Bulgarian Sign Language interpreting

Interpreting on site and by video

There is regional variation linked to Deaf schools, including those in Sofia and Plovdiv, so tell us where the Deaf person went to school. Fingerspelling follows the Cyrillic alphabet, which matters when names, addresses and reference numbers come up.

We provide Bulgarian Sign Language interpreting on site and by video for employment and benefits meetings, GP and hospital appointments, police interviews and court hearings, and school and college meetings. Video remote interpreting with an interpreter based in Bulgaria can be practical for short appointments, provided the Deaf person is comfortable with video and the connection is good. For legal and immigration work, a Deaf relay alongside a hearing interpreter helps when the person's signing has strong local features or their schooling was limited.

Written texts into Bulgarian Sign Language

Many Deaf Bulgarians read Bulgarian as a second language, and English as a third. We translate written texts such as job contracts, benefit letters, health information and school communications into recorded signed video, made with Deaf translators, and translate signed video into written English or Bulgarian. Bulgarian civil documents are translated and certified by our Bulgarian team.

The older term жестомимичен език, 'gesture-mime language', still appears in some documents, but the law and the Deaf community now use български жестов език, and our translators use the current terminology in any written material about the language. For employers recruiting Deaf Bulgarian staff we can produce signed induction videos covering health and safety, shifts and workplace rules, which new colleagues can watch as many times as they need.

Captioning

We caption and transcribe recorded meetings, training sessions and information videos, so that Deaf and hearing audiences receive the same content, and we check every caption file by hand.

Sectors we support in Bulgarian Sign Language

Our vetted, trained and qualified Bulgarian Sign Language interpreters can support employers and benefits advisers, healthcare providers, courts and police, and schools and colleges. SILA Linguists® organises each assignment through one coordinator, works only with vetted professionals, and protects every session with confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR. For workplaces that need regular support, we can arrange recurring bookings with the same interpreter.