Congolese language interpreting and translation

Finding the right Congolese interpreter

Geography usually points the way. Someone from Kinshasa or Brazzaville will normally want Lingala; a client from Bukavu, Goma or Uvira may need Congolese Swahili or Mashi; families from the Kasai provinces speak Tshiluba; and people from Kongo Central or Kwilu use Kikongo or Kituba. Asking at booking prevents a mismatch on the day.

Our interpreters cover face-to-face appointments in hospitals, family courts, solicitors' offices and schools, phone interpreting at any hour of the day or night, and video sessions through the SILA Linguists® app or the client's own system. Educated clients often switch between French and a national language, and Congolese French has its own administrative vocabulary; interpreters follow the client's choice and clarify unfamiliar terms. Interviews with people from eastern DRC can involve conflict, displacement and sexual violence, so we brief interpreters carefully and provide a female or male interpreter on request.

Translation for Congolese clients

Birth certificates, judgments, school reports and identity documents from both Congos are almost always in French, so certified French to English translation, with a signed statement of accuracy accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts and universities, is usually what is needed. Translation into Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo or Tshiluba is best suited to health leaflets, safeguarding letters, tenancy guidance and community notices, written in the Latin alphabet. Where a document mixes French with Lingala or Swahili, for example a handwritten letter, we assign a translator who reads both.

Transcription, subtitling and LADO

Audio and video evidence in Congolese languages often switches between Lingala, French and Swahili within a single sentence. Our transcribers identify each language, add time stamps and supply an English translation. Language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) can be arranged where nationality or region of origin is disputed, for example between the DRC, Congo-Brazzaville and Angola.

Settings for our linguists in Congolese

Our vetted, trained and qualified Congolese linguists can support immigration and asylum services, family and criminal courts, the NHS and mental health teams, social care and safeguarding, schools and refugee charities. With SILA Linguists®, one coordinator takes care of the whole case, whichever Congolese languages it turns out to involve. Every linguist is vetted and signs a confidentiality agreement, and all personal data is handled under UK GDPR.