Chontal interpreting and translation

Interpreting for Yokot'an and Oaxaca Chontal speakers

The client's home state or town tells us which language to book. Yokot'an is spoken in the Tabasco lowlands, especially Nacajuca, Centla, Centro and Macuspana, and is related to Ch'ol and Ch'orti'. Oaxaca Chontal is spoken in the mountains and on the coast of the Tehuantepec region, with distinct Highland and Lowland varieties.

Both communities are largely bilingual in Spanish, but older and rural speakers may prefer their own language for health and legal matters. For both, we generally work through Spanish relay and remote video interpreting, via the SILA Linguists® app or your platform, with telephone interpreting available at any hour. Legal proceedings and medical consultations are interpreted consecutively, and male or female interpreters can be requested.

Chontal translation and certified translation

Both languages are written in the Latin alphabet, using spelling conventions developed for bilingual education in each state. Tabasco Chontal uses the apostrophe for glottalised consonants, as in Yokot'an, while Oaxaca Chontal follows its own conventions. We confirm the language and community before translating health information, educational content or cultural texts, and we never send one Chontal text to readers of the other. Where a project serves both states, we produce two entirely separate translations, each checked by a speaker from the community concerned.

Official Mexican documents are issued in Spanish. Our certified translations from Spanish carry a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as courts, the Home Office and universities, and by employers.

Transcription for research and documentation

Oaxaca Chontal in particular has relatively few speakers, and recordings are valuable for linguists and communities. We transcribe interviews and narratives in either language with time stamps and English translation, noting the variety, and can produce subtitles for educational or cultural video.

Where we can help in Chontal

Our vetted, trained and qualified Chontal linguists can support hospitals and community health services, courts and solicitors, schools and cultural projects, universities and documentation teams. One SILA Linguists® project team manages every request, with linguists bound by confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR, and the first thing we do is make sure you are booking the right Chontal.