Word count - corrections
Thread poster: angniempol
angniempol
angniempol
Poland
Local time: 15:28
Polish to English
+ ...
Sep 14, 2014

Hi all,
I have a question concerning the number of characters in a Word document (review mode turned on). I corrected a text and now would like to know how many characters my corrections count. Alternatively, I would like to know how many characters the text counts after deleting author's mistakes but excluding my corrections.
The problem is that the translator who translated some texts for me did not leave a lot of correct sentences, so I had to correct around 80% of the text. And
... See more
Hi all,
I have a question concerning the number of characters in a Word document (review mode turned on). I corrected a text and now would like to know how many characters my corrections count. Alternatively, I would like to know how many characters the text counts after deleting author's mistakes but excluding my corrections.
The problem is that the translator who translated some texts for me did not leave a lot of correct sentences, so I had to correct around 80% of the text. And now I have doubts how I should settle accounts with him.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Collapse


 
Andrea Halbritter
Andrea Halbritter  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:28
French to German
+ ...
Per hour Sep 14, 2014

An hourly rate?

 
LEXpert
LEXpert  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:28
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
Reject the changes you don't want to count Sep 14, 2014

You could save a working copy of the corrected file with tracked changes, then, going through the tracked changes one-by-one, reject all of the deletions (to see how many words you added), or reject the additions (to see how many words you deleted). The difference between these versions and the unedited text will give you the numbers you want.

However, it doesn't really seem like an efficient way to go about it. Simpler to just charge for your time spent...


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:28
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Wait a mo... Sep 14, 2014

angniempol wrote:
The problem is that the translator who translated some texts for me did not leave a lot of correct sentences, so I had to correct around 80% of the text. And now I have doubts how I should settle accounts with him.

I think the other posts were thinking you were billing for making the changes, but I don't think that's the situation here.

You're the client? And the translator didn't do a very good job? So you're editing the file? Is that the situation? If that is the case, did you give the translator the chance to correct these mistakes? It's surely his job to produce a good translation; and his right to do so and then be paid in full. The client can't unilaterally decide that it isn't good enough, change it, and then deduct their own time. It might come to that in the end, but only as a last resort if the translator is clearly unable to do the job.

Could you please let us know what the actual situation is here?


 
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 15:28
English to Polish
+ ...
... Sep 15, 2014

Hope you aren't charging per word added or deleted.

 
angniempol
angniempol
Poland
Local time: 15:28
Polish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
corrections Sep 15, 2014

The thing is that I am a translator myself and I got a job from a client. However, I couldn't cope with the workload so I hired a translator. The sample he translated was ok - only minor corrections were necessary. However, what I received after 'translating' the text....doesn't meet any standards. Each sentence must be corrected. Despite sending few emails explaining what to pay attention to, the 'final' translation was still full of wrong prepositions/collocations, misused articles, style issu... See more
The thing is that I am a translator myself and I got a job from a client. However, I couldn't cope with the workload so I hired a translator. The sample he translated was ok - only minor corrections were necessary. However, what I received after 'translating' the text....doesn't meet any standards. Each sentence must be corrected. Despite sending few emails explaining what to pay attention to, the 'final' translation was still full of wrong prepositions/collocations, misused articles, style issues, mistranslated sentences, etc. I didn't have time to correct a part of the text, send it back, wait for corrections, correct again, and so on, so I checked half of the text, sent it back, but after receiving it 'corrected', it was still unacceptable. I don't want to be unfair to the translator but, on the other hand, I had to 're-translate' the text so I was thinking of charging only for the correct parts of the text.Collapse


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:28
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
So, not charging for edits at all, but deducting them from your payment Sep 15, 2014

angniempol wrote:
I was thinking of charging only for the correct parts of the text.

Err - paying for?

Have you asked the translator what he intends to invoice you? Have you suggested to him that he give you a generous discount?

I don't know the laws in force where the two of you are located, but in many places it really isn't down to the client to pay what they think a service, or a loaf of bread, is worth. The translator gave you a rate (or maybe he let you state the rate). If you don't pay in full then it could go to court. You seem to have some valid reasons for being very unhappy so I imagine a court might judge that the job was not fit for purpose. I really don't know. But it would be much, much simpler to request the translator to be reasonable and accept that he didn't deliver a quality product.


 
angniempol
angniempol
Poland
Local time: 15:28
Polish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
corrections Sep 15, 2014

Hi again,
sorry for the above mistake - of course I should have written 'pay for'... too early yet and no coffee

Yes, I would like to suggest something to the translator and, hence, I wanted to see whether it would be more reasonable to suggest paying only for the correctly translated sentences (or rather words...) or agree on a generous discount. I would like to see what would be better for both of us.
T
... See more
Hi again,
sorry for the above mistake - of course I should have written 'pay for'... too early yet and no coffee

Yes, I would like to suggest something to the translator and, hence, I wanted to see whether it would be more reasonable to suggest paying only for the correctly translated sentences (or rather words...) or agree on a generous discount. I would like to see what would be better for both of us.
Thanks for your contribution, but I still would like to know how I can calculate the characters in my corrections
Deleting corrections and then calculating characters can't be taken into consideration as there is too many pages (several hundred).
Thanks
Collapse


 
alessandra bocco
alessandra bocco  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:28
Member (2006)
English to Italian
+ ...
Deduction for the revision Sep 15, 2014

Maybe you can suggest the translator to pay for the full wordcount - the time you spent proofreading the text. That's what I did a couple of years ago when I shared a big job with a colleague who was proficient in the field of the text but whose style was rather poor, so I had to rewrite many of her sentences.
Alessandra


 


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


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

Word count - corrections







CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
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 »