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How to Set a Budget for Language Access

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It’s sometimes challenging to know where to start when you need to set a budget for language access. Usually language access is provided with translation and/or interpretation. This post will walk you through what you should consider in setting up a budget specifically for translation projects.

  • Know the word count of your documents

    Most translators charge by the word for translating documents. If you need translation, but have a tight budget, reduce the words! If you can get the message across with culturally appropriate images or reduce the word count in other ways, you can still provide quality translations on a budget.

  • Ask about minimums up front

    Many linguists require minimums to help them manage their time. If you batch jobs, you may be able to save a lot of budget by avoiding minimum fees per documents.

  • Ask for discounts

    It is not uncommon to ask for discounts on phrases that might repeat throughout a document. You can also provide glossaries and terminology list for linguists to re-use phrases. You can learn more about translation memory and how it can help you with providing quality translation on a budget.

  • Select languages

    Pick the languages that will have the most impact for the most people. You may not be able to afford to translate everything in every language, but you can do something.


On a budget? You can prepay for translation services and save! Click to learn more.


These are a few of the many things you can do to create quality human-sounding communication for your clients who may not speak English fluently. There are online tools that may be free, but if your clients can’t understand your meaning, they may not be an effective way to communicate. Not sure why quality is important? Check out this article.

Whether its a flyer or a website, you can show your clients that you care by providing quality translation.

Learn more about Language Access!


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