“User manuals for the first Walkman®. Translated by idioma®.”
Half-a-Century of Translation Experience
idioma® was founded by Joel B. Brynte, a Swedish entrepreneur.
In 1980, we started out on a modest scale with a small team of key translators. There was no Internet, no mobile phones, and fax machines were just around the corner.
Our first clients were in the Japanese AV industry with exports of many different products, such as VCRs, tape recorders, and the Walkman®.
All these products needed user manuals and promotional material translated promptly with the United States and West Europe as the primary export markets.
Today, after nearly half-a-century in the translation industry we continue to serve our clients with innovative ideas, very affordable rates and an unmatched level of service.
1980
idioma® was established in Tokyo, Japan.
Our first office space consisted of two modest rooms in the Sweden Center.
1985
idioma® was in acute need of more native translators.
Our first office in Europe was established in Stockholm, Sweden.
1990
First EU office
To sustain growth with the opening of new markets in the EU, we opened an office in Brussels, Belgium.
1994
We had early visions of East Europe’s potential,
so we reorganized our European operations to our current location in Prague, Czech Republic.
1997
Traffic Control System introduced
Currently, TC6 is our centralized project management system, which is now hosted in the cloud. Our Project Managers run translation projects 24/7 in disregard of geographic location and time.
2000
In-house software development
We perceived the importance of an IT department and in-house software development and started investing in smart translation solutions and automation. In hindsight, investing in the future has paid off giving us the cutting-edge technology we have today to better serve our customers.
2005
We introduced CrossCheck®, a unique online QA service that allows users to perform checks of translated text in bilingual files.
2011
iQube translation platform
We launched iQube, our translation platform to drastically boost translation volumes and reduce lead times while integrating it with CrossCheck® to maximize translation quality.
2014
Online translation estimator – Stream
Our online translation estimator was introduced. It has numerous custom features, including glossary, style guide and TM file uploads. Stream allows customers to get detailed instant estimates with translation price and delivery term for all the languages we work in – and of course also order translation – 24/7.
2015
Top 5 LSP in Japan
In a 2015 ranking of Language Service Providers, idioma® was listed among the top 30 in Asia and the top 5 in Japan by Common Sense Advisory.
2016
idioma® acquires ISO 17100 certification
for its translation quality management.
2017
ISO 9001 certification
idioma® obtained the ISO 9001 quality management system certification from TÜV and also became ISO 18587 certified for post-editing of machine translation output.
2020
idioma® launches new identity and website celebrating 40 years in the translation industry.
2023
We introduced Doc3™, an affordable CAT tool including all essentials for professional translation: translation memory management, glossary management in private cloud, and full editing support for Trados, memoQ, and many other formats.
2026
Self-service translation of entire documents with AI
We upgraded Doc3™ to a complete AI translation solution and CAT tool with a Full Auto translation mode.
Doc3™ works with existing Glossaries and Translation Memories and it even can auto translate hi-fuzzy matches to perfection.
This enables self-service translation of documents to near-perfect quality in any language. Works with MS Office and OpenOffice, Trados, memoQ, and other industry formats.
Operating Across the Globe
idioma® has offices in Tokyo, Prague, and Gothenburg to support our clients worldwide.
We work with 2,000+ professional native linguists with extensive translation experience who are experts in their specific domain. Our innovative IT department enables our translators in 100+ languages with 5,000+ language combinations to offer high-quality technical translation.
idioma® integrates perseverance combined with dedication and an attitude for constant improvement of the Japanese culture – Kaizen – in its work ethic.
We continue to believe in constant reflection and continuous improvement, and thus serve our clients better.
This has after all been our philosophy for almost half a century.
ISO-certified Workflows
Our translation processes are built on defined, controlled workflows supported by internationally recognized standards.
idioma® references ISO 17100 for translation services, ISO 9001 for quality management, and ISO 18587 for post-editing of machine translation output.
For clients, this means projects are handled through structured review and QA steps rather than informal or inconsistent processes.
It also supports stronger terminology control, clearer responsibilities, and more predictable output quality across technical, regulated, and high-risk content.
17100:2015
18587:2017
ISO 9001
CERTIFIED
Quality Guarantee By Humans
Our quality guarantee is based on accountable human review.
In human translation projects, the text is handled by a native professional translator, checked by a second native reviewer, and supported by internal QA.
In AI-assisted workflows, machine-generated output is refined by a native specialist and then verified by an independent native reviewer.
This layered process helps reduce terminology errors, wording inconsistencies, and quality risks before delivery. It also means clients do not receive unchecked machine output, but work that has passed through defined human review stages designed for professional technical communication.