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Price per minute for the translation of a speech?
Thread poster: GeorgiaD
GeorgiaD
GeorgiaD
Germany
Local time: 05:44
German to English
+ ...
Jan 15, 2009

Hi everybody,

it would be great if someone could help me with the following problem: A customer justed asked me how much I would charge for the translation of a 90-minute speech. I usually charge by line (of 55 characters). I am about to read a text out aloud, take the time and then calculate the length, but as my customer might speak much faster (or more slowly) than I do that calculation might be completely off.

As I also do translations for TV every once in a while, ... See more
Hi everybody,

it would be great if someone could help me with the following problem: A customer justed asked me how much I would charge for the translation of a 90-minute speech. I usually charge by line (of 55 characters). I am about to read a text out aloud, take the time and then calculate the length, but as my customer might speak much faster (or more slowly) than I do that calculation might be completely off.

As I also do translations for TV every once in a while, I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me whether you have ever charged for translations by the minute? And how would that compare to your prices per line/word?

Thanks a lot!

Cheers,
Georgia ▲ Collapse
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 05:44
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Rough estimate Jan 15, 2009

GeorgiaD wrote:
A customer justed asked me how much I would charge for the translation of a 90-minute speech.


It takes between 6 and 8 hours to transcribe 1 hour of speech, and then you still have to translate it.
 
LP Schumacher
LP Schumacher  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 05:44
German to English
Quoting on audio source Jan 15, 2009

GeorgiaD wrote:
I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me whether you have ever charged for translations by the minute? And how would that compare to your prices per line/word?


If you are translating directly from an audio file, then yes, it would be appropriate to charge per hour or minute of audio recording.

I generally charge per hour of recording for direct audio-to-text translation, but that's easily converted into a per-minute or flat fee, depending on what the customer prefers.

In my experience, one hour of spoken discourse takes anywhere from 6 to 9 hours to translate (or more, depending on the quality and the content of the recording). So it makes more sense to figure your quote in terms of the hours you anticipate spending on the job, rather than trying to nail down a line or word count (particularly if the customer does not expect you to deliver a source-language transcription in addition to the translation, which would change the whole approach to the task).

Obviously you'd be able to make a more accurate estimate once you've heard the source file, though I know it doesn't always work that way...
 


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Price per minute for the translation of a speech?







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