.
Is it a kind of interpreting with a lot of resources at your disposal. As you all know a day's work of interpreting equals the output of a translator of one week ... So, are you doing a kind of interpreting with a lot of resources at your disposal. Enter the Dragon and your speed of producing words enhances by what factor.....? When I used it I can dicatate an entire paragraph in a couple of minutes. Of cours... See more I have been wondering what how fast you can translate when using Dragon Dictate.
Is it a kind of interpreting with a lot of resources at your disposal. As you all know a day's work of interpreting equals the output of a translator of one week ... So, are you doing a kind of interpreting with a lot of resources at your disposal. Enter the Dragon and your speed of producing words enhances by what factor.....? When I used it I can dicatate an entire paragraph in a couple of minutes. Of course, you have to take into account a couple of minutes to correct the words which were not yet contained in the Dragon's database.
[Edited at 2005-12-22 22:54] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 00:50
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam | Not a fast typist, but... | Dec 23, 2005 |
My talent does not lie in fast typing. I once wondered if I could ever make a living typing. Now it turns out I can. I am at least fast and accurate enough to give me an output of 750-1000 words per hour at peak, and that of course includes proofing, otherwise I do not think the measure is valid. And that would be all day long, and a day much over 8 hours. As for a week... well, along the line I may have times when I poop out.
It also supposes a familiar area, no format problems, wo... See more My talent does not lie in fast typing. I once wondered if I could ever make a living typing. Now it turns out I can. I am at least fast and accurate enough to give me an output of 750-1000 words per hour at peak, and that of course includes proofing, otherwise I do not think the measure is valid. And that would be all day long, and a day much over 8 hours. As for a week... well, along the line I may have times when I poop out.
It also supposes a familiar area, no format problems, working within an existing word processing file and using various tricks such as search and replace.
However, one of the things that has always driven me in my work is "do it right the first time". Consequently, proofing and revision are not time-consuming. Furthermore, when I am working under real pressure it seems that my production and accuracy rise significantly. I can only attribute that to concentration.
Finally, I cannot possibly conceive of any advantage whatsoever I could gain by using a CAT tool. The one I have developed though the years has served me well, and also does double duty as a hatrack. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Advantages of touch typing | Dec 23, 2005 |
Gillian Scheibelein wrote:
...the key lies in fast typing - touch typing, in fact. I only look at the source text, or out of the window for particular inspiration, and not at the keyboard or what I am typing. If I get stuck on a word, I just skip it and try to keep riding the wave to keep the flow going.
Jill
That's what I do! I look away from my desk or even close my eyes. I'm amazed that when I don't look at the screen or the keyboard, everything goes a lot faster. And the translation is "fresher," less labored. And, surprisingly, I make fewer typos!
[Edited at 2005-12-24 06:52]
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 08:50
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Touch typing | Dec 29, 2005 |
Agreement with my fellow touch typists. This is a major skill for a translator. Your eyes can stay on the source text, where they need to be. Eyes source, hands target. See ya!
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| depends on work method | Jan 5, 2006 |
I get the impression people answer differently depending on how they work. Some prefer to type as much as possible in one go, then spend time checking it all and researching afterwards, others check and research as they go.
| | | | Kevin Harper
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:50
German to English
+ ...
| Depends on Language | Jan 10, 2006 |
As a multiple language translator, I can often translate more quickly in some languages than in others. This is not only a factor of how well I know each language, but also on the language structure.
When translating from French into English I can translate much faster than when translating from German into English, even though German is my strongest language (after English, that is). The reason is that German requires a great deal of reorganising and finding the end of the sentence... See more As a multiple language translator, I can often translate more quickly in some languages than in others. This is not only a factor of how well I know each language, but also on the language structure.
When translating from French into English I can translate much faster than when translating from German into English, even though German is my strongest language (after English, that is). The reason is that German requires a great deal of reorganising and finding the end of the sentence, whereas between French and English, with the exception of reversing the order of adjective and noun, less of the structure needs changing. Also, French tends to use more words to say the same thing than English does.
Also, professionally, I only work into English. Whenever I do translate into a non-native language it takes me significantly longer. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 08:50
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | so why not rephrase, like "how fast can you type";) | Jan 11, 2006 |
that's how I answered anyhow - 1000+. But that's the case, when somebody (my mind, my dog or cat) dictate what to write.
I don't think burst speed has any feet in our environment.
PS: of course this all assumes I make no typos and dont need the spell checker. Which is naive.
[Edited at 2006-01-11 22:51]
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