Bolivian Quechua interpreting and translation

Interpreting for Bolivian Quechua speakers

Speakers from Bolivia and southern Peru generally understand one another, but vocabulary, pronunciation and the Spanish words woven into everyday speech differ. In a medical consultation or a family court matter those details matter. Many Bolivian Quechua speakers are fluent in Spanish too, so we ask which language the client prefers; some choose Quechua for emotionally difficult conversations even when they use Spanish at work.

Most assignments are delivered by video, through the SILA Linguists® app or your own system, or by telephone, which is open around the clock. Relay through Spanish is available, and face-to-face interpreters can be arranged where a linguist is within reach. Police and legal interviews are interpreted consecutively, with care taken over dates, places and family relationships.

Bolivian Quechua translation and certified translation

Bolivia's official Quechua alphabet uses three vowels, with apostrophes and h marking ejective and aspirated consonants. Our translators, who come from the region, follow it when translating health information, consent forms and community materials from English, and translate Quechua letters, statements and recordings into English.

Birth certificates, academic records and court documents from Bolivia are issued in Spanish. We provide certified translations from Spanish with a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as courts, the Home Office and universities, and by employers, and can keep a client's Spanish and Quechua materials together in one project.

Transcription of mixed Quechua and Spanish

Urban Bolivian speech moves freely between Quechua and Spanish. Our transcribers capture both accurately, marking each language and adding time stamps and an English translation, for police interviews, research fieldwork and development programme evaluations. Subtitles can be produced for training and campaign video. When a recording includes place names from rural Cochabamba or Potosí, our transcribers check spellings carefully so that the names can be traced in later documents.

Settings for our linguists in Quechua (Bolivia)

Our vetted, trained and qualified Bolivian Quechua linguists can support hospitals and community health services, immigration and family lawyers, police and courts, social services, development agencies and universities. Every assignment is managed by one SILA Linguists® project team, and all linguists are bound by confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR, so families can speak openly about difficult matters.