Tongue Tied Limited

What Tongue Tied Limited does

Tongue Tied Limited (operating as Tongue Tied Jersey) is a Jersey-domiciled private language services company founded in 1989 by John Shouler and Cindy Shouler, headquartered in St. Helier, Jersey with operational presence across the UK. The company provides professional document translation, interpreting (in-person, telephone, and conference), desktop publishing and typesetting, proofreading, certified/notarised translations, and printing, marketed as a single-source supply chain from translation through to finished print. Service delivery is supported by a curated network of more than 1,000 vetted, mother-tongue translators and interpreters covering over 185 languages across 24 countries, with quality and information security credentials including ISO 17100:2015, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2005, and ATC accreditation.

The underlying technology stack centers on the Trados Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tool, which manages Translation Memory, glossaries, and terminology to drive cost savings on repeated content (charged at approximately one-third the standard word rate). An in-house Live Translation Platform provides clients visibility into project status and due dates, and a Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) service combines machine translation output with human linguist review for high-volume, cost-sensitive work. DTP supports formats including InDesign, Framemaker, Adobe Illustrator, MS Office, Publisher, and AutoCAD, enabling the company to return translated documents in the same format and design as the source.

Commercially, Tongue Tied runs a direct B2B sales-led model with no channel partners or marketplaces. Pricing is unit-based (per word), with quotes returned within one hour for smaller projects and same-day for detailed quotes, and competitive price matching offered. The customer base spans medical/healthcare (Bupa, Bupa Global, NHS, Teladoc Health, InHealth), government and public sector (Government of Jersey, Islington Council, Brighton & Hove Council), legal, financial, technical/engineering, insurance, and aviation, with anchor clients such as Rolls Royce, The Football Association, and the London 2012 Olympics. The company is founder-owned, with no external funding disclosed, and operates with a 23-person internal team led by the Shouler family alongside long-tenured project managers.

Name

Tongue Tied Limited

Legal name

Tongue Tied (Jersey) Ltd.

Website

https://tongue-tied.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tongue Tied Limited is a Jersey-based language services firm founded in 1989 that provides document translation, interpreting, typesetting, and printing to enterprise, healthcare, government, and legal clients worldwide, delivered through a network of 1,000+ vetted translators covering 185+ languages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Translation and Language Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Document Preparation Services (561410), Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Localization, Translation & Transcreation (BPAFAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Translation & Transcreation Services (Script/Dialogue Adaptation) (MPAHAFAD), Machine Translation & Multilingual NLP (HDAAADAD), Localization, Translation & Multilingual Publishing Tools (EDAFAHAJ)

Keywords

• Language translation services
• Interpreting services
• Certified document translation
• Typesetting and printing
• Machine translation post-editing

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Helier

HQ country

Jersey

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Document Translation Services: Core translation services using network of 1,000+ vetted translators covering 185+ languages. Pricing based on word count with Trados analysis for repetitions (charged at 1/3 price). Translators work at pace of 1,750-2,500 words per day.
2. Interpreting Services: In-person, online/telephone, and conference interpreting services provided through network of interpreters covering almost any language for business meetings or conferences. Equipment hire, transport, installation and operation also offered.
3. DTP/Typesetting Services: Desktop publishing and typesetting services post-translation to ensure documents are returned in same format and design. Works with InDesign, Framemaker, Adobe Illustrator, MS Office Suite, Publisher, AutoCAD.
4. Printing Services: Complete 360-degree package from translation through to print. Volume tailored to client needs with no minimum or maximum threshold. Clients provide final PDF approval before printing.
5. Certified/Notarised Translations: Certificate of Translation Accuracy arranged via Notary Public (Solicitor). Includes notarisation, apostilles and sworn translations.
6. Proofreading Services: Proofreading of existing translations completed by separate linguist approved by ISO 17100:2015 quality assurance standard.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tongue Tied provides professional multilingual document translation services through a vetted network of more than 1,000 freelance linguists covering over 185 languages, sold primarily to businesses and public-sector organisations in medical, legal, government, technical, manufacturing, and financial sectors. Its core deliverables extend beyond translation to include in-person, telephone, and conference interpreting, desktop publishing and typesetting, and end-to-end printing, enabling a single-source supply chain from source document to finished printed output. Supporting capabilities include Trados-based translation memory, certified/notarised translations, proofreading, and a proprietary Live Translation Platform for clients to track project status.

Product overview

Tongue Tied operates as a single-source language solutions provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of translation and related services. The core offering is document translation via a network of over 1,000 vetted translators covering 185+ languages, supported by ISO 17100:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 certifications. Key services include interpreting (in-person, telephone, and conference), DTP/typesetting, and printing, which together enable a single-source supply from translation through to print. Specialized translation sub-products address specific sectors: Medical, Legal, Financial, Technical, Insurance, and Business translations, each handled by sector-specialist translators. Additional services include proofreading and Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE). A proprietary Live Translation Platform provides customers visibility into project status. The architecture is service-based rather than platform-plus-modules, with individual services offered à la carte or combined for complete end-to-end projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Document Translation Professional multilingual document translation delivered through a network of over 1,000 vetted, mother-tongue translators covering more than 185 languages; used by businesses and public-sector organisations across medical, government, technical, aviation, legal, manufacturing, and financial sectors.
• Interpreting Services Interpreting delivered in-person, online/telephone, and at conferences by interpreters covering almost any language, suitable for business meetings through to large conferences, with optional interpreting equipment hire, transport, installation, and on-site technician support.
• DTP/Typesetting Desktop publishing and typesetting of translated documents to preserve original formatting and design, working with InDesign, Framemaker, Adobe Illustrator, MS Office Suite, Publisher, and AutoCAD files.
• Printing Services Complete print production for translated and typeset documentation, with no minimum or maximum volume threshold and final PDF approval from the client before printing, completing the firm's single-source supply chain.
• Proofreading Independent proofreading of existing translations by a separate linguist, approved under the ISO 17100:2015 quality assurance standard, offered as a standalone quality-assurance layer for specialist field translations.
• MTPE (Machine Translation Post-Editing) Translation powered by advanced machine-translation technology and reviewed by professional human linguists to ensure accuracy, fluency, and natural tone, providing a faster, cost-effective alternative to fully human translation.
• Certified / Notarised Translations Translation delivered with a Certificate of Translation Accuracy arranged via Notary Public (Solicitor), including notarisation, apostilles, and sworn translations for legal, finance, publishing, travel, energy, council, and hospital use cases.
• Medical Translation Specialised medical translation for private medical insurance companies, telemedicine providers, and healthcare providers, covering medical reports, referrals, second-opinion reports, and clinical documentation under sensitive document-handling protocols.
• Legal Translations Translation for legal use cases including contracts, deeds, statements, reports, affidavits, and certificates, with notarisation, apostilles, and sworn translations arranged through Tongue Tied's solicitor.
• Financial Translation Translation of financial-sector documents including contracts, mortgage agreements, payment schedules, bank statements, credit reports, and loan documents, performed by translators proficient in banking and financial terminology.
• Technical Translation Translation of engineering, industrial, scientific, and commercial technical documents - including IFUs, operating manuals, technical calculations, drawings, and AutoCAD files - delivered by translators holding relevant technical diplomas or master's degrees.
• Insurance Translation Translation of insurance documentation across motor, home, travel, personal valuables, private health, and life insurance lines, including policy documents, claim forms, and certificates.
• Business Translation Translation of business and marketing materials including product and packaging copy, webpages, brochures, customer and staff communications, training materials, and books.
• Interpreting Equipment Hire Rental of conference interpreting equipment including headsets, receivers, microphones, headphones, booths, and transmission units, with on-site technician transport, installation, and operation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Quotes provided within one hour for smaller projects
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Smartling: Enterprise translation management platform offering CAT-tool-like software plus managed language services. Adjacent competitor for Tongue Tied's larger enterprise translation clients, though Smartling's primary differentiation is its cloud TMS platform rather than linguist-led service.

Direct peers

• Lionbridge: Global language services provider offering translation, localisation, interpreting and AI training data services. Comparable business model around a large vetted linguist network and enterprise/government clients, though at materially larger scale and with deeper technology investment.
• TransPerfect: World's largest language services provider offering document translation, interpretation, localisation and technology-enabled language solutions to enterprise and government clients. Directly comparable in core service mix (translation, interpreting, certified legal work) but operates at substantially larger scale with global project management infrastructure.
• LanguageLine Solutions: Largest provider of interpretation services in the world, offering telephone, video and in-person interpreting to enterprise, government and healthcare clients (including NHS-equivalent work). Direct overlap with Tongue Tied's interpreting practice and regulated-sector positioning.
• RWS Holdings: UK-headquartered language services and intellectual property services company (formed from SDL acquisition). Competes head-to-head with Tongue Tied in document translation, certified legal translation and enterprise localisation, with ISO certifications and proprietary translation memory tooling serving similar B2B/government clients.
• LanguageWire: European language services provider combining a translation management platform with professional linguist services. Direct competitor in enterprise translation with similar Trados-style translation memory, MTPE offering and EU/UK enterprise focus.
• Welocalize: Mid-sized language services provider offering translation, localisation and interpreting services to enterprise clients across regulated industries. Operates a similar model with vetted linguist networks, translation memory tooling and MTPE-style services targeting the same B2B customer base.
• Morningside Translations: Certified translation and interpreting services provider focused on legal, medical and corporate sectors, with notarisation and apostille offerings. Closely comparable in certified translation workflows, regulated vertical mix and SMB-to-mid-enterprise target customer base.

Emerging players

• Unbabel: AI-first language operations platform combining proprietary machine translation with human post-editing at scale. Competes with Tongue Tied's MTPE offering and broader enterprise translation work, but with substantially greater technology investment and venture backing.

Regional players

• Aktuelle Helden / Kwintessential: UK-based language services provider offering translation, interpreting, localisation and cross-cultural training to UK businesses. Closely comparable in scale and UK-centric B2B customer base, though with greater emphasis on cultural consulting than Tongue Tied's certified/print workflow.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tongue-tied-limited

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tongue Tied Limited