Experienced literary translators ‘hardly make a living,’ says CEATL report

Episode 181 August 04, 2022 00:02:46
Experienced literary translators ‘hardly make a living,’ says CEATL report
Localization Today
Experienced literary translators ‘hardly make a living,’ says CEATL report

Aug 04 2022 | 00:02:46

/

Hosted By

Marjolein Groot Nibbelink Nico Palomo Eddie Arrieta

Show Notes

Not all literary translators are paid equally — recently released survey results show that the income of literary translators varies significantly across different countries. One thing they mostly have in common, however, is that they largely struggle to earn a substantial income through literary translation alone.

View Full Transcript

Episode Transcript

Not all literary translators are paid equally — recently released survey results show that the income of literary translators varies significantly across different countries.  One thing they mostly have in common, however, is that they largely struggle to earn a substantial income through literary translation alone. The survey, conducted by the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL, from the French-language name of the council), revealed information on the working conditions of nearly 3,000 literary translators based in various European countries. “They show that: the situation differs a lot from country to country, even experienced full-time professionals hardly make a living, income for literary translators barely increased over the last decade,” the CEATL wrote in a tweet announcing the results of the survey. The vast majority of respondents were members of the CEATL, with 2,822 members included in the data and 158 non-members. Most respondents said they were not full-time literary translators, working either part-time or occasionally in literary translation — potentially because of the low earnings literary translators typically receive for their work. Credit: The European Council of Literary Translators' Associations While literary translators’ earnings vary quite a bit depending on what country they live in, the CEATL notes that even the most experienced literary translators are barely able to make a sustainable living off their earnings. The survey asked respondents to report their minimum, usual, and maximum rates per 1,800 keystrokes (roughly one page worth of content) — for instance, the usual rate for a literary translator in Romania was reported as €3.26 ($3.31) per 1,800 keystrokes. In Iceland, on the other hand, that rate rises to €35.25 ($35.85). This would mean that, upon translating a 200-page book, a literary translator in Romania would earn less than €700, while one working in Iceland could earn more than €7,000. In addition to this basic fee, the CEATL reports that literary translators also depend on earnings from royalties and grants in order to earn a living.

Other Episodes

Episode 19

January 31, 2022 00:02:08
Episode Cover

Why Chinese New Year means two weeks off

Every winter, close to 17% of the world ‘s population, including more than 1 billion Chinese citizens, celebrate Chinese New Year. The 15-day festival,...

Listen

Episode 56

March 30, 2022 00:04:14
Episode Cover

ATA outlines pay rates for language industry professionals in 58-page report

The American Translators Association (ATA) has released the sixth edition of the ATA Compensation Survey, revealing in-depth data on income and pay rates in...

Listen

Episode 25

February 07, 2022 00:06:49
Episode Cover

Waverly Labs talks wearable translation tech's present and future

At this year’s CES, Waverly Labs introduced a suite of new services and hardware designed to provide near-instantaneous communication among multiple languages and dialects.

Listen