Face-to-face
Turkmen interpreters on site for appointments, hearings and meetings.
Middle Eastern and Central Asian
Turkmen interpreting and translation
Turkmen is the state language of Turkmenistan in Central Asia, and is also spoken in north-eastern Iran and northern Afghanistan. Its script depends on the country, so we confirm the audience first.
Türkmen dili
- Script
- Latin (Turkmenistan), Arabic script (Iran, Afghanistan), Cyrillic (historical)
- Direction
- Left to right
- ISO 639-3
tuk
Turkmen is an Oghuz Turkic language, related to Azerbaijani and Turkish. It is the state language of Turkmenistan, and there are sizeable Turkmen communities in Iran's Golestan and North Khorasan provinces, in northern Afghanistan, and smaller groups in Uzbekistan and Russia.
The standard language is based on the Teke dialect. Other dialects, such as Yomut and Ersari, are associated with tribal groupings and regions. Afghan and Iranian Turkmen speech shows more Farsi influence.
- Main areas: Turkmenistan
- Also used: Iran (Golestan, North Khorasan), Afghanistan (Jowzjan, Faryab)
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How we help
Turkmen 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 Turkmen translation accepted by UK authorities.
SILA Linguists®
Turkmen interpreters and Turkmen translation with SILA Linguists®
Turkmen is the state language of Turkmenistan and is spoken by sizeable communities in Iran's Golestan and North Khorasan provinces, in northern Afghanistan, and by smaller groups in Uzbekistan and Russia. SILA Linguists® supplies Turkmen interpreters, translators and transcribers to immigration and asylum services, healthcare providers and energy and trading companies, whether work takes place in Britain, North America, Australia or New Zealand. The standard is based on the Teke dialect, while Yomut and Ersari speech and the Turkmen of Iran and Afghanistan show more Farsi influence, so we ask which country, and ideally which region, the person is from.
Turkmen interpreting across three countries
Turkmen from Turkmenistan often know Russian, those from Iran usually speak Farsi, and Afghan Turkmen may also speak Dari or Uzbek. We ask the client which language they want to use, and match a Turkmen interpreter who understands their background and vocabulary.
Face-to-face Turkmen interpreting supports asylum interviews, tribunal hearings, solicitors' meetings, hospital and GP appointments and social care visits. A Turkmen interpreter can join by phone at any time of day, and video appointments run on the SILA Linguists® app or your usual meeting software. For gas and energy projects, commercial negotiations and conferences we provide consecutive, simultaneous and remote simultaneous interpreters.
Turkmen translation and certified translation
Turkmenistan has adopted a Latin alphabet, though Cyrillic still appears in older documents, and in Iran and Afghanistan Turkmen is written right to left in Arabic-based script. We confirm the script with you before translation begins and keep personal names consistent across a whole set of documents.
We translate civil and educational documents, court records, medical reports, supply agreements, technical specifications and corporate filings. Each certified Turkmen translation bears our signed declaration of accuracy and is accepted by UK authorities, so it can go straight to the Home Office, a court, a university or an international organisation.
Turkmen transcription and LADO
We transcribe recorded interviews, meetings and evidence in Turkmen, time-coding each speaker turn, supplying an English translation alongside and labelling switches into Russian, Farsi or Dari. For asylum cases in which origin is disputed, SILA Linguists® can arrange LADO, an expert analysis of the person's speech that can help distinguish Turkmen from Turkmenistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
Sectors we support in Turkmen
Our vetted, trained and qualified Turkmen linguists can support immigration and asylum services, legal representatives, NHS and private healthcare, and companies in energy, gas, engineering and trade. One dedicated team coordinates Turkmen assignments. Our linguists are bound by non-disclosure agreements, and UK GDPR governs every file. Whether you need a single telephone call or a long-running engineering project with glossaries and repeat interpreters, we plan the Turkmen resources around your timetable.
Good to know
Working with Turkmen
Interpreting
- Tell us whether the person is from Turkmenistan, Iran or Afghanistan. Turkmen from Afghanistan may also speak Dari or Uzbek, those from Iran usually speak Farsi, and those from Turkmenistan often know Russian.
- Turkmen interpreting is available face to face, by video and by telephone.
Translation
- Turkmenistan adopted a Latin alphabet after independence, replacing Cyrillic, which still appears in older documents. In Iran and Afghanistan, Turkmen is written in Arabic-based script, right to left.
- Certified translations of Turkmen civil and educational documents are accepted by UK authorities including the Home Office, the courts and universities, and by international bodies.
Related languages
Turkmen 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 Turkmen is often needed
- Immigration and asylum
- Healthcare
- Energy and gas
- Business and trade
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Get in touch
Need a Turkmen 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.