Face-to-face
Romani interpreters on site for appointments, hearings and meetings.
European languages
Romani interpreting and translation
Romani, also called Romanes, is the language of Roma communities across Europe and beyond. We provide Romani interpreters and translators matched to the speaker's variety and country of origin.
In its own words
romani čhib
- Script
- Latin (several national and international orthographies), Cyrillic (some countries)
- Direction
- Left to right
- ISO 639-3
rom
Romani (romani ćhib) is an Indo-Aryan language, distinct from both Romansh and Romanian despite the similar names. The ancestors of its speakers left the Indian subcontinent around a thousand years ago. Its basic vocabulary and grammar remain clearly related to languages such as Hindi and Punjabi, while centuries in the Byzantine world and then across Europe added many words from Greek and from Slavic, Romanian, Hungarian, German and other languages. Romani is usually treated as a group of closely related varieties.
The varieties fall into several major dialect branches. Vlax Romani, which includes Kalderash and Lovari, developed in Romanian-speaking lands and is now spoken worldwide. Balkan Romani, including Arli and Erli, is spoken in the southern Balkans and Türkiye. Central Romani covers Carpathian or Slovak Romani in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine. Northern varieties include Sinti in German-speaking countries and northern Italy, and the Romani of Finland and the Baltic states. Speakers of different branches may understand each other only partly.
Romani is recognised as a minority language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in many Council of Europe states. In the United Kingdom, many Roma who have arrived in recent decades come from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania, and settled in cities including Glasgow, Sheffield, Manchester and Leicester. Angloromani, used by some British Romany Gypsies, is a different linguistic situation: English grammar with Romani vocabulary.
- Main areas: Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia
- Also used: Czechia, Kosovo, Albania, Greece, Türkiye
Communities abroad are not shown. Point to an area to see its name.
How we help
Romani services
Video (VRI)
Secure video interpreting when people are in different places.
Telephone, 24/7
Telephone interpreting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Certified translation
Certified Romani translation accepted by UK authorities.
SILA Linguists®
Romani interpreters and translators for every variety with SILA Linguists®
Romani is not one uniform language but a family of closely related varieties, and SILA Linguists® matches each Roma client with an interpreter who speaks their own. A Slovak Roma family, a Kalderash speaker from Romania and a Balkan Romani speaker from Kosovo or North Macedonia use noticeably different vocabulary and borrowings. Tell us the country of origin and, if you know it, the name the family gives their speech, and we will do the rest for services in the UK, in North America, or in Australia and New Zealand.
Building trust through Romani interpreting
For families meeting a service for the first time, a face-to-face or video interpreter usually builds confidence faster than a voice on the phone. Our Romani interpreters work in schools and education welfare meetings, GP, maternity and hospital appointments, social work visits, family courts, housing and benefits offices, and police stations. Telephone interpreting is still available round the clock, holidays included, and video sessions run from the SILA Linguists® app or any platform you already trust.
Many Roma clients are bilingual in Slovak, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian or Serbian, and some prefer Romani for personal matters and the national language for official ones. We check that preference before the appointment. A female or male interpreter can be booked, which is often important in health and family matters, and every interpreter is bound by strict impartiality.
Romani translation, spelling and certified documents
There is no single written standard. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania have national orthographies, a common international alphabet with letters such as č, š, ž and θ is also used, and some communities in Serbia and Bulgaria write in Cyrillic. We choose the variety and spelling to fit your readers, and for community information we often recommend an audio or video version alongside the text.
Birth certificates, school reports and court papers for Roma clients are almost always issued in the national language of the home country, so we provide certified translation from Slovak, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian and other languages, with a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities, schools and employers.
Transcription and recorded information
We transcribe Romani audio, such as police interviews, recorded calls and research conversations, with time-coding and an English rendering, noting where speakers move between Romani and another language. Recorded health and school messages in the right variety reach families who do not read Romani.
Sectors we support in Romani
Our vetted, trained and qualified Romani linguists can support local authority children's services, education welfare officers, schools, health visitors, maternity units, family court practitioners, police and criminal courts, housing and employment advisers and community health campaigns. A single point of contact at SILA Linguists® coordinates every booking, and our vetted linguists work under a signed confidentiality agreement and UK GDPR, so families can speak openly.
Good to know
Working with Romani
Interpreting
- The most important step is to identify the client's variety and country. A Slovak Roma family, a Romanian Kalderash speaker and a speaker of Balkan Romani from Kosovo or North Macedonia use noticeably different vocabulary and borrowings. Tell us the country of origin and, if known, the name the family uses for their speech, and we will match an interpreter who knows that variety.
- Many Roma clients are bilingual and also speak Slovak, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian or Serbian. Ask which language the client prefers for the appointment: some prefer Romani for personal or emotional matters and the national language for official topics, while others are most confident in Romani throughout. A preferred interpreter gender is available, which can be important in health and family matters.
- Trust and confidentiality are central. Our interpreters are bound by strict confidentiality and impartiality, and video or face-to-face interpreting is often better than telephone for families meeting a service for the first time.
Translation
- Romani is written in Latin letters in most of Europe, but there is no single standard. National orthographies exist in several countries, for example in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania, and an international alphabet with letters such as č, š, ž and θ is also used. Some communities in Serbia, Bulgaria and Russia use Cyrillic. We choose the spelling and variety to suit your readers, and we often recommend audio or video versions for community information.
- Official documents for Roma clients are almost always issued in the national language of the country, so certified translation from Slovak, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian or another national language is usually what is required.
Related languages
Romani and its neighbours
Choose a language to see its page. Getting the right variety matters: tell us the region or dialect if you know it.
Where Romani is often needed
- Schools and education welfare
- GP, maternity and hospital appointments
- Social work and family courts
- Housing, employment and benefits services
- Police and criminal courts
- Community health campaigns
Explore more european languages or see all languages A to Z.
Get in touch
Need a Romani interpreter or translator?
Our bookings team will confirm the details with you and arrange the right linguist. Have the language (and dialect, if you know it), the type of assignment and the date ready.