FAQs

LAI’s core services are:

• Translation of technical documents (including Web pages)
• Subtitle localization
• Software localization

Along with subtitle localization, we also offer:

• Transcription (AI-powered and checked by subject-matter experts)
• Dubbing/voiceover services (via our studios in Southern California)

Please contact us if you’d like more information about these services.

LAI has particular expertise in subtitle localization, offering a comprehensive service for video content creators. This process translates and adapts subtitles to accurately convey the spoken content of a video such as a webinar or tutorial in another language while maintaining a high degree of technical accuracy and ensuring an engaging viewer experience.

LAI has extensive experience translating highly-technical content intended for developers and technical end-users. Examples include SDK/API software specifications, user manuals, and user interfaces for tools, middleware, and other technical software.

Strictly speaking, translation is the rendering of text from one language to another whereas localization involves adapting the translation for the target culture. However, the terms are often used interchangeably. At LAI, we usually speak of translating technical documents because in this case, rendering the technical content accurately and preserving its meaning across languages is of paramount importance, whereas subtitle localization typically involves more adaptation, while preserving the accuracy of the technical content, which is why we call it localization.

A common problem among other providers is they have no understanding of the content they’re translating. This is frequently true of not just linguists, but project managers as well. Consequently, the project manager is unable to identify the most appropriate linguists whose background best matches your technical content.

As a result, the work that these linguists produce, whether via direct translation or post-editing, ends up having technical errors due to a lack of understanding of the content and is not natural or easy for the target audience to understand, especially when that audience consists of developers and technical end-users. It makes no sense to pay for this kind of sub-standard translation.

At LAI, we ensure that our team conceptually understands your content and renders professional translations that are natural and understandable for the intended technical audience. Our linguistics team of subject-matter experts have considerable technical backgrounds that form a solid foundation of knowledge and experience, and they are exactly matched to your content by our knowledgeable project managers.

Together with our supporting suite of optimized AI models and Language Automation® smart/AI tools, we ensure your message is delivered with accuracy and confidence.

Read more about how we’re different.

We offer technical translation services in 30+ languages, including the most important Asian, European and Latin-American languages, with particular strengths in Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

LAI liaises with you to understand your quality needs, budget, and schedule. From there, we will create a customized workflow that falls within your parameters and ensures an optimal outcome. We follow agile methodologies and best practices throughout the translation process that includes you, our client as an integral part of the team. Should you have any questions or special requests, we’ll be able to resolve these quickly during the course of the project.

For a detailed look at our process, please see our step-by-step workflow description.

In addition, for subtitle localization, we’ve developed a proprietary suite of tools and customized workflow that ensures the highest possible quality of technical subtitle localization and addresses many of the problems that beset the traditional process used by other service providers. Please check out our short video for an overview. Or, for a deeper dive, download our white paper and infographic.

Yes, we integrate optimized AI models into our process and can deploy them at the request of our clients. Of course, we still include our subject-matter linguistic experts as post-editors and reviewers in the workflow to ensure the highest possible quality. Ask us to find out more about how generative AI can be incorporated into your project workflow and the tradeoffs involved. Please also see the description of our hybrid (human + AI) methodology.

Quality assurance is pivotal to our success. 

We start with exceptional linguists who are also subject-matter experts. We augment their quality checks with an automated QA process that includes the use of custom tools for terminology and consistency checking, and for subtitle localization, AI-driven timing and segmentation checks, which are critical to produce localizations that are natural, understandable and accurately rendered for the target audience.

We adhere to strict confidentiality and data protection protocols such as 2048-bit RSA public/private key encryption, GDPR and ISO 27001. In addition, all team members are bound by non-disclosure agreements to ensure the security of your sensitive information.

At LAI, we prioritize the safety and security of our client’s information. We have been securely and safely handling highly confidential materials for clients for over 30 years.

The cost per project is tailored to your needs and expectations, and will depend on:

• The amount of content to be translated;
• The target language(s); and 
• The workflow required.

We offer several workflow models, fine-tuned to your budget, quality, and turnaround needs. Use our Request a Quote form and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours with an affordable quote.