Correct wordcount
Thread poster: Dan Marasescu
Dan Marasescu
Dan Marasescu  Identity Verified
Romania
Local time: 06:20
Member (2003)
English to Romanian
+ ...
Dec 20, 2003

Hi,

I am very puzzled about one document I received from a client. He mentions a number of words in the purchase order, but it seems to me that there is a lot more. However I cannot be sure that my wordcount is correct. I pasted the text in Word and it appears to be about 4 times bigger than the client says. I eliminated the numbers but it didn't make a difference. There are some repetitions but they are not very frequent and, as far as I know, they count too.
I simply cannot
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Hi,

I am very puzzled about one document I received from a client. He mentions a number of words in the purchase order, but it seems to me that there is a lot more. However I cannot be sure that my wordcount is correct. I pasted the text in Word and it appears to be about 4 times bigger than the client says. I eliminated the numbers but it didn't make a difference. There are some repetitions but they are not very frequent and, as far as I know, they count too.
I simply cannot explain this. I don't think this is an error because the same thing happened with two different texts.

Do you have an explanation? I know it's hard if you cannot see it, but can you think of anything? Can you please recommend the most accurate tool for word counting? How can I get rid of symbols like or isolated letters ( C )?

I would appreciate your help.

Dan
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Susana Galilea
Susana Galilea  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 00:20
English to Spanish
+ ...
just a wild guess... Dec 20, 2003

Have you agreed on whether the wordcount corresponds to the source document versus target document?

I know it sounds basic, but I have noticed a great deal of people in this industry do not bother to specifiy.

Thought I'd bring it up.

Best luck to you.

Susana Galilea
Accredited Translator, E
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Have you agreed on whether the wordcount corresponds to the source document versus target document?

I know it sounds basic, but I have noticed a great deal of people in this industry do not bother to specifiy.

Thought I'd bring it up.

Best luck to you.

Susana Galilea
Accredited Translator, EUTI
[email protected]
www.accentonspanish.com
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Narasimhan Raghavan
Narasimhan Raghavan  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:50
English to Tamil
+ ...
In memoriam
One suggestion Dec 20, 2003

As time is important, there is no point in beating around the bush. Just tell the client that your wordcount is such and such and ask him whether he is agreeable to do work on this basis.
Numbers have to be included. Let not the client tell you differently. The tools menu of word or the wordcount provided by softwares such as PractiCount should be decisive.
My guess about the discrepancies in the wordcount is that the client has counted the words manually and has miserably failed. Bu
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As time is important, there is no point in beating around the bush. Just tell the client that your wordcount is such and such and ask him whether he is agreeable to do work on this basis.
Numbers have to be included. Let not the client tell you differently. The tools menu of word or the wordcount provided by softwares such as PractiCount should be decisive.
My guess about the discrepancies in the wordcount is that the client has counted the words manually and has miserably failed. But it is only academic and get along with the work.
Regards,
N.Raghavan
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lien
lien
Netherlands
Local time: 06:20
English to French
+ ...
Practicount Dec 20, 2003

Dan Marasescu wrote:

Do you have an explanation? I know it's hard if you cannot see it, but can you think of anything? Can you please recommend the most accurate tool for word counting? How can I get rid of symbols like or isolated letters ( C )?

Dan


Maybe the client tries to fool you. Use practicount, free download, and I remind you that symbols, isolated letters and spaces ARE to be counted too. I always take the count in Word, the target language WITH spaces.


 
Joeri Van Liefferinge
Joeri Van Liefferinge  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 06:20
English to Dutch
+ ...
PractiCount Dec 20, 2003

You don't mention the original file format, but maybe PractiCount would be a good solution? I use it a lot and am very pleased about it.

Joeri


 
Hynek Palatin
Hynek Palatin  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 06:20
Member (2003)
English to Czech
+ ...
PractiCount Dec 20, 2003

You can try PractiCount:
http://www.practiline.com/
I just don't know if it supports your format, because you didn't specify it.

Generally, different tools give different wordcounts. It has been discussed many times, so you can search the forums.

If you want to remove single symbols or characters, you can use Search and Replace in Word with "Use Wildcards" checked. For exa
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You can try PractiCount:
http://www.practiline.com/
I just don't know if it supports your format, because you didn't specify it.

Generally, different tools give different wordcounts. It has been discussed many times, so you can search the forums.

If you want to remove single symbols or characters, you can use Search and Replace in Word with "Use Wildcards" checked. For example, search for <?> (left angle bracket, question mark, right angle bracket) and replace with an empty string.
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Harry Bornemann
Harry Bornemann  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 23:20
English to German
+ ...
Every tool counts differently Dec 20, 2003

You will have to agree with your client on which tool to use for the word count (presuming a default setup of the tool).

And isolated letters like "C" usually do count as words, as long as you won't get a supplement for extraordinary long words.

But a variation of 400% is extreme.
The cause might be found in text boxes, html tags or similar complications.

BR,
Harry


 
Dan Marasescu
Dan Marasescu  Identity Verified
Romania
Local time: 06:20
Member (2003)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
different software Dec 20, 2003

Thank you all. I have tried Practicount and I am very satisfied with it. However it cannot count words in pdf format.

I think I know what the problem is. The agency uses its own CAT tool and a glossary and what the CAT tool translates on the basis of this glossary is not counted. This is OK, but the difference between their count and my count is very important, and I do not feel confortable because there is no way I can verify that it's correct unless I count every word.


 
Evert DELOOF-SYS
Evert DELOOF-SYS  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 06:20
Member
English to Dutch
+ ...
Practicount does count words in PDF Dec 20, 2003

Dan Marasescu wrote:

Thank you all. I have tried Practicount and I am very satisfied with it. However it cannot count words in pdf format.

I think I know what the problem is. The agency uses its own CAT tool and a glossary and what the CAT tool translates on the basis of this glossary is not counted. This is OK, but the difference between their count and my count is very important, and I do not feel confortable because there is no way I can verify that it's correct unless I count every word.


Which version of Practicount did you use? The latest verson definitely counts PDFs!


 
Agnieszka Hayward (X)
Agnieszka Hayward (X)
Poland
Local time: 06:20
German to Polish
+ ...
Numbers! Dec 21, 2003

let me share my experience with you, even though it might be slightly off this topic.

I am willing to exclude numbers from the overall word count only on one condition: the original has to be provided in the electronic form of the target text (be it Word, Excell, Power Point), because then I can simply copy and paste.

However, if I need to type numbers myself, I feel tempted to charge the client 300%!!! No kidding! I have to proof read numbers at least 2 more times tha
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let me share my experience with you, even though it might be slightly off this topic.

I am willing to exclude numbers from the overall word count only on one condition: the original has to be provided in the electronic form of the target text (be it Word, Excell, Power Point), because then I can simply copy and paste.

However, if I need to type numbers myself, I feel tempted to charge the client 300%!!! No kidding! I have to proof read numbers at least 2 more times than solid text, because am so miserable with numbers, symbols, etc.... Of course I never do charge them 3 times as much, but if I get the original on paper only, or in an obscure format, I treat the numbers as a part of the translation - and therefore, count them as characters.

Once a client said the numbers in his paper (text on statistical methods [!!!] aiding the research in reverse osmosis - foodstuffs related) weren't relevant. I asked him to hide them the next time. Believe it or not, but it worked! He did, actually, delete the numbers from the subsequent texts... What a relief!

Best of luck, and a happy 2004!
Wishing you many great jobs
-Agnieszka-

[Edited at 2003-12-21 04:53]

[Edited at 2003-12-21 04:54]
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protolmach
protolmach  Identity Verified
United States
English to Russian
+ ...
I wonder if anybody knows how to ... Jan 8, 2004

I wonder if anybody knows how to count words to provide a quote for a website translation?
Thank you,
Elana


[Edited at 2004-01-08 18:36]


 


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Correct wordcount







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