How much shall I charge for glossary review ? Thread poster: Laurence Bourel
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Hello,
An agency asked me if I wanted to proofread a client's glossary (3.000 words). I have no idea how much to charge in EUR nor how long it will take. Comments in French and English welcome. TIA
| | | | Fabio Descalzi 
Uruguay
Local time: 23:44
Member (2004)
German to Spanish
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| Glossaries usually take time | Jul 17, 2007 |
Hi Laurence,
before telling them a number, please ask them to see the glossary - how it is structured, etc.
Suppose that in a normal translation, you have to search up to 10% of the total words of a text. Well - a glossary could well mean investigating every single word contained.
No general rule to apply - at least, in my experience.
| | | | Patricia Rosas
United States
Local time: 19:44
Spanish to English
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In memoriam | my (limited) experience | Jul 17, 2007 |
I recently had to translate a glossary (including the full explanations for each term) and in a field I'm not familiar with. It was a headache.
I was able to find glossaries in each language in the pair, but even with that, translating the explanations involved words that weren't part of the glossary's terms but that were unknown to me, so I had to research those with great care. (I was surprised by how easily I got off track, so to speak. But in retrospect, glossaries are TECHNICA... See more I recently had to translate a glossary (including the full explanations for each term) and in a field I'm not familiar with. It was a headache.
I was able to find glossaries in each language in the pair, but even with that, translating the explanations involved words that weren't part of the glossary's terms but that were unknown to me, so I had to research those with great care. (I was surprised by how easily I got off track, so to speak. But in retrospect, glossaries are TECHNICAL, so precise definitions were key to getting it right.)
Proofing, obviously, should be easier, but I entirely agree with Fabio that you should look at the glossary before even thinking about quoting a price.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | not so sure proofing a glossary is easier than translating it | Jul 17, 2007 |
I also translated a glossary (about 5000 words) recently, highly technical. And yes, it was a nightmare...
I am not alltogether sure that proofing it is easier than translating it. You may assume that the translator got most things right, but without context, you would still be forced to look up most (if not all) words. So it is sound advice to have a look at the glossary first, and see how much time you need to do 40 or 50 words. My guess is that you'll need loads more time than you had a... See more I also translated a glossary (about 5000 words) recently, highly technical. And yes, it was a nightmare...
I am not alltogether sure that proofing it is easier than translating it. You may assume that the translator got most things right, but without context, you would still be forced to look up most (if not all) words. So it is sound advice to have a look at the glossary first, and see how much time you need to do 40 or 50 words. My guess is that you'll need loads more time than you had anticipated... ▲ Collapse
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Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 04:44
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
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SITE LOCALIZER | This is tough... | Jul 17, 2007 |
because of the (usually missing) context. How much does it cost to write a vocabulary? 10 cents per entry? 10 cents per synonym? If synonyms are nogo, what am I suppose to take? etc
| | | | | Can of worms | Jul 18, 2007 |
Laurence
To me this sounds like terminology research, not translation. Depending on the subject area you may end up producing something very valuable for your client while suffering a substantial loss of earnings yourself. I would pass up this type of “opportunity.” Taking it would make sense only if you have compelling reason to ingratiate yourself to this client irrespective of the cost to you.
Regards
Andreas
| | | | Irene N
United States
Local time: 21:44
English to Russian
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| I would decline | Jul 18, 2007 |
Can't imagine creating or proofreading a glossary without deep involvement in the project, contacts with experts on site, continuous verification in the course of project implementation, intimate knowledge of project jargon and specifics in both languages, and continuous feedback from the client. Otherwise, however thoroughly and honestly labored, it is a total waste of time and money.
| | | | Laurence Bourel
France
Local time: 04:44
English to French
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TOPIC STARTER
Hello,
In the end, I declined the job. Even if it was financial-related (my stuff),I never did glossary review before and it seems time-consuming and not very profitable, as some of you pointed out. And I was afraid that every time I will propose a new term, I had to justify.
Thanks to all of you
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MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 05:44
English to Lithuanian
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| ask for the actual hours spent | Jul 20, 2007 |
...these are difficult to know in advance, more exacly, you will know how much time you've spent on the job when you complete it. If the client is fair, they will say "OK", if they do not say "OK", do not take that job.
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