Ossetian interpreting and translation

Ossetian or Russian? Interpreting on the client's terms

Almost every Ossetian speaker is bilingual in Russian, and many from South Ossetia and Georgia speak Georgian too. Some clients are happy to work in Russian for routine matters but choose Ossetian when describing personal history, symptoms or events that led them to leave. We ask that question before booking, then send an interpreter who shares the client's variety and background.

Remote formats suit a small community well. Our telephone service answers at any hour, any day, and video calls run through the SILA Linguists® app or whichever platform your organisation already uses, which widens the pool of available linguists. Interpreters can also attend asylum interviews, tribunal hearings and hospital appointments in person, and you may specify a woman or a man for sensitive subjects.

Ossetian translation and Russian or Georgian documents

Written Ossetian uses Cyrillic with the extra letter ӕ, so our translators work with fonts and keyboards that reproduce it correctly. Historical material may appear in Georgian script or Latin letters, both used in earlier periods, and we can handle those for archive and heritage projects.

Civil records from the region, such as birth certificates, passports and court rulings, are usually in Russian or Georgian. Our certified translations from those languages carry a signed declaration of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts and universities, and by employers, and personal names are kept consistent across Russian, Georgian and Latin spellings.

Transcription and origin analysis

We produce time-stamped transcripts of Ossetian recordings, with English translation, for interviews, evidence and research, marking every switch into Russian or Georgian. Because the status of South Ossetia is disputed, questions of nationality and origin can arise in asylum claims, and our specialist analysts can provide LADO, a linguistic assessment of where a speaker is likely to have been raised.

Settings for our linguists in Ossetian

Our vetted, trained and qualified Ossetian linguists can support immigration advisers, solicitors and courts, NHS clinics, universities and heritage researchers. Each request has a named coordinator, and our screened linguists sign non-disclosure agreements and process personal information under UK GDPR, so clients from a politically sensitive region can speak with confidence.