kdavid Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:37 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:37 AM Two questions/issues: 1. I'm seeking an English-Chinese translator for my term papers. It's a much more efficient use of my time to write these first in English and then have them translated. It would take me far too long to write them in decent Chinese; and even then the end result would leave a lot to be desired. These are academic papers varying in length, but would be at the very least several thousand words each. Subject knowledge is not required. I'll provide a glossary of terms. As I'm fluent in Mandarin, I would imagine this would be a collaborative effort. Essentially, I just need someone to do the brunt of the rough work; fine-tuning and editing can be done by me and my adviser. Granted we're both happy with the partnership, there is the potential for long-term cooperation, publications, etc. 2. For those with recent experience, what's the range in cost I'm looking at? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:55 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:55 AM What are your term papers about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:58 AM Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 02:58 AM The two for the current semester are on eighteenth-century intellectuals and the 经世 "movement" and either America's involvement in the Boxer Rebellion or the late Qing 守旧派 (I haven't decided on the second yet, but will in the next couple weeks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feihong Posted December 5, 2011 at 03:18 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 03:18 AM I think Kenny could give you more information about the expected costs, but unless you want shoddy work I think you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars. Even without requiring subject knowledge, translating is really labor-intensive. Since you are fluent, you might want to write your papers in Chinese (mistakes and all), and then pay someone to revise them. Editors are much cheaper than translators. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 5, 2011 at 03:54 AM Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 03:54 AM Thanks for the replies so far. Once I have an idea of estimated costs, I'll be in a better position to put a value on my time for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted December 5, 2011 at 04:14 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 04:14 AM I agree with Feihong. Since you’re fluent in Chinese, it would be best if you could write your paper in Chinese and then hire a good editor to revise it. The rate for translating is determined by a lot of things and most notably by the subject, the turnabout time, the format (is the text in MS Word, PDF or PPT file), and the number of photographs, tables in the text. Given the chaotic translation market, especially the E-C market, the rate ranges from 0.01(I know many students are being given this rate) to 0.20 USD per English word. Most EC translators now charge between 0.04 – 0.12 USD per English word. Many good translators have turned to other industries because of the low rates. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted December 5, 2011 at 06:16 AM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 06:16 AM Given the chaotic translation market, especially the E-C market, the rate ranges from 0.01(I know many students are being given this rate) to 0.20 USD per English word. It's also worth noting that the quality will almost certainly vary in line with the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucianna Posted December 5, 2011 at 05:37 PM Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 at 05:37 PM Personally speaking as a Chinese/English translator, my written Chinese sounds like a 12 year old wrote it, and if I ever found myself in a position where I needed to write a term paper in Chinese, I'd be hiring a competent translator. If you'd like to hire a competent translator, I can help you with that. I registered Haikou #1 Translation Agency (海口凡一翻译有限公司) as a WFOE earlier this year. It's the first wholly foreign owned and operated translation agency in Hainan Province. My company specializes in translating from Chinese into other languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Russian) but I know a number of highly qualified English to Chinese translators. Price depends on whom we hire for your job, which currency you want to pay in, how much turnaround time, and whether or not you need a fapiao. As a general rule, it is safe to say that a ballpark figure would be around CNY 500 per 1000 words of source text. Assuming a 10 page term paper, you'd probably be looking at ~6000 words of source text or around CNY 3000 (USD 500) for one paper. Marian Rosenberg General Manager Haikou #1 Translation Agency info@haikoufanyi.com 135 1883 8911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syryanyang Posted December 7, 2011 at 12:20 AM Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 at 12:20 AM I'd like to have a look at your paper and see if I'm interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:18 AM Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:18 AM As I've begun drafting the English version of my papers I've realized I'm not quite sure what to shoot for in terms of word length. My professors have said we should aim for between 4-5,000 字. Could an experienced translator please give me a rough English-Chinese word-to-character ratio? Clearly I'm concerned about both cost and labor. I don't want to put the time and money into writing a 5,000-word English version that will turn out to be 10,000 字 (i.e. double what I really need). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:35 AM Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:35 AM Usually 1,000 English words can be translated into 1,500-1,900 characters in modern Chinese. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:42 AM Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:42 AM Glad I asked that question before writing another 1300 words! Thanks, kenny2006woo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:44 AM Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 at 08:44 AM No problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted December 15, 2011 at 10:07 AM Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 at 10:07 AM Yeah, I use 1.6 as a rough rule of thumb, so for 4,000 字 you'd want around 2,500 English words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 31, 2011 at 01:24 PM Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 at 01:24 PM After much deliberation, I've decided to take a stab at doing this on my own. My long-term goal has always been be able to participate in academics as well as any one else--this includes the skill of writing. Regardless of what I end up doing in the future, I'll be tied to China. Developing good writing skills now will be crucial in my field, and being able to do it well will hopefully be able to set me apart from others. I understand my first few papers will likely be crap, but hopefully by the time I graduate, I'll at least be able to write as well as a high school student. I also hope that learning to write well will make me a more eloquent speaker. Right now, I still speak in a very 口语 manner, while all my classmates and professors speak as if they're reading formal Chinese. I've taken Gato's advice and purchased "A Learners' Handbook of Modern Chinese Written Expressions". This with a bunch of reading should set me on the right track. I appreciate everyone's comments, and Kenny's offer to help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted December 31, 2011 at 01:32 PM Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 at 01:32 PM Good luck with your writing, David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbradfor Posted December 31, 2011 at 11:04 PM Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 at 11:04 PM I understand my first few papers will likely be crap As were mine -- in English, which is my native language. It takes practice to learn to write technical papers in any language, and, personally, I think you are making the right decision to learn this skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted February 29, 2012 at 03:24 PM Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 at 03:24 PM How are you getting on with this, Kdavid? Firing off fluent papers at a rate of knots, or wishing you'd availed yourself of Kenny's no doubt superb services? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.