Lingala translation services

Lingala translation is priced per word for text and per minute for audiovisual, depending on volume, subject matter and turnaround, with agreeing the variety and its French loans included as part of the brief rather than billed as an extra step. Send your files and we will come back with a free, itemised quote, backed by our Price Match Promise.

Yes. Native Lingala linguists handle every translation, and a second native linguist independently reviews each text, checking that it holds one variety throughout and uses only the French loans agreed in the glossary.

Yes — Lingala translation, subtitling and voice over all come from one team, working to a single glossary and one variety throughout, so the subtitles and the recorded voice speak the same Lingala.

Standard Lingala, known as Lingala Makanza, was designed by missionaries and is promoted by the school system; it keeps the full set of noun-class prefixes and agreement. The Lingala spoken every day in Kinshasa is looser in agreement and takes in French freely, including French verbs with Lingala prefixes and suffixes.

It depends on the audience and the purpose. Public information, education and corporate material usually call for standard Lingala. Advertising and entertainment aimed at young urban viewers are often better served by the everyday Lingala of Kinshasa. We agree it at the brief.

Yes — audiovisual is our specialisation. We deliver spotted SRT/VTT and timed two-column voice-over scripts, plus translated text when you need it.

Some French terms are the natural choice even in careful Lingala, and some have a Lingala equivalent your audience will expect. We build a glossary that fixes each one — matondi or melesi, a Lingala verb or a French one — so the choice is made once and held everywhere.

Yes. Lingala is a national language in both countries and the primary vernacular of both Kinshasa and Brazzaville. We confirm the audience and the variety at the brief, whichever side of the river your viewers are on.

Most short documents are delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Word count, subject complexity and turnaround all move the date, and your project manager will confirm the timeline at the start.

Less than people expect: the document, script or subtitle file, its word count, what the text is actually for, and the date you need it by. A draft is fine — we would rather quote on what exists than wait for a final version that eats your deadline. A named project manager comes back with an itemised quote, normally within four working hours.

More than half of enquiries get a reply within thirty minutes during office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm UK time), and the itemised quote normally follows within four working hours. After that you have one dedicated project manager who owns the job from brief to final file — not a ticket queue, and not a different name on every email. If it is easier, call +44 207 095 5730 and ask for them by name.

Yes, and it is one of the commonest reasons people get in touch. Tell us it is for a pitch and you get a figure you can put in front of your own client, itemised so it stands up to being picked apart, with no obligation and no follow-up sales calls if the pitch goes elsewhere. If it lands, the quote still holds and we already know the project.