Ibo, today more often written Igbo, is a language we cover anywhere in the UK, with interpreters and translators for councils, police, immigration advisers and families. We provide face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting, certified translation between Ibo and English, and we accept bookings 24/7 by phone or email.
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Ibo interpreting services
Whether a referral form says Ibo or Igbo makes no difference to the booking. What changes the match is the speaker. Someone in their seventies who left Nigeria long ago may use words and turns of phrase that a younger interpreter, raised in Lagos or Enugu, hears mostly from grandparents, so for an assessment of an older person ask for an experienced interpreter. Give us the speaker's home area too, since villages a short drive apart can use different words for the same thing.
Remote interpreting is fine for short questions. A first meeting with an older Ibo speaker goes better in person, where the interpreter can open with proper greetings before any business, as the speaker will expect.
Face-to-face interpreting
The interpreter comes to you: a hospital ward, a courtroom, a council office, a home visit or a business meeting. It is the best choice when people need to read expressions as well as words, or when the conversation is long or sensitive.
Telephone interpreting
The quickest option to set up. It works well for short calls, triage, appointment reminders and quick checks with a client.
Video interpreting
A Ibo interpreter joins by video for remote hearings, consultations and meetings, which helps when there is no interpreter near you.
We also provide medical interpreting and conference interpreting.
Certified Ibo translation
The Ibo spelling turns up mostly on older paper: colonial-era registers, mission school records and church baptism entries, some of which people now need for nationality applications or family history. Igbo writing itself used different spellings for some sounds until the present alphabet was agreed in the early 1960s, so an old letter or hymn book needs a translator who can read the older conventions. Each of our translators works into their native language, which means a native English speaker writes the English version of an Ibo text.
We give the old and modern spelling of a place or family name side by side when they differ, so a caseworker can match it to other records. Certified translations are laid out for UK authorities, with the translator's statement and our details.
- Certified translation of birth, marriage and death certificates, passports, driving licences, degree certificates and bank statements, for the Home Office, courts, universities and employers.
- Legal translation: witness statements, court bundles, contracts and immigration papers.
- Document translation of medical reports, letters, leaflets and patient information.
- Urgent translation when a deadline is close.
- Transcription of Ibo audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Ibo translation
Ask for Ibo and you will receive modern Standard Igbo, written with today's alphabet and its dotted vowels, because that is what readers learnt at school. We also suggest calling the language Igbo on the translated document itself: many speakers now regard Ibo as a dated or colonial spelling, and a leaflet headed that way can look careless to the people it is meant for.
Ibo court and police interpreters
Legal work in Ibo covers police station interviews, magistrates' and Crown Court hearings, and immigration appeals, often for someone who is fluent in everyday English but not in legal English. We look for interpreters with real legal experience in the language and, where people holding them exist for Ibo, the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or entry on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). Tell us about any older documents in the bundle that use the old spelling, so the interpreter is not caught out by them.
How to book an Ibo interpreter
- Tell us about the assignment: the date, time and address, or that you need telephone or video; how long it should last; and what it is for, such as a hospital appointment, a hearing or a business meeting.
- Tell us about the speaker: their country or region and, if you know it, their dialect. Mention any preference for a male or female interpreter.
- Get your quote. We email you a quote, with no obligation to book.
Call 0800 2425 125, email info@uklinguisticservices.co.uk or request a quote online.
About the Ibo language
Ibo is an older English spelling of Igbo. See also our Igbo interpreter and translator page.
Igbo is a Volta-Niger language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken mainly in south-eastern Nigeria.
Igbo is written in the Latin alphabet, with dotted vowels such as ị, ọ and ụ.
At the 2021 Census, 11,074 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Igbo as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the Royal Borough of Greenwich (636 people), Manchester (578) and the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (495). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Written Standard Igbo is based on central dialects, and speakers from different areas can use quite different words, so tell us where the speaker is from.
| Name in Igbo | Asụsụ Igbo |
|---|---|
| Language family | Volta-Niger language of the Niger-Congo family |
| Where it is spoken | South-eastern Nigeria |
| Writing system | Latin alphabet, with dotted vowels such as ị, ọ and ụ |
| Language code | ig |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 11,074 people |
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Ibo interpreters near you
We send Ibo interpreters to appointments across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and telephone and video interpreting work wherever you are. Choose a town for its local page.
Ibo interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book an Ibo interpreter?
We take bookings 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Telephone and video interpreting are usually the quickest to arrange. For a face-to-face appointment, give us as much notice as you can: same-day cover is often possible, but it depends on where you are and how many Ibo interpreters work nearby.
How much does an Ibo interpreter cost?
The price depends on the type of interpreting (face-to-face, telephone or video), how long the appointment lasts, where it is and how much notice you give. We quote before anything is booked, and quotes are free: call 0800 2425 125 or use our online quote form.
Can you certify Ibo translations for a UK visa or immigration application?
Yes. We translate and certify documents such as birth and marriage certificates, passports and police certificates for visa, settlement and citizenship applications. UK Visas and Immigration asks for each translation to confirm that it is accurate and to show the date and the translator's full name, signature and contact details, so tell us when you order that the document is for an immigration application.
Do you provide Ibo interpreters for courts, tribunals and police interviews?
Yes. Tell us the setting when you book, for example a Crown Court trial, an immigration tribunal hearing or a police interview under caution, so we can match an Ibo interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Ibo in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 11,074 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Igbo as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the Royal Borough of Greenwich (636 people), Manchester (578) and the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (495). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Ibo at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
