process quite different volumes of information during a regular workday. A standard output for a translator is 250 words per hour or 2,000 words per day. An interpreter, however, especially simultaneous interpreter, is a totally different animal. Imagine that an average speaker speaks at 120 words per minute (and many speak much faster). One interpreter may interpret 3-4 hours of pure interpretation time during a given day at a conference: it is 120 x 60 x 4 or almost 29,000 words per interpreter per day.