Is Lingua cost competitive?
Quotations are accurate to within 10% plus or minus of the quoted cost. The variability is due to the imprecise nature of language itself. When documents are translated from one language to another, there is generally a small change in the length of the document. For example, when an English document is translated to Spanish, there is generally a 10-15% expansion in length. It is impossible, unfortunately, to predict precisely how much expansion or contraction will take place until the translation is completed. This is the reason that quotations cannot be 100% precise. Although the possibility of variation exists, for the vast majority of projects, the final price will not vary from the quoted price. Generally, our costs are roughly 25% - 40% lower than the prevailing market price.

Who does the actual translation?
Our translators are native speakers of the target language, which means that they have a command of the idiomatic expressions and local nuances of the target language. All this experience goes into ensuring that your translated document adheres not only to the literal meaning of the original document, but to the expressions of thought and intent that are to be found within the literal text.

Can you handle specialized/technical subject matter?
Our translators are not only talented professionals in the art of transforming textual expressions of ideas into other languages, they are specialists in their particular fields. Since we focus primarily on business to business, the vast majority of projects we complete are technical in nature. Our system ensures that the translator who will be assigned to your project is experienced with the subject matter, whether it be chemical, technical, legal, marketing, or any other area.

How do I save time and money for any future translation projects?
Each translation project that we complete is archived (specific to each client) and made available to our translators. This allows the translators to access previously-translated documents for use as reference material. This has several benefits:

• The translator maintains consistency of style, terminology, and phrasing between earlier documents and the new translation.
• By allowing the translators to search for repetition, previously-translated sections of text do not need to be retranslated every time.
• Often, a single document is translated several times. For example, updates to Material Safety Data Sheets are simply a matter of finding the original translation and changing only the updated text, rather the retranslating the entire document. This results in significant cost savings to you.

Do you proofread the translations?
Proofreading is included in the translation process. Every project, once the initial translation is completed, is reviewed by a Project Manager, fluent in both the original and the target language, and experienced with the particular subject matter of the documentation.

Will the formatting of the translation match the original?
Our goal is to ensure that your translated work is returned to you formatted as closely as possible to match the original. Your document is returned to you in an electronic format or as a camera-ready hard copy.

What is your customer service policy?
We recognize that a happy client is a future client. Thus, it is in our best interest to ensure that you are satisfied in every way with your translation experience. We have procedures and policies in place to ensure that you always have someone to speak with when you have questions. Our project managers will be your point of contact, and are available at any time to provide status reports, answer questions, and provide whatever support may be needed.