Kaqchikel interpreting and translation

Kaqchikel interpreting matched to east or west

Kaqchikel varies from town to town. Speakers from the east, near Guatemala City, and from the west, near Lake Atitlán, notice differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, so we ask for the client's municipality and choose an interpreter from a nearby area. Many Kaqchikel speakers near the capital are bilingual in Spanish, but older and rural speakers often prefer Kaqchikel for medical or legal matters.

Our Kaqchikel interpreters attend in person where suitable linguists are local, and otherwise join by video, via the SILA Linguists® app or your organisation's platform, or by telephone at any time of day or night. Clinic appointments and court hearings are interpreted consecutively. For academic conferences, NGO workshops and training, we can provide simultaneous interpreting, including remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI).

Kaqchikel translation and certified translation

Standard Kaqchikel uses the official Mayan alphabet with apostrophes for glottalised consonants and the letters ä, ë, ï, ö and ü for its lax vowels. These characters must be supported by the fonts used in print and on screen, and we check that they display correctly in documents, websites and subtitles. Our translators follow established Kaqchikel terminology.

We translate health information, consent forms, programme reports and research instruments into and out of English. Civil documents from Guatemala are issued in Spanish, and we certify their English translations with a signed accuracy statement; courts, the Home Office, universities and other UK authorities accept them, and so do employers.

Transcription for research and evidence

Kaqchikel has strong revitalisation and teaching programmes, and the language has a long written heritage reaching back to colonial times. Researchers, NGOs and legal teams can ask us to transcribe interviews, focus groups and recordings, with time codes and an English version. Where an asylum case requires it, language analysis (LADO) can also be arranged.

Sectors we support in Kaqchikel

Our vetted, trained and qualified Kaqchikel linguists can support hospitals and community health services, courts and solicitors, universities, language programmes and researchers, immigration services, and community and NGO programmes in Guatemala and abroad. With SILA Linguists®, one coordinator manages your project, and every linguist is bound by a non-disclosure agreement and UK GDPR.