Translation Services in Santa Ana, CA

Where Santa Ana 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.

Mexico89,352
Vietnam17,966
El Salvador4,903
Guatemala3,041
Philippines2,242
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan892
Cambodia867
Colombia867

Languages spoken in Santa Ana

77.6% of Santa Ana residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 34.1% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese.

Language spoken at home	Residents	Speak English less than “very well”
Spanish	195,702	82,541
Vietnamese	22,121	13,745
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages	3,254	1,401
Other Indo-European languages	2,252	603
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,897	900
Tagalog, including Filipino	1,842	622
Korean	827	458

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

Santa Ana by the numbers

Residents: 312,534
Speak a language other than English at home: 229,580 77.6%
Speak English less than “very well”: 100,836 34.1%
Limited-English households: 10,290 12.7%
Born outside the U.S.: 130,637 41.8%

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

Language services in Santa Ana

Santa Ana questions

What languages are spoken in Santa Ana?

77.6% of Santa Ana residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 34.1% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Vietnamese and Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are Mexico, Vietnam, and El Salvador.

How many Santa Ana households have limited English?

10,290 of 81,069 households (12.7%), 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 Santa Ana?

Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana?

Yes. We staff conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars, corporate training, and client meetings in Santa Ana 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.