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Price analysis: can the quality of a translation be calculated?
This question is rather more difficult to answer, because so many factors
have to be taken into consideration.
It may be appropriate, so as to get a feeling for the statistics involved,
to take the example of a translator who is earning his living here in Germany.
A translator may manage something like 1200 to 1500 words a day, or between 150 and 185 standard lines.
Let us suppose he has on average 20 working days in the month available
for gainful employment.
With a mean value of 167 lines a day, and a monthly output based on
20 days, our translator will be producing a total of 3340 lines a month.
With a view to determining the overall earnings of our translator, consider the following listing (based on a varying price per line):
| A price per line of | results in a monthly income of | ||
| - € 0.50 | € 1670 gross/ | € 1420 net* | |
| - € 0.60 | € 2004 gross/ | € 1654 net* | |
| - € 0.70 | € 2338 gross/ | € 1882 net* | |
| - € 0.80 | € 2672 gross/ | € 2104 net* | |
| - € 0.90 | € 3006 gross/ | € 2319 net* | |
| - € 1.00 | € 3340 gross/ | € 2528 net* | |
| - € 1.10 | € 3674 gross/ | € 2730 net* | |
| - € 1.20 | € 4008 gross/ | € 2926 net* | |
* NB: income tax and the Solidaritätszuschlag [German Solidarity Tax levied for relief of former East Germany] have been deducted from the gross amount (statistics as at 2006).
The line prices shown above are to be understood as including the time
required for proof-reading, invoicing, data transfer, compilation of
glossaries and so on.
The monthly earning capacity has been based on full employment, without
any breaks or loss of income such as may result from a temporary drop
in demand.
Holidays and periods of sickness have not been taken into account.
Nor has the cost of third-party liability insurance for pecuniary loss,
private insurance schemes, old age pension schemes, acquisition of
new business, hardware and software, overheads etc. been considered.
So the question now suggests itself how much the client can expect
to pay to a translator? – that is to say, one who has the requisite
qualifications:
| - | having a diploma (BA or MA) from a university or technical college, |
| - | and having, in addition to his linguistic qualifications, a practical familiarity with the subject area in which he works, |
and also having an office with all the hardware and software needed for the task:
| - | i.e. terminology management databases, translation memory systems and desktop publishing programs. |
The question is relatively easy to answer: whatever the translator,
based on his qualifications, thinks it appropriate to charge for his
services.
If the client goes for a translation in the 'bargain basement' sector,
he can expect to get inferior quality. In doubtful cases a bargain
basement supplier will not even have an adequate third-party insurance
scheme in place,
and so will not be able to meet the massive bill for consequential
damages if such a situation should actually arise.
If the client goes for a translation service in the upmarket sector, and wishes to work with a translator who has the best qualifications and is a secure bet in terms of insurance coverage, he must expect to pay an appropriate price per line.
Highly qualified translators who have invested years in obtaining a qualification have the option – based on the long period of study involved – of availing themselves of small-scale refinancing schemes as translators of limited qualifications or experience.
Every prospective client should be aware of the fact that quality and reliability come with a price tag.
When it comes to the point, cheap translations are only cheap in
the initial stages. If things go wrong, you may find yourself caught
in a vicious spiral of expenses. This is a hazard that every prospective
client should
be aware of.
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