Online Latin translation service brings ancient language into the 21st century

If you thought Latin was the preserve of eccentric academics in ivory towers these days, think again! According to Christian Arno, Managing Director of Internet translation company Lingo24, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you thought Latin was the preserve of eccentric academics in ivory towers these days, think again! According to Christian Arno, Managing Director of Internet translation company Lingo24, nothing could be further from the truth. “The Latin page of our site attracts more visitors than the pages for any of the modern European languages,” says Christian, adding: “Some visitors are Harry Potter enthusiasts interested in learning more about the language of Hogwart’s spells, but more often than not visitors to the Latin page want a quote for translating their university qualifications.”
Operations director Jack Waley-Cohen is convinced that Lingo24’s recently introduced service is perfectly suited to the needs of Latin translation clients. “Most people who are looking for a translation to or from Latin don’t have much text to translate – perhaps a line or two, or at most a short paragraph. For such a small amount of text, we felt that even our normal minimum charge seemed high,” he explains, continuing: “For simple jobs such as these, where formatting and terminology are unlikely to be issues, we felt we could offer a ‘direct’ service between client and translator without compromising on quality.” This move has the obvious benefit of keeping administrative costs to a minimum, with the result that instead of paying the usual £50 plus VAT minimum charge, you can purchase a short translation between English and Latin for just £25 plus VAT.
One of the main reasons people want to have a phrase translated into Latin is to encapsulate the ethos of a newly founded company or organisation in a “classical sounding” motto. However, Lingo24 has also noted a recent upswing in the demand from people planning to have a tattoo done in Latin. Not surprisingly they want to be sure that they’ve got the right phrase before they go ahead!
Lingo24’s streamline Latin translation interface is certainly easy-to-use. You simply type your details and the text you want translated into a simple form and pay by credit card online. Depending on the availability of the translator, your translation may well be back with you within the day. Even Hermione Grainger would no doubt be impressed!