A new research report "The Price of Translation" reveals that pricing within the US$12 billion-plus global translation services industry has remained relatively stable in recent years.

For most languages, prices fluctuated by only 10% up or down over a four-year period, according to the report by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., an independent market research firm specializing in the language services industry. The findings came from a detailed online survey completed by nearly 300 language service providers (translation firms) about their pricing structures, processes, and customer bases.

The 112-page report includes average pricing data for the 10 languages with the greatest global economic impact (e.g., French and Chinese), as well as 23 "next-wave languages" used in rapidly developing markets or in countries important to the global supply chain (e.g., Arabic and languages of India).

Note: The full report is available to subscribers only.

Source: Multilingual News, May 28, 2008,