Document translation involves many variables that can influence its duration. If you plan to do business in other countries, you will need translation services so all of your content makes sense to your target market. Naturally, you want to hire a staff, set up shop and begin promoting your company as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, translation is not a job that can be done overnight, even when you hire professionals for the project. In order to get an estimate of how long document translation for your business will take, you need to consider a few relevant factors.
Amount of Content
Not surprisingly, a major factor that determines the time it will take to translate your content is the amount that you have. If you only need a single document translated, turnover can be quick. Most professional translators can comfortably translate about 2,000 words each day. If, however, you have a website with dozens of pages of content, this could take weeks, depending on its complexity.
Complexity of Content
Another factor that affects how long it takes for your translation to be completed is the complexity of the language in your document. If the writing is simple, such as a blog post, web page, or eBook about a commonly understood subject, the translation should not take too long. However, if the content is highly technical in nature, it could take much longer to translate. For more technical work, your translation company will likely assign your project to someone who knows both languages AND has experience in the subject matter. For example, an intricate legal document might require the skills of a translator who is familiar with the law, while a medical document would benefit from the help of a translator who has knowledge about medicine. This means the translation company cannot assign your project to just any translator on the staff, which could extend the process.
Translation Company’s Schedule
The specific translation service you choose will make all the difference in the world on turnaround time. A small company, for example, may have a limited amount of resources to allocate to each client. If they’re booked up, your project may have to go to the back of the queue, and there it will sit for a week — or longer. Many companies will expedite your translation with an extra rush fee, at which time some other customer who couldn’t afford the rush gets pushed back. Consider hiring a large, professional translation firm with ample resources. The truly professional firms can handle your emergencies easily without charging a fee, in most cases.
Verbatim Solutions provides professional translation services to individuals and companies. With an extensive network of language, culture and subject matter experts, they can offer a much quicker turnaround time than many smaller firms. In fact, they don’t charge a fee for rush requests in most cases. Contact Verbatim Solutions today for help with all of your document translation needs.
