Temne interpreting and translation

When a Temne interpreter is the safer choice

Krio is the common language of Sierra Leone, and many Temne speakers use it confidently. People from rural districts and older speakers may express themselves more fully in Temne, though, and for a mental health assessment, a safeguarding meeting, a family court hearing or a witness statement, a Temne interpreter is the safer choice. Religious and family vocabulary often includes Arabic loanwords, and names may be spelled in several ways, which our interpreters handle carefully.

Let us know if a same-gender interpreter is preferred, for example in maternity care or child health appointments. We provide Temne interpreting face to face, by telephone at any hour, and by video in our SILA Linguists® app or Teams, Zoom or similar, and we cover community outreach events with consecutive interpreting. Longer assignments, such as a care proceedings hearing over several days, can be staffed by the same interpreter throughout, which helps a nervous parent settle.

Temne translation, audio outreach and certification

Temne uses the Latin alphabet with ɛ and ɔ, and spelling is not fully uniform across publications. For outreach to Temne communities we combine written text with recorded audio, since literacy in Temne is limited, and we translate maternity, child health and safeguarding information this way. Statements and letters in Temne are translated into English.

Most Sierra Leonean records, such as birth certificates and school results, are in English, so they can usually be submitted as they are. Where a Temne-language document is involved, we provide a certified translation signed to confirm accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, family courts and universities, and by employers.

Transcription and LADO

Recorded interviews, voice notes and family evidence in Temne are transcribed with timestamps and a parallel English text, with Krio passages marked. For asylum claims, SILA Linguists® offers language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO).

Sectors we support in Temne

Our vetted, trained and qualified Temne linguists can support maternity and child health services, safeguarding teams and family courts, asylum caseworkers and community outreach organisations. One coordinator, vetted interpreters and confidentiality under NDAs and UK GDPR come as standard.