Tigre interpreting and translation

Tigre interpreting in person, by phone and by video

Our Tigre interpreters attend asylum and immigration interviews, appeal hearings, solicitors' meetings, GP and hospital appointments, and social services and housing visits. Our phone line for Tigre is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, while video sessions on our own app or on Teams, Zoom and similar tools widen the pool of available linguists for a language with fewer speakers in the diaspora.

Place names, clan references and local terms carry weight in Eritrean asylum work, and a well-matched interpreter handles them precisely. Many Tigre speakers also know Arabic, and some speak Tigrinya, Bilen or Beja, yet we always recommend first-language interpreting for evidence. Consecutive interpreting is standard; simultaneous interpreting and RSI can be arranged for community events. Where a subject is sensitive, just tell us whether a woman or a man should interpret.

Translation in Ge'ez script and certified documents

Tigre is normally written in the Ge'ez (Ethiopic) script, though its written tradition is shorter than that of Tigrinya and some speakers read Arabic or Tigrinya more easily. We check reading preferences before translating health information, tenancy guidance or letters, so the result is actually used.

Eritrean civil documents are often issued in Tigrinya, Arabic or English, so we identify the source language first. Each certified Tigre translation is signed off with a statement confirming its accuracy, the form accepted by UK tribunals, Home Office caseworkers and admissions offices, and expected by employers, and names are spelled consistently across every document in a case.

Transcription and LADO

We transcribe Tigre audio and video, including interview recordings and voice messages, delivering time-stamped transcripts with English translation and clearly marking any shift into Arabic or Tigrinya.

Nationality and origin are frequently at issue in Eritrean and Sudanese claims. For those cases SILA Linguists® can commission a LADO report (language analysis to determine origin), in which a specialist analyst examines the regional markers in how a person speaks Tigre.

Settings for our linguists in Tigre

Our vetted, trained and qualified Tigre linguists can support immigration lawyers, asylum interviews, tribunals, NHS services, local authorities, housing providers and refugee charities. A single coordinator sees each case through, and our screened Tigre linguists sign non-disclosure agreements and handle data in line with UK GDPR, which matters to clients who may fear for relatives at home.