Frequently Asked Questions
Languages
Do you offer translations in ...?
We can translate between almost all languages. We frequently translate between English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish and the following languages:
Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Flemish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Persian or Farsi, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (European), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Serbo-Croat, Slovene, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese and Welsh.
Services
How long does it take?
Each and every translation we do takes a different amount of time depending on our current workload, the language combination and the difficulty of the text. As a general rule, we can complete 1,500 - 2,000 words a day, which normally allows enough time for proofreading and editing. If you have a tight deadline, send us the text by email (and let us know it's urgent!) or give us a call on +44 (0) 20 7952 7500. We'll give you an achievable turnaround time within the hour.
How can I be sure of the quality of the translation - and why choose Lingo24?
Three reasons:
- Our track record: we have never lost a customer (and have held on to some high profile customers!)
- Our guarantee: we will work with you and your contacts where necessary to ensure a translation is carried out to your satisfaction.
- Our people: our translators are all professional, mother tongue translators with many years' experience behind them. Our managers are also experienced linguists and recognise that quality of translation is the key to growing our business.
Rates
How much do you charge?
Our rates can be found here.
Money
How can I pay?
- credit card
- cheque
- bank transfer
- Paypal
- Moneybookers
Do you accept Euros and dollars?
Yes - but only by bank transfer or via Paypal.
Privacy
What do you do with my personal details?
We will never keep your credit card details anywhere. Your contact details are securely stored on our database and no third party is ever given access to these. Please read our privacy statement here.
Security
How do I know everything's secure?
Lingo24 has taken every measure possible to ensure the security of information submission on this site. We use a secure server to encrypt all sensitive data transferred online, including all documents and credit/debit card information. Our Verisign certificate is your guarantee that all information submitted to us online will remain secure. It will also be treated in the utmost confidence. If you'd like to read more about security, please do so here.
Why should I buy translation services online?
Buying online is entirely secure (we use a secure server) and allows us to provide you with better value for money. Translation services are also easy to administer using the Internet, and this frees up our time to concentrate on providing top quality translations. However, if you are concerned about security, please click on quote and ask us to phone you to discuss alternative payment arrangements.
If you are not a UK-registered company, you benefit from not having to pay VAT in this country.
Company
Who's behind Lingo24?
The company was founded by two Oxford graduates, who continue to be the driving force behind Lingo24 today. To read about the people working for us now, please click here.
Where is Lingo24 registered?
Lingo24 is registered in the UK and its company no. is SC222407.
International trade
Why should I have my website translated?
If your website is currently only in English, you are missing out on the huge online market in other important world languages. The German, French, Spanish and Japanese language online markets are particularly lucrative. As recent studies have shown, visitors to a website are 300% more likely to buy from a site if it is in their own language and 500% more likely to read to the bottom of the page if it is in their mother tongue. What's more, these surfers are spending more and more. We now live in a global marketplace and only those companies that open themselves up to international trade will prosper. Be proactive, and watch your sales soar!
Translators
How can I get freelance work from Lingo24?
We only employ professional, full-time translators and do not believe translators can translate into more than one language. If you have at least five years' experience in the industry, and three professional referees who can vouch for the quality of your work, please visit our 'New Translators' page and follow the instructions there.
Links
How can I get a link from the Lingo24 site?
We require a link from your website before we will reciprocate. Please email us with the url where you've put a link up to www.lingo24.com with the title Translation Company Lingo24.
Translation
What is the difference between for-information and for-presentation translation?
"For-information translation" is for occasions when you need to know what a document means but don't require it in perfect (your language). Our translators ensure you understand exactly what is being said without charging expensive professional translation fees - the result is accurate but unpolished translation. This service is restricted to non-technical documents and is undertaken by translators who only translate into their own mother tongue. Lingo24 reserves the right to reject work it feels inappropriate for this service.
"For-publication" is the service required when you're sending documents to a client or anyone else you really want to impress. "For-publication" translations are fluid, idiomatic and stylish.
I just need to understand the gist of this text. Why should I pay?
Free machine translation can be helpful, but in many cases it is not a solution. If you are presented with a Japanese text, for example, the likelihood is that your comprehension level will be 0%. Using machine translation will increase that level to somewhere in the 0-40% range, and maybe even higher if you're lucky. In many cases, however, this is not enough. But the alternative, professional translation, can be expensive and takes time. We at Lingo24 believe we have the solution: for-information translation. This cheaper option lets you understand basic texts at very reasonable rates. For more information, call us on +44 (0) 20 7952 7500.
Other
What is the difference between a translator and an interpreter?
Translators deal with the written word, interpreters deal with the spoken.