Twelve Kurdish varieties, four countries of origin
Kurdish is a family of varieties rather than a single language, and they are not always mutually intelligible. SILA Linguists® covers Kurmanji, spoken in Türkiye, Syria and northern Iraq; Badini from the Duhok region; Sorani from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah; Ardalani and Kalhori from Iran; Faili, Laki, Shekaki and Pahlawi; and Zazaki and Hawrami, which are often grouped with Kurdish.
Large Kurdish communities live in Germany, the UK, France, Sweden, North America and Australia. Before every booking we ask where the speaker comes from, so that a Kurmanji speaker is never sent a Sorani interpreter.
Kurdish interpreting face-to-face, by phone and on video
A GP appointment, an asylum interview, a criminal trial, a parents' evening: our Kurdish interpreters attend in person or join by phone at any hour, every day of the year. Video interpreting runs through our app or the tool you already use. For symposiums, forums and institutional meetings we arrange consecutive, simultaneous and remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI), and we accompany your visitors as escort interpreters. Community interpreting covers dealings with councils and local services. A female interpreter can be booked for gynaecological appointments or interviews about domestic abuse.
Kurdish scripts, certified translation and LADO
Sorani is written in Arabic script and Kurmanji in Latin script. Our translators work in both and keep names consistent across passports, identity cards, marriage certificates and school records. Every certified translation is signed and carries a statement of accuracy accepted by UK courts, the Home Office, universities and employers.
We provide time-stamped transcription and translation of recordings, subtitling, and language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) with nationality assessment, which can carry real weight when someone states that they come from Iraq, Iran, Syria or Türkiye.
Kurdish linguists for every professional setting
Our vetted, trained and qualified Kurdish linguists can support immigration solicitors, courts, police, the NHS, mental health services, social services, housing associations and refugee charities. SILA Linguists® coordinates every request through one project team, uses only vetted linguists and protects your data with NDAs and UK GDPR.
