Posted by Iain Purvis on March 09, 19100 at 08:53:15:
In Reply to: Word count: source or target language? posted by Don Rogalski on March 08, 19100 at 17:23:36:
: I've always counted source words to calculate fees,
: and thought that this was standard, and logical,
: practice. Now I've read on this list that a
: translator is counting target words to calculate
: fees.
: 1. Which language do you count from? Source
: or target?
I count target language words.
: 2. If target, what's your reasoning?
Reasoning is that your source may be a scrappy photocopy or the back of a fag packet, but you use a word processor to produce nice, neat copy, and the wp usually has a word count facility.
Also, ever since I started as a translator, working in-house for a Technical Authoring firm i Birmingham, I have been doing it as I was originally instructed to do (ie, inertia).
: Cheers,
: Don Rogalski
Regards, Iain.
