Acholi interpreting and translation

Acholi interpreting with care for the past

Many educated Acholi speakers use English at work, but medical, legal and emotional conversations usually go better in Acholi; in South Sudan, Juba Arabic may be a speaker's second language instead. Lango or Alur interpreters can sometimes follow an Acholi speaker, but they are not a substitute for formal work, and Kenyan Dholuo is a more distant relative still.

Northern Uganda lived through a long period of armed conflict and mass displacement, and some clients carry experiences from that period. Our interpreters approach every appointment neutrally, interpret all that is said and follow the professional's lead on pacing. We provide Acholi interpreters in person, by video through the SILA Linguists® app or your own platform, and by telephone, which runs 24 hours a day, every day. Survey teams, community meetings and development workshops can be covered with consecutive interpreting, and a male or female interpreter can be requested.

Translating into and out of Acholi

Acholi uses the Latin alphabet, with c standing for a sound close to English ch, which is why the name is written Acoli. Older texts and some writers mark vowel quality, while everyday writing does not, so we agree a style with you at the start. Ugandan civil documents are in English, so most of our Acholi work is translation into Acholi: health leaflets, consent forms, letters and survey questionnaires for research and charities.

Statements and messages written in Acholi are translated into English, and when a document must be submitted to an authority we certify it with a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts and universities, and by employers.

Acholi transcription and subtitling

We transcribe and subtitle Acholi audio and video, from research interviews and survey recordings to police interviews and community films, delivering time-coded transcripts with English translation. For asylum applicants, SILA Linguists® can also arrange language analysis to determine origin (LADO).

Sectors we support in Acholi

Our vetted, trained and qualified Acholi linguists can support hospitals and community health teams, courts and police, asylum and immigration practitioners, universities and survey researchers, charities and development programmes. Every request is coordinated by one team, every linguist is vetted, and data is protected by NDAs and UK GDPR.