Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION?

The main difference between both disciplines is the medium in which they are performed. Both disciplines communicate the message and meaning from one language to another, however, interpretation does so orally and in real time, and translation is done by means of written texts.
WHAT LANGUAGES DOES LANGUAGE CONCEPTS TRANSLATE INTO?

Our focus is to partner with organizations that actively market the fastest-growing and most influential ethnic populations in the USA today: Hispanics and Asian Americans. Therefore, we translate from and into the following languages: English, Gujarati, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Vietnamese. Occasionally, we might accept other language combinations at our clients’ request.
DO YOU OFFER MACHINE TRANSLATIONS? ARE THEY ANY GOOD?

We do not offer machine translations for now. All of our translations are performed by human and professional translators with several years of experience. Machine translations could be useful for extremely large documents for internal usage only and not for distribution or publication. Despite great advances in technology, the quality of machine translation falls very far short of human translations. Automatic translations are still unreliable and of draft-quality and they should be used only to get a “general idea” of the text.
HOW MUCH DOES A TRANSLATION COST?

Translation estimates are prepared based on the number of words of the source document, the subject-matter, the language combination, the deadline (whether it is standard or rush delivery), and the design needs. Rates may be discounted for high-volume projects. Please click here for a free quote.
DO YOU HAVE A MINIMUM FEE?

Yes. A minimum fee is applied to any translation job of less than 300 words.
HOW LONG DOES A TRANSLATION TAKE?

It depends on the text length and complexity. A translator can usually translate from 1800 to 2250 words a day for general texts. Specialized texts might take a little longer since they usually demand more research and consultation with subject-matter experts and the client itself.
CAN YOU FORMAT MY TRANSLATION SO THAT IT HAS THE SAME LAYOUT OF THE ORIGINAL?

Yes. This service is called Desktop Publishing. In other words, you will have your document translated, formatted and ready for printing and publication. We will make sure that the translation keeps the same layout, colors, graphics and pictures as the original document. We work with all types of documents of nearly all formats such as: Adobe Acrobat, Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, etc.
HOW DO YOU PROTECT THE INFORMATION OF YOUR CLIENTS?

At Language Concepts we know confidentiality is essential for our clients. Therefore, every single in-house and contracted translator signs a non-disclosure agreement before starting any job. Our translators are committed to hold in confidence and not disclose to any other person or entity all confidential or proprietary business or technical information of our clients including trade secrets and know-how not generally known to the public.
WHEN DO I NEED A CERTIFIED TRANSLATION?

Certified translations are usually needed for legal purposes, especially when they need to be submitted to U.S. government agencies such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Office of Vital Records, among others. The certification contains a statement by the professional translator or translation company which reads that the translation is faithful to the original document.
DO YOU ACCEPT RUSH JOBS? IF SO, DO YOU CHARGE EXTRA? "

Yes. We accept projects with very short deadlines, even same day delivery, as long as we can keep our standards. There is a 20% surcharge for rush jobs.
WHAT METHODS OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?

We accept direct deposit, wire, payment via PayPal, and major credit cards. We also keep an open tab for regular clients and bill them on a monthly basis.
DO YOU REQUIRE ADVANCE PAYMENT OR SECURITY DEPOSIT?

Only short certified translations such as of those of birth certificates, driver’s licenses, diplomas, among others, require advance payment. Translation of other documents does not require advance payment, unless the project involves a large quantity of words.