Translation Services in Orange, CA

Languages spoken in Orange

38.8% of Orange residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 12.8% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Tagalog, including Filipino.

38.8%speak a language other than English at home

Language spoken at home	Residents	Speak English less than “very well”
Spanish	33,708	10,377
Vietnamese	4,288	1,962
Tagalog, including Filipino	2,716	975
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	2,442	977
Other Indo-European languages	2,379	545
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages	1,663	570
Korean	1,324	821

Spanish 33,70810,377 speak English less than “very well”
Vietnamese 4,2881,962 speak English less than “very well”
Tagalog, including Filipino 2,716975 speak English less than “very well”
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese 2,442977 speak English less than “very well”
Other Indo-European languages 2,379545 speak English less than “very well”
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages 1,663570 speak English less than “very well”
Korean 1,324821 speak English less than “very well”

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Orange city (tables C16001, C16002, B05002, B05006) (opens in a new tab). Figures with a wide margin of error are not shown.

Orange by the numbers

Residents: 138,266
Speak a language other than English at home: 50,894 38.8%
Speak English less than “very well”: 16,722 12.8%
Limited-English households: 2,480 5.5%
Born outside the U.S.: 30,239 21.9%

Language services in Orange

Where Orange residents born abroad come from

Countries of birth point to the languages behind the Census groups above, and to the documents (birth certificates, diplomas, court records) that arrive for translation.

Mexico12,135
Vietnam3,132
Philippines2,768
Korea1,278
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan1,047
El Salvador823
India820
Guatemala775

Detailed languages in Orange County, California

The Census Bureau publishes individual languages for counties, not for cities. These are the most-spoken languages other than English in Orange County, California.

Spanish746,191
Vietnamese199,710
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)110,846
Korean82,380
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)56,654
Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari)50,392
Arabic27,673
Japanese15,928

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, Orange County, California.

Language access rules in California

Court interpreter program: Judicial Council of California, Court Interpreters Program (CIP), part of the Language Access Services Program in the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, which oversees interpreter recruitment, testing, licensing, discipline, and cross-assignments and maintains the statewide Master List of certified and registered court interpreters.
Court-certified languages: The Bilingual Interpreting Examination for certification is given in Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino (Tagalog), Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in all other spoken languages qualify as registered court interpreters by passing a written exam and oral proficiency exams. The Master List carries more than 1,700 certified and registered interpreters.
The rule: Article I, section 14 of the California Constitution gives a person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime the right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings, and Evidence Code section 756 (AB 1657, effective January 1, 2015) authorizes courts to provide interpreters to all parties in civil matters regardless of income; the Judicial Council has certified and registered court interpreters since 1993 under Government Code section 68562 et seq.
Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act: Under Government Code section 7290 et seq., a state department must provide information in another language when 5 percent or more of the public it serves requests services in that language, through bilingual staff, interpreters, or translated documents and forms, and must file a language survey with CalHR by October 1 of every even-numbered year.
School notices in the home language: Education Code section 48985 requires a public school where 15 percent or more of students speak a single primary language other than English to send parental notifications in both English and that language; the California Department of Education notifies districts of the qualifying schools and languages by August 1 each year.
Language need: The Judicial Council reports more than 200 languages spoken in California, with 6.6 million residents age five and older (18.1 percent) speaking English less than "very well" under 2014-2018 American Community Survey estimates.
Refugee program: The California Department of Social Services Refugee Programs Bureau has statewide administrative responsibility for the Refugee Resettlement Program, whose benefits and services are delivered locally by county welfare departments and refugee service providers.

Sources

Orange questions

What languages are spoken in Orange?

38.8% of Orange residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 12.8% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Tagalog, including Filipino. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are Mexico, Vietnam, and Philippines.

How many Orange households have limited English?

2,480 of 45,329 households (5.5%), according to the Census Bureau: households in which no one age 14 or older speaks only English or speaks English “very well.” These are the households most likely to need an interpreter or translated documents.

How are court interpreters credentialed in California?

Judicial Council of California, Court Interpreters Program (CIP), part of the Language Access Services Program in the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, which oversees interpreter recruitment, testing, licensing, discipline, and cross-assignments and maintains the statewide Master List of certified and registered court interpreters. The Bilingual Interpreting Examination for certification is given in Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino (Tagalog), Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in all other spoken languages qualify as registered court interpreters by passing a written exam and oral proficiency exams. The Master List carries more than 1,700 certified and registered interpreters.

Do you provide on-site interpreters in Orange?

Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Orange and across California, and by phone and video nationwide, in 250+ languages including Spanish and ASL. Book less common languages as early as you can.

Do you provide conference and meeting interpreters in Orange?

Yes. We staff conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars, corporate training, and client meetings in Orange with simultaneous or consecutive interpreters. For simultaneous interpreting, our own technicians deliver, run, and strike the booths, transmitters, and receivers, shipped from our own inventory.