by Rebecca Ray

Language translation is a professional service, similar to the ones provided by accountants, lawyers, and designers. However, unlike those services, translation is generally priced by the word, rather than by the hour. In this post, I will share some factors that affect translation pricing and suggest how you can negotiate with prospective translation providers.

What Influences the Price You Pay for Translation?

There are several factors that a translation provider takes into account when quoting a price for a specific project.

• Number of services offered. More than one service can be incorporated in the price. A per-word rate for translation may include only the work of the translator to render text from one language into another. Or, it may include such tasks as project management, editing, proofing, and management of already translated terms and phrases — i.e., translation memory.
• Language(s). Translation providers tend to charge less for languages that are the most commonly used in business, because there are usually more translators available to do the work. For example, English to Swedish will generally cost you more than English to Spanish; Chinese to English will often be priced at a lower rate than Chinese to Japanese or Chinese to Korean.
• Content type. There are several content-related parameters that may affect what a translation vendor will charge you. If content contains a large amount of specialized vocabulary — e.g., installation manuals for solar panels or financial documents for an initial public offering — you should expect to pay more.
• Number of words. Word counts can be misleading in terms of the final cost for a translation project. It may take longer and require more expensive resources to produce a translated tagline for a marketing campaign than several thousand words of ordinary web content. Conversely, the more content that you can send to your translation provider regularly, the more likely the provider will offer a discount.
• Turnaround time. If you require expedited or rush service, you will probably be charged a premium.
• Services in addition to translation. Language-related services like desktop publishing, dubbing, and international software testing, are often charged by the hour — see the list below.

Read on…