Chatino interpreting and translation

Chatino interpreters matched by town

A Chatino interpreter from a distant municipality may not be understood, particularly in a detailed legal or medical conversation. Matching a speaker from San Juan Quiahije with an interpreter who knows that variety, rather than Zenzontepec Chatino, avoids confusion that a short phone call might not reveal. Spanish is widely known, but elders and people from outlying villages may need Chatino itself.

We reach interpreters in Oaxaca and in Chatino communities in the United States on video, whether in the SILA Linguists® app or a tool your office uses, and by phone, including evenings and weekends. Relay through Spanish is often used, with one interpreter between Chatino and Spanish and another between Spanish and English. Immigration interviews, hearings and health appointments are taken in consecutive turns; a woman or a man can interpret if the client prefers.

Chatino translation and certified translation

Chatino languages are tonal, and some varieties have unusually complex tone systems. Community and academic spelling systems mark tone with superscript numbers, letters or accents, and conventions vary by variety. We agree the target variant and spelling before translating health information, school letters or research materials, and we can supply an audio version where reading is difficult.

Oaxacan birth certificates, identity documents and court papers are Spanish-language records; our certified English versions are signed as accurate and accepted by UK authorities, whether they go to a judge, a Home Office caseworker, a university or an employer. When Oaxacan papers are destined for a US agency, we prepare them with the certificate of translation accuracy that agency requires.

Transcription and language analysis

Tone makes Chatino transcription demanding. Our transcribers, working with speakers of the relevant variety, deliver transcripts with time codes and an English rendering, and they flag any tonal ambiguity that affects meaning. Researchers documenting Chatino can agree a transcription convention with us in advance. Where an asylum or immigration case raises questions of origin, a specialist LADO report can also be obtained through us.

Settings for our linguists in Chatino

Our vetted, trained and qualified Chatino interpreters and translators can support hospitals and clinics, immigration lawyers and courts, schools working with migrant families, and universities and documentation projects. A named SILA Linguists® coordinator handles each Chatino booking from start to finish, and our linguists sign NDAs and treat all case material under UK GDPR. Chatino interpreting is available for American immigration judges, defence and asylum attorneys, county hospitals and school districts, matched to the speaker's home town where possible.