Soninke interpreting and translation

Soninke interpreting in sensitive settings

We provide Soninke interpreters for asylum and immigration interviews, maternity and hospital appointments, family and criminal courts, social services meetings and community information sessions. Face-to-face interpreters attend in person, telephone interpreting is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and video interpreting runs in the SILA Linguists® app, or on any secure platform you prefer.

Many Soninke speakers also use French, Bambara, Wolof, Pulaar, Hassaniya Arabic or English, but detailed evidence and medical consent are best given in the first language. Consecutive interpreting is the usual format, with simultaneous interpreting and RSI available for community events. A preferred interpreter gender can be arranged, which many women value in maternity and family cases.

Translation, scripts and certified documents

Soninke is mostly written in the Latin alphabet, but Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia each have their own conventions, and some speakers write in Arabic script (Ajami) or N'Ko. Since literacy in Soninke varies, we often recommend an audio version of public information alongside French, English or Arabic text.

Civil documents from the region are mainly issued in French, English or Arabic. We provide certified translation from these languages with a signed certificate confirming accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as immigration officials, courts and admissions offices, and by employers, keeping family and place names consistent across the file. Where letters or statements are written in Soninke itself, we translate them directly into English.

Transcription and origin analysis

Our transcribers produce time-stamped Soninke transcripts with English translation for interviews, recorded calls and voice messages, marking switches into French or Bambara. For asylum claims where nationality is questioned, SILA Linguists® can arrange a linguistic origin assessment, known as LADO, which can help distinguish speakers from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia.

Sectors we support in Soninke

Our vetted, trained and qualified Soninke linguists can support immigration advisers, the courts, criminal defence solicitors, NHS maternity services, local authority social workers and community organisations supporting West African families, as well as schools and housing teams working with Soninke-speaking families from Mali, Senegal and The Gambia. A named project manager manages every request, and our vetted linguists work under non-disclosure agreements and UK GDPR.