Poll: How many words do you usually translate every year? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many words do you usually translate every year?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | More than 150,000 | Jun 23, 2021 |
I didn’t keep track until 2007, but I started being asked the same question over and over again. So, since then I have been doing my “maths homework”. Last year I did:
EN/PT: 465,417 words
ES/PT: 8,911 words
FR/PT: 154,285 words
IT/PT: 6,857 words
This year I’m under the impression that my total will be much lower, unless things really change for the better during the second semester of 2021. Though FR-PT was my main language combination when I... See more I didn’t keep track until 2007, but I started being asked the same question over and over again. So, since then I have been doing my “maths homework”. Last year I did:
EN/PT: 465,417 words
ES/PT: 8,911 words
FR/PT: 154,285 words
IT/PT: 6,857 words
This year I’m under the impression that my total will be much lower, unless things really change for the better during the second semester of 2021. Though FR-PT was my main language combination when I started translating some 35 years ago, the fact is that for a while I’ve been translating more EN-PT than my other 3 language combinations together. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | That scale seems to be a bit low | Jun 23, 2021 |
I only keep track very roughly, but the scale here seems to be very low. My typical weekly count is around 20,000 words, so that I believe I would touch a million words per year.
| | | | matt robinson 
Spain
Local time: 06:21
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| Very low upper limit | Jun 24, 2021 |
150,000 words per year is roughly 3,000 per week. It doesn't seem like a realistic number for a professional translator. 3,000 per day is probably nearer my average.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 06:21
Spanish to English
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| I don't keep track | Jun 24, 2021 |
I have too many other things to do. Actually working, for example. Or dealing with officialdom, administrative tasks and tax returns. Vehicle maintenance. Home and garden. Etc.
| | | | Xanthippe
France
Local time: 06:21
Member (2008)
Italian to French
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | 500k words in 5 months | Jun 24, 2021 |
This year I've translated 500k words in 5 months (from January to May).
| | | | | | | I don't keep track | Jun 24, 2021 |
I don't keep track but I notice that some people here do have a lot more work than the average. When I look at their profiles I notice that they have been in the business for decades. So, it is understandable.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 00:21
German to English
| Don't know, don't care | Jun 24, 2021 |
But I do sometimes wonder whether the texts I've translated are ever read.
| | | | Xanthippe
France
Local time: 06:21
Member (2008)
Italian to French
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Kevin Fulton wrote:
But I do sometimes wonder whether the texts I've translated are ever read.
I've sometimes the same question!
| | | | | Don't Have A Clue/Don't Really Care, Except For... | Jun 24, 2021 |
In the past, recent and more distant, I worked everyday for one client over a period of about 4 years, and for the last one, everyday for a period of 6. Other than the money I earned, and the pleasure of actually doing the work for them, I was able to enjoy their company when each of them hosted me in Italy. In one case, more than once.
| | | | Daniel Frisano
Italy
Local time: 06:21
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
| 600k average over 22 years | Jun 24, 2021 |
>13M in 22 years, with a few million-word-years and a couple of semi-sabbaticals below 200k.
Busiest year, 2016 at 1.7 million.
Busiest month, oct. 2016 at 220k.
Slowest month, sept. 2009 at a big fat 0.
[Edited at 2021-06-24 22:09 GMT]
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Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 01:21
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| These numbers must be wrong | Jun 24, 2021 |
In all polls about how many words we are able to translate per day, the average seems to be between 2000 and 3000.
3000 words per day would be around 65,000 words per month in average, which would be around 800.000 words per year.
The numbers suggested in this poll are monthly volumes, not yearly.
If I translate less than 70,000 words in a month, that will be a bad month for me.
I haven't translated less then a million words in a year since 2013.
[Edited at 2021-... See more In all polls about how many words we are able to translate per day, the average seems to be between 2000 and 3000.
3000 words per day would be around 65,000 words per month in average, which would be around 800.000 words per year.
The numbers suggested in this poll are monthly volumes, not yearly.
If I translate less than 70,000 words in a month, that will be a bad month for me.
I haven't translated less then a million words in a year since 2013.
[Edited at 2021-06-24 23:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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