K'iche' interpreting and translation

K'iche' interpreting services for hearings and appointments

K'iche' is widely needed in immigration and legal settings in North America and beyond, alongside other Mayan languages such as Mam and Q'anjob'al. For asylum, immigration, criminal and family proceedings, a qualified K'iche' interpreter removes the risk of relying on a client's limited Spanish.

Regional variation is noticeable: the K'iche' of Totonicapán, Nahualá and Quetzaltenango differ in pronunciation and vocabulary, though speakers generally understand each other. Some clients, particularly younger migrants, have grown up with both K'iche' and Spanish; others, especially women from rural areas, may have very little Spanish, and a female interpreter is often appreciated in health and family matters.

We offer face-to-face K'iche' interpreters where local linguists are based, video interpreting through the SILA Linguists® app or your own platform, and telephone interpreting available every hour of every day. Court and tribunal work is consecutive; for training days and public consultations we can arrange simultaneous interpreting.

K'iche' translation and certified translation

K'iche' is written with Guatemala's official Mayan alphabet. The apostrophe marks glottalised consonants such as b', ch', k', q', t' and tz' and changes meaning, so our translators and typesetters preserve it in every text, website and subtitle. Health information, rights notices, school letters and community materials are typical translation projects.

Identity documents and court records from Guatemala are issued in Spanish. We provide certified English translations from Spanish, signed with a statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as tribunals, the Home Office and universities, and by employers. Guatemalan certificates bound for Canada can be handled by a provincially certified translator, and those for the United States by a translator signing a certificate of accuracy.

Transcription, subtitling and origin analysis

K'iche' has a celebrated literary heritage, from the sixteenth-century Popol Wuj to today's radio and schools. We transcribe interviews, recorded evidence and broadcasts with time codes and an English version, and subtitle educational and campaign video. For disputed asylum claims, language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) can be commissioned.

Sectors we support in K'iche'

Our vetted, trained and qualified K'iche' linguists can support immigration and asylum services, criminal and family courts, police, the NHS and mental health providers, schools and child welfare teams, and public information campaigns. SILA Linguists® assigns one coordinator to each case, and every linguist works under a non-disclosure agreement and UK GDPR. K'iche' interpreters can support US immigration courts and attorneys, and our linguists can also attend Canadian refugee hearings, lawyers' offices and community clinics.