Shout Out Loud: No Lauda!
Posted in December 14th, 2007 by Cecilia GomesHow many words can you put in a “lauda” (a Brazilian metric used in translation that more or less corresponds to a page)? To answer this question is as easy as answering what are the exact measures of a size 6, 8 or 10. That depends…
“Lauda” was a commonly used metric in a time when one used typewriters. It consisted of a paper form with an upper and bottom ruler to count each type (in general, 60 to 80 types) and a ruler on each side to mark the lines (20 to 30 or more lines). When typewriters became obsolete and computers started to rule, these metrics became even more flexible and were rapidly adapting to each person’s (or company’s) needs.
If you search the Internet, you will find references to “laudas” of every possible size – from 1,000 types (!) to 2,100 characters, as suggested by the Brazilian Translator’s Union. But let’s be fair here. There are several websites where translators and reviewers offer their services quoted with “laudas” with instructions on how to reach the number of characters using MS Word features.
Yet the client is on the other side of this chasm. I have seen all: “laudas” with 150 words or 300 words that surprisingly enough are supposed to have the same size. How come?
It will take some time before the day when we can count some good old words costing the same, regardless of the number of characters they have…
