Face-to-face
Haitian Creole interpreters on site for appointments, hearings and meetings.
South and Latin American
Haitian Creole interpreting and translation
Haitian Creole, Kreyòl ayisyen, is the language spoken by almost the entire population of Haiti and by large Haitian communities abroad. We provide Haitian Creole interpreters and translators for healthcare, legal, immigration and humanitarian work.
Kreyòl ayisyen
- Script
- Latin
- Direction
- Left to right
- ISO 639-3
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Haitian Creole emerged in the colony of Saint-Domingue in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, among enslaved Africans and French colonists. Most of its vocabulary comes from French, but its grammar is its own, and it also draws on West African languages such as Fon and Kikongo, as well as on Spanish, English and Taíno. It is a full language in its own right, not a dialect of French, and French speakers who have not learned it understand it only partially.
Haiti's constitution recognises Creole as the language that unites all Haitians and makes it an official language alongside French. Creole is the everyday language of virtually everyone in Haiti, while French is spoken fluently by a smaller, mainly educated, part of the population. Creole is increasingly used in schools, media and public life.
The standard spelling is phonetic: each sound has one spelling, using letters such as è, ò and combinations such as ch, ou and an. Regional speech differs between the north (around Cap-Haïtien), the central area including Port-au-Prince, and the south, mostly in pronunciation and some vocabulary, and the Port-au-Prince variety is the most widely understood.
Large Haitian communities live in the United States, Canada (especially Montreal), France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Chile and Brazil, and many people outside Haiti also speak English, Spanish or Portuguese.
- Main areas: Haiti
- Also used: Dominican Republic, Bahamas
Communities abroad are not shown. Point to an area to see its name.
How we help
Haitian Creole services
Video (VRI)
Secure video interpreting when people are in different places.
Telephone, 24/7
Telephone interpreting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Certified translation
Certified Haitian Creole translation accepted by UK authorities.
SILA Linguists®
Haitian Creole (Kreyòl) interpreters and translators at SILA Linguists®
SILA Linguists® provides Haitian Creole interpreting, translation and transcription for hospitals, courts, schools, immigration advisers and humanitarian organisations in the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Kreyòl is the everyday language of virtually everyone in Haiti and of large communities in the United States, Quebec, France, the Dominican Republic, Chile and Brazil. It is a language in its own right, not a dialect of French, and many Haitians understand French only partly, so we never assume French will do.
Kreyòl interpreting in clinics, courts and crisis response
Our Haitian Creole interpreters attend medical consultations, maternity appointments, mental health assessments, family court hearings, solicitors' meetings and school meetings in person. Phone lines for Kreyòl stay open through nights, weekends and bank holidays, and screen-based sessions on the SILA Linguists® app, or on Teams, Zoom or similar, give rapid access to interpreters across time zones, which matters during public health campaigns and disaster response.
We ask where the client grew up and where they have lived since. Speech from Cap-Haïtien, Port-au-Prince and the south varies mainly in pronunciation and some vocabulary, while clients who spent years in Chile or the Dominican Republic may mix in Spanish, and those from Quebec Canadian French terms. In healthcare, interpreters check understanding of dosage instructions and appointment details, because French-derived medical words on forms can be unfamiliar to people with limited schooling. Health beliefs and religious practice are rendered accurately and neutrally, and patients may ask for a woman or a man to interpret.
Translation: Creole for readers, French for records
Haitian birth certificates, marriage records and court judgments are mostly issued in French, although Creole appears more often than it used to. We check each page, then deliver a certified English version, signed and declared accurate and accepted by UK authorities, whether for a visa application, a family court bundle or a university admissions file. French or Creole papers needed in the United States or Canada are certified to the authority's rules, by a provincially certified translator in Canada or with a certificate of accuracy for US immigration.
For patient leaflets, consent forms, school letters, public notices and emergency information, Kreyòl reaches far more people than French. Our translators use the official phonetic spelling, with è, ò, ch, ou and an, write in plain language, and can produce audio or video versions for readers with limited literacy.
Transcription, subtitling and origin questions
We transcribe Haitian Creole interviews, voicemails, community radio and video with time stamps and English translation, and subtitle campaign films for Haitian audiences. If an asylum decision hinges on whether someone really grew up in Haiti, SILA Linguists® can commission a LADO assessment of their speech from specialist analysts.
Sectors we support in Kreyòl
Our vetted, trained and qualified Haitian Creole linguists can support NHS trusts and public health bodies, immigration advisers, criminal and family courts, schools, children's services, charities and disaster-relief agencies. A dedicated coordinator handles each request end to end, and every interpreter and translator is vetted, signs a non-disclosure agreement and treats personal data in line with UK GDPR. Haitian Creole interpreters can support immigration courts and attorneys in the United States, refugee and immigration proceedings in Canada, and hospitals and schools in both.
Good to know
Working with Haitian Creole
Interpreting
- Do not assume a Haitian client prefers French. Many Haitians are monolingual in Creole or much more comfortable in it, and offering French can lead to misunderstanding, particularly in healthcare and legal settings. Ask the client's preferred language at booking.
- Tell us the client's region of origin or where they have lived in the diaspora, so we can match the right linguist. Clients who have lived in Chile or the Dominican Republic may use Spanish terms, and those from Quebec may use Canadian French terms.
- Health beliefs and religious practices can come up in medical and mental health appointments, and interpreters should render them accurately and neutrally. Video and telephone interpreting work well for Haitian Creole and give quick access to interpreters across time zones.
- In healthcare, ask the interpreter to check understanding of medication instructions and appointment details, since Creole speakers with limited schooling may be unfamiliar with French-derived medical terms that appear on forms and prescriptions.
Translation
- Most Haitian civil documents, such as birth certificates, marriage records and court judgments, are issued in French, although Creole is increasingly used. Check the language of each document before ordering certified translation.
- For patient information, public notices and community material, Creole reaches far more readers than French. Use the standard orthography, write in plain language, and consider audio or video versions for readers with limited literacy. Certified translations, with a signed statement of accuracy, are accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, tribunals, courts and universities, and by international bodies. If your documents are for use in the United States or Canada, we arrange the certification required there. That means a translator's certificate of accuracy for US immigration authorities, or a translator certified by a Canadian provincial association.
Related languages
Haitian Creole and its neighbours
Choose a language to see its page. Getting the right variety matters: tell us the region or dialect if you know it.
Where Haitian Creole is often needed
- Healthcare and public health
- Immigration and asylum
- Legal and court proceedings
- Education and family services
- Humanitarian and disaster response
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Get in touch
Need a Haitian Creole interpreter or translator?
Our bookings team will confirm the details with you and arrange the right linguist. Have the language (and dialect, if you know it), the type of assignment and the date ready.