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Amateur translation service?
I'm thinking about offering my services as a translator, for a small fee payable by PayPal, but I'm not sure how it could work. I've been doing some translating work, French -> English for my Nan and her partner's band recently, and I really enjoyed it - I also think it would help me improve my own proficiency in French.
I've been studying French for five years now - it's one of the things I'm best at and enjoy the most. I do study some others, but I feel most proficient in this language and I'd like to do some work with it!
I'm hardworking and determined to become a professional one day - so I guess this is a good way for me to start off.
So, what kind of prices would you pay for an amateur translation service?
I will only offer my services in French -> English and English -> French, but maybe in the future when I'm more confident in other languages I could do those too.
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Je pense à l'offrande de mes services comme un traducteur pour un petit coût par PayPal, mais je ne suis pas sûr comment il pourrait travailler. J'ai fait du travail de traduction, français -> l'anglais pour ma grandmère et la groupe de musique de son partenaire récemment. Pour moi, c'était très agréable et aussi il sera aide moi avec mes études et ma propre compétence de français. J'ai l'étudié depuis cinq ans - c'est la chose que je suis meilleur à. Je l'ai apprécie plus. J'étudie quelques d'autres langues, mais je me sens le plus compétent dans cette langue et j'aimerais faire quelque travail avec cela !
Je suis travailleuse et déterminé de devenir professionnel un jour - je pense que c'est un bon manière pour moi commencer.
Quel prix moyen paieriez-vous, pour un service de traduction amateur ?
J'offrirai seulement mes services en français -> l'anglais et l'anglais -> français, mais peut-être à l'avenir, quand je suis plus confiant dans les autres langues je pourrais faire ces aussi (l'allemand, le japonaise, etc)
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Hey there. I have been in the translation business for a while now and I can tell you that your question is actually not very easy to answer.
First off, I need to know your educational qualifications. You said you had studied French, but you neglected to say on what level. Also, your general education plays a role in determining the price, since translators often specialise in certain areas (I myself have a business masters and therefore specialise in financial, marketing and economic texts).
Generally, a translator working with your languages will set his minimum rates (I will explain this below) anywhere between 0.05 and 0.15 USD/ word. Both limits are rather extreme, and a "normal" sort of price might be 0.1 USD/ word. Have a look at this site:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
You can use the search function in the freelancer menu to select the languages you want. Once you have made the search, scroll to the middle of the page and deselect the box that says "TC Masters only" and repeat the search. Now you have all the registered translators. Many of them have included minimum price in their profiles.
Now, to define minimum rates. Translation prices vary based on 1. language combinations (this we know), 2. length of text (longer = cheaper), 3. complexity of text- this affects the speed at which you translate... a very easy text one can do at over 500 words/ hour, a moderate one at about 400, while a very complex text could push even a good translator below 300.
Also, most translators use computer aided translation (CAT) tools- not to be confused with machine translation. This allows them to offer reduced rates for repetitions and partial matches, which gives them a cost advantage. So you see, sometimes a higher price/ word quoted by one translator can mean a lower total cost for the entire document if he excluded all repetitions.
Now, another thing to keep in mind is that normally one is only supposed to translate to one's mother tongue. This standard is certainly not always adhered to and there are exceptions (e.g. truly bilingual people), but it is largely accepted as a means to ensure quality.
Ok... that was rather long. If you add your education level (and any other info that would be relevant in this context on your CV, e.g. courses, experience, etc) I can edit my answer with a price estimate. You can always inbox me as well if you want.
Alin 34/m
Edit:
Oh, I did not realise you were from the UK. I am European myself, so I guess it was kind of silly to turn it all into dollars :)
In the UK price is usually calculated per 1000 words for some reason. Boils down to the same thing in the end of course.
Anyway, I must admit I am quite uncertain here. Makes it even harder considering the devaluation of the pound. If I were to offer a guesstimate, I would say try ask for 20 GBP/ 1000 words (or 0.02£/ word) and see how it goes.
Good luck.
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