How much time does it take to translate one page? There are 300 words in a normal page. It all depends on the type of terminology (and the translator). General: 1 hour Specialized field: 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

How does a text done by a translation software compare with a text done by translator? Here are some ideas on the subject:

 BEFORE THE WORLD WAS CREATED, THE WORD ALREADY EXISTED; HE WAS WITH GOD AND HE WAS THE SAME AS GOD... it is the modern translation of the first verse in the Gospel according to Saint John. Now the literal translation of the Greek (language of origin of the text) is: "FIRST, HIM, THE LOGOS AND THE LOGOS IS FOR GOD, AND THE LOGOS IS GOD, HE IS FIRST FOR GOD". The Greek word LOGOS, in that time, had 2 meanings (1./ Intermediate Being between God and the World, by extension, Reason governing the World 2./ The Word of God). As you can see, the modern translation is an interpretation... and it is most of the time what all translations are about. A different translation has been given for this verse every fifty years. The text has to be, not only translated in another language, but also adapted to a culture and its time. The question I am asking is: "What does it take to be a good translator?"

The knowledge of the language of origin and of the target language is only the first step... we just have to go and live in a country to learn a foreign language. But the culture, the knowledge of a specialized field to understand a text in detail... well, that's another story. A doctor is certainly the most qualified translator for a medical or pharmaceutical text, a mechanic to understand a text on engines, etc. But is it enough to be a bilingual doctor to translate a medical text or must he also be a translator? Which means... must he also keep in touch with the culture of the target language, be a linguist (concision and precision, grammar, etc.) and an artist (presentation, form, etc.)? Everybody will have a different answer.