Trusted Language Services in Glasgow – Over 30 Years of Expertise
Having been firmly established in South Wales for over 30 years, Business Language Services opened its second office in Glasgow in June 2024. This allows us to better serve customers in Scotland and the north of England, and beyond.
Although we work primarily online, many customers prefer a face-to-face service. Our second office in central Glasgow allows our friendly team to provide this more personal service to our clients in Scotland and northern England.
Glasgow is a city of many languages and cultures, and we are keen to use our linguistic expertise to support this thriving and diverse community. While we work in all major languages, our primary location in Wales has meant that we have gained extensive experience and expertise translating to and from Celtic languages, including Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic. This allows us to support businesses and individuals with multilingual communication across Scotland and beyond.
The Multilingual Heart of Glasgow: A City Where Languages Thrive
Glasgow is a vibrant, multilingual city where English is the primary language, but a rich tapestry of other languages is also spoken. Glasgow has the highest concentration of Scottish Gaelic speakers anywhere in the world, and the Scots language is also very widely spoken across the city. In addition to these native Scottish languages, Glasgow is also home to diverse communities that contribute to the city’s linguistic landscape, with Polish, Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic and Chinese all commonly heard. 26.2% of school-age children in Glasgow speak English as an additional language. This multicultural environment highlights the growing need for professional language services to support communication across the city.
Our Language Services
We offer all of our services remotely from our Glasgow office. We are also always happy to meet you in person – please get in touch to make an appointment.
Our services include:
The powerhouse of Scottish industry and innovation
Glasgow, and Scotland more broadly, is a powerhouse of industry, blending traditional manufacturing with cutting-edge technology. The city has a strong heritage in shipbuilding, heavy engineering, chemicals, textiles, and food and drink production, alongside a thriving printing and publishing sector. In the tech world, Glasgow is a leader in software engineering, space and satellite technology, ICT and renewable energy. The digital creative industries are also booming, with fintech, data science, digital media and cloud computing driving innovation. Additionally, Glasgow’s aerospace, optoelectronics and biotechnology sectors are growing rapidly, reinforcing the city’s reputation as a hub for diverse and forward-thinking industries.
At Business Language Services, we have expert linguists specialising in various sectors, ensuring that your language partner understands your industry as well as you do. We adopt a quality-focused, process-driven approach and always aim to gain an in-depth understanding of your industry, ensuring that your multilingual content is perfectly suited to your audience.
Some of our main areas of expertise are:
Don't just take our word for it…
We recently worked with Scotland’s National Orchestra to translate their website into 7 different languages. The team at RSNO had never used a translation provider before and were grateful for the support and guidance of the Business Language Services team. We delivered the project ahead of time, on budget and in the same format as the original, allowing their web team to seamlessly add the translated pages to the website. Our translations will allow potential customers to visit the website in their own language, which will ultimately lead to a better global presence and higher sales for RSNO.
Pricing and turnaround times
Prices and turnaround times depend on many factors. We will always establish your exact requirements at the outset and provide a personalised quote breaking down the costs and turnaround times for your project.
The three main factors that affect costs and turnaround times are:
- Number of languages
- Word count (text) or duration (audio/video)
- Service(s) requested
In one working day, our linguists can typically translate, edit and proofread around 1,500–2,000 words, although this can vary depending on the complexity of the text. If multiple languages are needed, this will slightly increase the time needed, typically by around one day.
For subtitling, you can generally multiply the duration of the video by a factor of 10 to estimate the time it will take to subtitle – for example, a 10‑minute video will take around 100 minutes to fully subtitle.
Turnaround times for services such as transcription and desktop publishing vary depending on the complexity of the task.
Use our online quote form or speak to one of the team by email at gl*****@bu**********************.uk or by phone on +44 (0)141 488 4545.
Memberships and Accreditations
We are members of various professional organisations in the translation industry and beyond, including:
Accredited Member of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC) – The ATC is one of the three translation industry bodies in the UK, and our accredited member status allows us to certify translations of official legal documents, such as birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce documents, and many others.
Corporate Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) – The ITI is another of the three translation industry bodies in the UK, each of whose practices are endorsed by the others.
ISO 9001:2015 certification – our Quality Management ISO certification benefits us as a company and our clients, through increased efficiency, continuous improvement, quality assurance, a factual approach to decision-making, improved record keeping, quality of service and relationships with suppliers and clients. It ensures consistency in our processes so that you, as our client, can be assured that our services will meet your needs.