Welsh

Welsh Translation Services

Originally established as a Welsh family business in 1990, Business Language Services is now one of the leading language service providers in Wales. We moved to new offices in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, in March 2010 to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for our translation, interpreting and training services. Now occupying a prime location in the heart of Cardiff city centre, we are much more accessible and offer state-of-the-art facilities to our customers.

Business Language Services specialises in professional Welsh translation (both English to Welsh translation and Welsh to English translation). We have a broad network of highly experienced, qualified professional Welsh translators. What’s more, all of our Welsh translations are reviewed by a second, independent linguist. BLS has an extensive database of Welsh interpreters, selected according to their expertise, specialist knowledge, friendly attitude and professional reliability. BLS also works with some of the best Welsh language tutors, which helps us to offer you bespoke courses to match your precise needs and suit your ongoing work commitments.

Our company is a Corporate Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (IOL) and a Full Member of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC). We are also proud to be ISO 9001:2008 certified and operate in accordance with stringent quality standards and guidelines in all the work we undertake.

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Our Location

As we are based in the heart of Cardiff and all of our translators and proof-readers reside in Wales, we are extremely well suited to provide culturally relevant translations, which are highly accurate thanks to local knowledge and expertise. In addition to our highly experienced in-house team of linguists, we work with a select network of specialised translators, all of whom have varied experience in English into Welsh translation, editing and proof reading. We have developed our relationship with freelance translators and have collaborated with many of them for more than ten years. Freelance translators who work with Business Language Services all have to meet stringent criteria, which includes passing at least one test translation. Furthermore, all translation work carried out for Business Language Services is subject to regular, ongoing review and quality assessment.

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English to Welsh translation is one of Business Language Services’ primary specialisms and, as such, we have gained a wealth of experience translating all manner of texts. We are the exclusive provider of Welsh language translation services for a leading high street bank, which has included in-store marketing material and ATM software text. Other previous projects include translation into Welsh of literature for a stately home for the National Trust, website copy for the Visit Cardiff website and marketing copy for the Heritage Lottery Fund. We have collaborated extensively with the Welsh Assembly Government, translating copy for their Share Cymru and Go Cymru sQuid card initiatives, as well as marketing copy and visitor guides. We also successfully coordinated a large project recently, which involved translating website copy and marketing material for 22 Wales-based care homes for HC-One.

Many of these projects involved copy which was translated over a period of months. Our Project Managers are very experienced in overseeing such projects and ensuring that high-quality translations are delivered every time and that consistency is maintained throughout. At Business Language Services, we pride ourselves on our flexible approach to projects, which is reflected in our ability to work with a variety of file formats including all MS Office programs, HTML, InDesign, Adobe PDFs and all other Adobe software.

Every project is different and we tailor our approach to suit the customer and project in question. When Business Language Services is asked to undertake a translation, a dedicated Project Manager oversees the project from start to finish. They serve as a constant point of contact between the client and the translator and are able to carry out all necessary quality checks before delivery. All Project Managers at Business Language Services are professional, qualified translators themselves, and are, therefore, extremely well placed to assist with all of your translation requirements and to make informed suggestions, Our Project Managers also have extensive experience with projects of all lengths and durations; we really understand how best to coordinate projects which go on over several months and which include multiple files and which are complex in nature.

If you are looking for a reliable, friendly and competitive language service provider, then you’ve come to the right place. We offer a flexible and personal approach to your language needs. We are passionate about what we do and work hard to build rewarding relationships with clients and suppliers alike.

Just get in touch with us to find out about our professional Welsh Translation Services by phone on + 44 (02920) 667666 or send us an email at info@businesslanguageservices.co.uk if you have any questions. We will be happy to help.

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The Welsh Language

The Welsh language (Cymraeg) originates from the Brythonic-Celtic language formerly spoken throughout much of Great Britain and it possibly dates back 4,000 years. Welsh is a sister language to Breton and Cornish and a cousin to Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx. In fact, it was a Welshman in India in the 18th century, Sir William Jones, who noticed the similarities between Welsh and Sanskrit, facilitating further research into European language families.

The earliest known Welsh poetry dates from around 500 CE. and is derived from the region that is now southern Scotland and northern England. With the arrival of the Saxons, the Celtic languages moved to the western fringes of Wales and Cornwall, leaving only a few words and place names in England and Scotland, such as Aberdeen and the words corgi and penguin. The Saxons called their neighbours ‘Welsh’, meaning foreigner, while the Welsh themselves referred to each other as ‘Cymry’, which means ‘compatriot’ or ‘comrade’.

The language has a reputation for being difficult to learn for English speakers and for having place names that are almost impossible to pronounce. An example is the longest place name in Europe (and the longest train station name in the world): Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio by the red cave). However, Welsh is phonetic and easy to spell. Contrary to popular belief, the language does include vowels (y and w are vowels in Welsh).

In 1536 the Act of Union of England and Wales specified that English would be the official language in the courts; non-English speakers were barred from public office and the Welsh gentry became increasingly English-speaking. In 1588, however, Welsh became the first non-state language in Europe to have its own translation of the Bible, a development that standardised the language and contributed to its survival. During the 19th century, Welsh was banned from schools and pupils using the dialect were stigmatised. By 1901 the number of Welsh speakers in Wales had declined to around 50% of the population and the decline continued throughout most of the 20th century.

From the 1960s, Welsh speakers reacted to this decline by campaigning for bilingualism and official status for the language. In 1980, politician Gwynfor Evans went on hunger strike to protest against the government’s breaking its promise to establish a Welsh-language television channel. The government yielded and S4C was established in 1982. There are many radio and television broadcasts in Welsh and around 500 books published each year. Furthermore, there is a vibrant cultural scene, the highlight of which is the National Eisteddfod, a festival of poetry and music. The official status of the Welsh language was confirmed with the Welsh Language Measure of 7 December 2010, which extended the obligation of public bodies to offer services in Welsh to some larger, private companies.

The 2001 census saw the first recorded rise in the number of speakers, which is now around 20%. Although it is sometimes claimed that everyone in North Wales speaks Welsh and that nobody in South Wales does, the county with the largest number of speakers is Carmarthenshire in the south-west. 11% of the population of the capital, Cardiff, speak Welsh, almost twice the percentage recorded in 1991. However, traditionally Welsh-speaking areas continue to see a decline.

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 people continue to speak Welsh (along with Spanish) in the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Argentina. The resistance of the Welsh language, co-existing with one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, can be considered somewhat of a miracle.

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