Language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) for clients in Norway
Lawyers, organisations and public bodies in Norway that handle asylum and immigration matters can instruct SILA Linguists® for independent language analysis without any travel involved. Norway is one of many countries where our services are available, alongside the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Every case is managed remotely, with recordings and reports exchanged securely from first contact to final report.
LADO in Norwegian asylum and immigration matters
Language analysis for the determination of origin is an established forensic linguistic process in asylum and immigration procedures in many countries. It is typically requested when a person's stated origin is in doubt because identity documents are missing, unclear or suspected of being false, and it may also play a part in appeals. For lawyers in Norway representing asylum seekers, an independent LADO report can support a client's account or test a finding made earlier in the process.
The analysis examines how a person speaks, not what they say about their history. Accent, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and local expressions are compared with known varieties of the language to assess how closely the speaker's language matches the region or country they name, and which other origins remain plausible.
How SILA Linguists® works for lawyers and public bodies in Norway
Our vetted, trained and qualified analysts can support advocates and law firms acting in asylum and immigration cases, non-governmental organisations supporting refugees, and public bodies in Norway that need an expert linguistic view. Distance makes no difference to the way we work. You send the recording through a secure channel, we confirm the language and variety, and the analyst's findings come back as a written expert report.
Reports are written in English, the working language of our forensic team. Where a Norwegian version is needed for a hearing, a file or a client, SILA Linguists® provides certified translation into Norwegian, so the reasoning reaches every reader in full. Accompanying documents in the claimant's language, such as identity papers, certificates or letters, can be translated too.
Interpreting is often part of the same case. We can supply interpreters between Norwegian and the claimant's language for lawyer meetings, interviews and hearings, by video or by telephone, and face to face where practical. A female or male interpreter can be requested.
Working with SILA Linguists® from Norway
Secure first contact
Email us with the claimant's language, stated origin and the purpose of the report; we arrange a secure route for the recording and any documents.
Variety confirmed
We confirm the language and dialect, then assign a native-speaker analyst with knowledge of the claimed region, supported by a forensic linguist.
Analysis carried out
The recording is transcribed and analysed for pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, with alternative origins and the speaker's travel history weighed.
Report and translation
You receive the expert report in English and, where required, a certified Norwegian translation for the case file or hearing.
After the report
We answer questions, review other reports as a second opinion and can provide interpreters between Norwegian and the claimant's language.
Languages and dialects we analyse
Our dedicated LADO pages cover Arabic, Hassaniya Arabic, Burmese, Kpelle, Kurdish with its Badini, Kurmanji and Sorani varieties, Lingala, Mandinka, Pashto, Somali and Uyghur, and our analysts also work in Dari, Farsi and Turkish. For each one, the work goes beyond identifying the language: it looks for the regional and social markers that separate closely related varieties, such as different Somali dialects or neighbouring forms of Arabic, Kurdish and Manding speech.
Every analyst is a native speaker of the variety in question, with linguistic training and up-to-date regional knowledge, working alongside specialists in forensic phonetics, dialectology and sociolinguistics.
Method, standards and the written report
The analyst reviews the audio and transcribes it with attention to dialect features, listening for vowel quality, consonants, intonation and stress, and analysing words, idioms and grammar. Acoustic measurement software is used where it helps. The stated origin is weighed against other plausible origins, and the speaker's background, including time spent in other countries or contact with other language communities, is taken into account.
Each step is documented in the expert report, which explains the methods, discusses alternative explanations and states the level of uncertainty. SILA Linguists® follows recognised professional codes of practice for forensic speech and language analysis. We also prepare second-opinion reports on analyses already in the file, and our expert witnesses can explain findings to a court or tribunal.
Nationality assessment as well as LADO
Some cases turn on citizenship rather than on a town or district. A nationality assessment looks at national-level evidence: the standard language of the claimed country, its other languages of public life, administrative terminology and the everyday institutional knowledge of a lifelong resident. LADO goes deeper, to the region or community where the person's speech was formed. Used together, the two give lawyers and decision-makers in Norway a more complete picture, particularly for speakers of minority dialects.
What organisations in Norway can expect from us
The same service is available to immigration authorities, lawyers, courts and tribunals, and charities and refugee organisations, so whichever side of a case you are on, you receive the same impartial analysis.
- One project team from first contact to final report and any follow-up questions
- Vetted specialist linguists bound by confidentiality agreements
- Personal data handled under UK GDPR, with secure exchange of recordings and reports
- Linked services: interpreting, certified translation and transcription with time stamps
How LADO and nationality assessment fit together
- Nationality assessment works at national level: the macro view.
- LADO traces a speaker to a region, town or community: the micro view.
- Used together, they give the clearest and most reliable picture.
Questions about this language analysis
Can we receive the LADO report in Norwegian?
The expert report is written in English. Where your case needs it, we provide a certified translation into Norwegian, so the methods, findings and stated uncertainty are fully available to Norwegian-speaking readers, including the client.
Do we need to send the claimant abroad or meet the analyst in person?
No. The analysis is based on an audio recording, which is exchanged securely along with the report. If you do not yet have a suitable recording, our analyst can advise on how to make one.
Is SILA Linguists® only active in Norway and the UK?
No. Norway is one of many places where our services are available. Our analysts can support lawyers, public bodies and organisations across the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond, and the same standards apply to every case.
Language analysis by language
Pages for languages and dialects we are often asked to analyse, and for clients in particular countries.
Af-May (Maay) LADO
Maay language analysis for people from the inter-riverine south of Somalia, kept apart from Northern and Benadir Somali.
Albanian LADO
Albanian LADO reports that read Gheg and Tosk features to assess origin in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia or Montenegro.
Amharic LADO
Amharic language analysis for Ethiopian claims, including speakers who learnt Amharic as a second language.
Arabic LADO
Arabic LADO by dialect specialists, from Morocco and Sudan to Syria, Iraq, the Gulf and Yemen.
Bengali LADO
Bengali (Bangla) LADO weighing Bangladeshi against Indian usage and regional speech from Sylhet to Chattogram.
Burmese LADO
Burmese LADO that separates Irrawaddy valley speech, Rakhine and Tavoyan features, and Burmese learned as a second language.
Dari and Hazaragi LADO
Dari and Hazaragi LADO for Afghans and Hazaras raised in Afghanistan, Iran or Pakistan, with Farsi and Urdu influence assessed.
Dari LADO
Dari LADO focused on Afghan regional speech, Iranian Farsi contrast and the official vocabulary of Afghan documents.
Edo (Bini) LADO
Edo (Bini) LADO for people from Benin City and Edo State, with Nigerian Pidgin and English considered alongside Edo.
Eritrea: LADO and nationality
Tigrinya and Amharic LADO with nationality assessment for claimed Eritreans, including Eritreans raised in Ethiopia.
Georgian LADO
Georgian LADO reports covering regional dialects, Mingrelian and Svan backgrounds and Georgian communities in Turkey or Iran.
Ghanaian Pidgin LADO
LADO for speakers of Ghanaian Pidgin, weighing it against Nigerian Pidgin and drawing on Twi and Ghanaian English.
Gulf Arabic LADO
Khaleeji LADO comparing Kuwaiti, Bahraini, Qatari, Emirati and Eastern Province speech with neighbouring varieties.
Hassaniya Arabic LADO
Hassaniya LADO for Mauritania, Western Sahara and the wider Sahara, by analysts who know Klam el-Bidhan.
Kibajuni (Bajuni) LADO
Bajuni language analysis that tests Kibajuni speech from the southern Somali coast against Kenyan and Tanzanian Swahili.
Kpelle LADO
Kpelle language analysis that weighs Liberian against Guinean speech, including Liberian English, French and Maninka influence.
Kurdish Badini LADO
Badini LADO for the Duhok governorate, weighing Iraqi Badinan against Kurmanji speech across the Turkish and Syrian borders.
Kurdish Kurmanji LADO
Kurmanji LADO across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, using accent, vocabulary and contact languages to assess origin.
Kurdish LADO
Kurdish LADO that starts by identifying the variety: Kurmanji, Badini, Sorani, Southern Kurdish and neighbouring forms.
Kurdish Sorani LADO
Sorani LADO that separates Iraqi and Iranian Central Kurdish, from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to Sanandaj and Mahabad.
Kuwaiti Bidoon LADO
Gulf Arabic LADO and nationality assessment for stateless Kuwaiti Bidoon whose Kuwaiti origin is disputed against Iraq.
Levantine Arabic LADO
Levantine Arabic LADO for Syrian and Palestinian claimants: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestinian communities and refugee camps.
Lingala LADO
Lingala LADO weighing Kinshasa and Brazzaville speech, French borrowing, urban slang and the speaker's other Congolese languages.
Maghrebi Arabic LADO
Darija LADO that separates Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan speech and reads French and Amazigh influence.
Mandinka LADO
Mandinka LADO placing speech in The Gambia, Casamance or Guinea-Bissau and separating it from Bambara, Maninka and Dyula.
Nigerian Pidgin LADO
Naija LADO separating Nigerian Pidgin from Cameroonian Pidgin and Krio, and Lagos from Niger Delta speech.
Oromo LADO
Oromo LADO that places speech in West Central, Eastern or Borana areas and weighs Ethiopia against Kenya.
Palestinian Arabic LADO
Palestinian Arabic LADO for urban, rural and Bedouin speech, compared with Jordanian and northern Levantine forms.
Pashto (Afghanistan) LADO
Pashto (Afghanistan) LADO weighing southern and northern speech and Dari or Urdu influence, with Pakistan as the main alternative.
Pashto (Pakistan) LADO
LADO for Pakhto speakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Balochistan and Karachi, including Urdu contact and Pakistani schooling.
Pulaar (Fulfulde) LADO
Fula LADO distinguishing Pulaar, Pular and Fulfulde varieties from Senegal and Guinea to Nigeria and Cameroon.
Punjabi LADO
Punjabi LADO separating Indian and Pakistani Punjab, Majhi, Doabi and Malwai from Pothwari and Mirpuri speech.
Rohingya LADO
Rohingya LADO distinguishing northern Rakhine State speech from Chittagonian, with camp and migration history considered.
Russian LADO
Russian LADO that looks beyond the standard language to local vocabulary and the first language beneath a speaker's Russian.
Somali LADO
Somali LADO that tells Northern, Benadir and Maay speech apart and weighs time spent in Kenya, Ethiopia or Djibouti.
Sudanese and Darfur LADO
LADO for Sudanese Arabic and the Darfur languages Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit, weighing Sudan against eastern Chad.
Sylheti LADO
Sylheti LADO for speakers from the Sylhet Division and India's Barak Valley, analysed apart from standard Bengali.
Tamil LADO
Tamil LADO comparing Jaffna, eastern and hill country Tamil from Sri Lanka with Tamil Nadu speech.
Tibetan nationality assessment
Nationality assessment for claimed Tibetans, supported by LADO: raised in Tibet, or in exile communities in Nepal or India?
Tigrinya LADO
Tigrinya LADO that tests whether speech was formed in Eritrea or in Tigray, with loanwords and second languages examined.
Turkmen LADO
Turkmen LADO comparing Teke-based standard speech with Yomut, Ersari and the Farsi-influenced Turkmen of Iran and Afghanistan.
Urdu LADO
Urdu LADO that looks beyond the national language to the first language, region and schooling a speaker's Urdu reveals.
Uyghur LADO
Uyghur LADO covering the dialects of Xinjiang and the Central Asian communities, handled in full confidence.
Uzbek LADO
Uzbek LADO telling Northern Uzbek of Uzbekistan from Afghan Southern Uzbek, with Russian, Tajik and Dari contact assessed.
Wolof LADO
Wolof LADO that weighs Senegalese against Gambian speech, French against English loanwords, and Dakar urban Wolof.
Yemeni Arabic LADO
Yemeni Arabic LADO across Sanaani, Taizzi-Adeni, Hadrami and Tihami speech, with Gulf and Saudi forms as comparisons.
By location
LADO in Scotland
LADO for Scottish solicitors, advocates and charities, from legal aid asylum work to expert evidence at tribunal hearings.
Discuss a language analysis case
Tell us the language or dialect, the type of report you need (origin, age or second opinion) and your deadline.