E-Learning Glossary Language Service Provider

Language Service Provider

Sara Heegaard June 30, 2025 2 min read

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What is a language service provider?

A language service provider (LSP) is a company that provides multilingual support services to help organizations effectively communicate their value across languages and cultures. An LSP’s main services include translation, localization, and interpretation. LSPs allow companies to translate their content to overcome language barriers and to provide culturally relevant content to increase understanding and engagement. 

Example: To effectively enter a new market, we hired a language service provider to translate and localize our marketing materials, leading to faster product adoption.

Finding the right language service provider can be difficult. Some offer machine translation, which provides literal or awkward translations that neglect tone and culturally relevant language. Human translators may cost more, but they provide a critical understanding of cultural context, idioms, and humor. 

Why are language service providers important?

Language service providers help provide a relevant e-learning experience with linguistic precision and cultural understanding. Accessibility services like closed-captioning, subtitling, audio description, and voice-over are more accurate. 

Professional translation services may be the right choice to launch and scale multilingual courses without having to rely on an internal team. They may provide subject matter expertise in a variety of fields like tech, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. An enhanced program that offers courses in learners’ native language can boost employee and customer service and support global business growth. 

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