Tz'utujil interpreting and translation

Tz'utujil interpreting around Lake Atitlán

The language remains in strong daily use in Santiago Atitlán, while San Pedro and San Juan La Laguna have their own local varieties, so we ask which town the client comes from. Kaqchikel and K'iche' speakers understand some Tz'utujil, but not reliably enough for legal or medical matters, and we book a Tz'utujil interpreter for those. Families from Santiago Atitlán often recognise an interpreter's town from a few words, so a good match puts clients at ease quickly.

The lake is a major tourist area, and many Tz'utujil speakers who work in tourism use Spanish and sometimes English. Older people and those from rural areas, however, may prefer Tz'utujil for detailed discussion of health, family or legal issues. A Tz'utujil interpreter can join remotely, on screen in the SILA Linguists® app or your meeting tool or simply by phone at any hour, or come in person where suitable linguists are local. Asylum interviews and clinic visits proceed in consecutive turns, and clients can choose whether a woman or a man interprets.

Tz'utujil translation and certified translation

Tz'utujil is written with Guatemala's official Mayan alphabet, including the apostrophe in tz' that appears in the language's own name. We check that every apostrophe and special character survives layout, printing and on-screen display. Typical requests include health information, community notices, tourism and visitor material, and personal statements.

Papers from Sololá and the rest of Guatemala are in Spanish; we turn them into English and sign each translation as faithful for judges, Home Office staff, universities and employers.

Transcription, tourism content and origin analysis

Tz'utujil interviews and recordings are transcribed with time codes and rendered into English, and we can subtitle video for community and tourism projects around the lake. For asylum cases in which origin is disputed, specialist LADO analysis of the speaker's Tz'utujil can be commissioned.

Sectors we support in Tz'utujil

Our vetted, trained and qualified Tz'utujil linguists can support hospitals and clinics, solicitors and courts, immigration and asylum services, tourism businesses and community organisations. A dedicated SILA Linguists® coordinator handles each request, and Tz'utujil linguists work under NDAs and UK GDPR, so clients from small lakeside towns can speak with confidence.