Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] >
10400 words in 24 hours
Thread poster: Nicole Coati
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:33
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I didn't get it that way. Jul 14, 2017

Erik Freitag wrote:

It's sad to see how this discussion has degraded.

Lincoln has, in a very matter-of-factly way, offered to substantiate his claim, and he has very clearly laid out how this can be achieved. The fact that Robert is backing off and refuses that his claim be put to a test at least shows that he's not stupid.

However, raising doubts about the quality of Lincoln's translations based on the fact that he's Chinese, or based in Hong Kong, is absolutely uncalled for.



I guess the quality doubts were raised based on the fact that someone is working incessantly for 20 hours straight, and the human attention and focus spans have limits.

I haven't read all the discussion in detail but this how I perceived it. Nothing to do with Lincoln or anyone else personally, it's just a biological fact. Your performance won't be as accurate as you are getting tired. Granted, some people have wider spans, but all of them certainly have limitations.

I for one would never hire a professional (for instance a construction builder) who does things in a haste.


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
Give it a rest Jul 14, 2017

So some people believe they can clock up 10K words in 24 hours and some people believe they can't, or shouldn't, but this has been going for well over 24 hours now, and I don't know if anyone's notched up 10K on it yet, but there must be a few keyboards out there billowing smoke from all the non-translation words typed into them in the last day or so.

It's a wonder we get any translation done.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:33
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Of course, it's a matter of opinion. Jul 14, 2017

I know if I had to hire someone for something for my personal purposes, I would not want that person to be overworked. Now tell me that a person doing 10k per day is not overworked (I will probably hear something along these lines in one of the following posts : ) )

 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:33
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Shall we return to the point? Jul 14, 2017

In her original post here, Nicole appears to be asking whether it was unreasonable/unprofessional/rude of a client to contradict her with the words "Yes you can" when she replied that she couldn't take on a job offer of 10,400 words of medical text in 24 hours.
The point was not whether or not it is possible for SOME translators in SOME circumstances to translate 10,400 words satisfactorily in 24 hours (which it may well be) or whether a particular translator could do so under controlled t
... See more
In her original post here, Nicole appears to be asking whether it was unreasonable/unprofessional/rude of a client to contradict her with the words "Yes you can" when she replied that she couldn't take on a job offer of 10,400 words of medical text in 24 hours.
The point was not whether or not it is possible for SOME translators in SOME circumstances to translate 10,400 words satisfactorily in 24 hours (which it may well be) or whether a particular translator could do so under controlled test conditions.
The point was that - in my unhumble opinion - the project manager was rude/short-sighted/unprofessional to contradict Nicole with the words "Yes, you can". The PM cannot have known what Nicole's circumstances were at the time of the offer. Nicole may well have had numerous reasons for not being able to accept such an urgent offer at that moment, including other commitments, both professional and personal.
The PM seems to have been treating the translator as a recalcitrant employee or lazy schoolgirl, rather than as an independent service provider or business operator - an attitude often deplored in these forums.



[Edited at 2017-07-14 10:54 GMT]
Collapse


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 18:33
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Exactly, wrong attitude. Jul 14, 2017

Jenny Forbes wrote:
The PM seems to have been treating the translator as a recalcitrant employee or lazy schoolgirl, rather than as an independent service provider or business operator - an attitude often deplored in these forums.


Agree!


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 18:33
Member
English to Italian
Unreasonable Jul 14, 2017

Jenny Forbes wrote:

The point was not whether or not it is possible for SOME translators in SOME circumstances to translate 10,400 words satisfactorily in 24 hours (which it may well be) or whether a particular translator could do so under controlled test conditions.
The point was that - in my unhumble opinion - the project manager was rude/short-sighted/unprofessional to contradict Nicole with the words "Yes, you can". The PM cannot have known what Nicole's circumstances were at the time of the offer. Nicole may well have had numerous reasons for not being able to accept such an urgent offer at that moment, including other commitments, both professional and personal.


True, however, I believe our perception that the PM was rude/unprofessional/etc. is not only linked to the fact that they told Nicole what she could or could not do, but is actually magnified by the fact that their request was so 'extreme'... I mean, if this was about 2-2.5k, probably this thread wouldn't exist at all... After all, its title is "10400 words in 24 hours", not "Rude/Bossy PM"...

So, one way or another, IMHO this is also linked to how reasonable/unreasonable, feasible/unfeasible, etc. we perceive that request (I called it "outlandish"). Not sure I would like to collaborate with an agency that sent me requests for 10k in 1 day, irrespective of how polite their PMs were.

As a side note about that, there also are some polls here on ProZ about the maximum number of words translated in 24 hours:
http://www.proz.com/polls/13874?action=results&poll_ident=13874&sp=polls
http://www.proz.com/polls/15332?action=results&poll_ident=15332&sp=polls

Obviously, same goes for the average number of words per day:
http://www.proz.com/polls/10076?action=results&poll_ident=10076&sp=polls
http://www.proz.com/polls/16796?action=results&poll_ident=16796&sp=polls
http://www.proz.com/polls/11032?action=results&poll_ident=11032&sp=polls


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sorry ... Jul 14, 2017

... I'm late getting back to the discussion, but I only had a couple of hours to translate a central bank's annual report. Still, that's done now.

So ... what's been going on meanwhile?


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
Wresting ... Jul 14, 2017

... back the topic.

Part of the topic has been exhausted anyway. Everyone agrees with Nicole that the PM was unreasonable and snotty, but - as we've seen - everyone also has an opinion as to capacity and as to whether it can or should be done.

Just rereading the original post ... did the PM think it was 10.400 words for the next day (cushy number), or 10,400 words (tough, but ... oh, don't start ...)?

[Edited at 2017-07-14 16:18 GMT]


 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

10400 words in 24 hours







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »