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Some clients need a translation in a rush, and since they have small documents, they is if one hour translation is doable. Generally, it seems that an average translator produces between 250 and 600 finished words per hour. Still, editing and proofreading will take extra time. In addition, the layout and subject matter of the document will decide the translators speed.

Is one hour translation possible?

Well we can say yes, one hour translation is possible because in a study, one of the translators was able to translate 1,367 words in one hour. It is yet a huge amount, more than 5* the old average of 250 words per hour. So yes, one hour translation is possible. We personally know translators who are capable of completing anything up to 1000 words per hour. Actually there are several translators who are able to translate 1,000 new words per hour but that is only possible in certain circumstances such as need to have the right resources, a fast PC and internet connection and translation memory (TM) and sections of the right length. But afterwards checking, editing and proofreading will decrease the average amount so that a raw 1,000 words is different from a net 1,000 words per hour. And translating 1,000 words per hour does not necessarily mean that you will translate 8,000 words in an eight-hour working day.

If the work is very repetitive you may be able to produce around 800 finished words per hour, but the problem to this type of translation work is that it’s not very demanding or inspiring work. But if you’re translating some complicated legal documents that involve layers of sense and multiple cross-referencing, your output may dip as low as 200 or 250 words per hour, but the work itself can be much more satisfying.

Several translation agencies expect translators to produce between 2000 and 3000 finished words per day, and it’s our feeling that you’ll need to work at this speed in order to make a decent living on agency translation rates.

If you’re attempting to translate faster, here are some tips that may be helpful:

• Brush up on Your Typing Skills

We know this sounds naive, but if you can type fast then you can probably translate fast. There are some online sites where you can practice typing and get better your skills.

• Work on Your Area of Specialization

Possibly the fastest method of increasing your translation speed is to learn as much as possible about your area of specialization and become really knowledgeable about that subject. Once you become very familiar with the sentence structure, terminology and phrasing, particular writing style and so on, you’ll find that your productivity increases significantly.

For us it won’t come as a surprise if more translators admit that they can do one hour translation.

At the end,  we just want to say that those who want to translate 2,000 words can still do that and be regarded for their quality, while those who translate the same amount in two hours can be regarded for their quality and fast delivery. They can even work for the same clients and work together, ensuring that every need is met.

Let translators do what they can and let quality, rates and delivery be the imperatives for the whole industry.

For further information contact WAPA Translations and get free a quote!