How long does a translation take?

• How do I choose a good translation partner?
• How long does a translation take?
• How long does editing take?
• How should I submit my files for translation?
• What's the difference between a translation agency and a translation company?
• How do you calculate the cost of a translation?
• What's the difference between subtitling and translation?
• If translation and subtitling are so different, why do you offer both?
• What are the stages of the subtitling process?
• How do you select translators for a project?
• What do you need in order to subtitle my video?
• How do you calculate the cost of a subtitling project?
• What's the difference between subtitling and multilingual transcription?
• Do you accept draft versions of documents?
• Why do translations in certain languages cost more than others?
• Will the translated version be longer or shorter than the original document?
• Why do urgent translations cost more?
• When is my project considered and charged as 'urgent'?
• Do you charge for the translation of words like 'a', 'an', 'the' and 'it'?
• What is a certified translation?
• Do you offer certified translations?
• What's your recruitment process?
• Do you use non-native speakers?
• Do you use Translation Memory tools?
• Do you use Automated Translation?
• Do you offer Free Translation?
• Why do you offer both translation and subtitling?

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How long does a translation take?

If you're in a rush, don't worry. We can almost always meet your deadline. Just contact us with your requirements and we will do our very best to find a solution.

The time required for translating your document depends on several factors:

• Volume: One translator can translate about 3000 words a day. If your document is longer, we can either work with a team of translators to speed the process up, or take more time. The decision will depend on your deadline.
• Deadline: With a short deadline, we will use several translators who work on different parts of your document. Once the whole document has been translated it will then be reviewed by one proofreader who makes sure the text uses consistent style and terminology throughout. This way of working usually means we will consider your translation as an urgent translation.
• Number of translators: We usually try to keep the number of translators on any project as low as possible to ensure consistency across your communications. If this means more time is required for a longer translation, we will ask you if you would like us to increase the number of translators working on it. All our translations are proofread by skilled linguists who will pick up any errors and inconsistencies in style and spelling.
• Complexity of the subject matter: The more specialized your content is, the longer the translation will generally take.
• Services required: If your translated document needs to be proofread, typeset or coded, we will need to schedule in time for this after completion of the translation.
• Language pair: Firstly, some language pairs are rarer than others and more susceptible to the laws of supply and demand. If there aren't a lot of translators who translate, say, Arabic to Lithuanian, it might be that they are busy with other assignments and we need to wait until they become available. Thankfully this hasn't happened yet, but it does mean that translations between common languages tend to be quicker than translations in not-so-common languages.
  Secondly, certain languages are more labour-intensive than others. For example, as a general rule, translation into Japanese takes longer than English.