Swahili interpreters and translators for the NHS, solicitors, local authorities, tribunals and employers anywhere in the UK, offering face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting, certified translation between Swahili and English, and bookings taken 24 hours a day.
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Swahili interpreting services
Before booking, find out which country your client comes from. Tanzanians usually learn Swahili from childhood and are taught in it at primary school, so many speak and read it with ease. In Kenya, English carries most schooling and official business, and plenty of Kenyans switch between the two in a single sentence. Ugandans, Rwandans and Burundians are more likely to have Swahili as a third language, learnt for trade or work.
For a GP visit any fluent interpreter will do. For a mental health assessment or a safeguarding interview, where every word is weighed, a match on country is worth waiting a day for. Consecutive interpreting is the norm, and video works well for follow-up calls.
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 Swahili 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 Swahili translation
Paperwork from Kenya and Uganda is mostly in English already, so translation work there tends to be letters, text messages, church or community records and handwritten statements. Documents from Tanzania are more often in Swahili, including some court papers and local government letters. Every document is translated by a linguist working into their native language, and we certify the English translation for use by UK courts, the Home Office and universities.
Coastal and Muslim families often use "bin" (son of) or "binti" (daughter of) inside a name. We keep names exactly as the passport spells them, and flag any document that spells them differently.
- 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 Swahili audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Swahili translation
Written material for UK readers should be in the standard Swahili used in Tanzanian newspapers and schoolbooks, which Kenyan and Ugandan readers also recognise. Avoid Sheng and heavy English borrowing in print: it dates quickly and puts off older readers. If most of your readers are Congolese, say so, because some everyday vocabulary differs and we can have the text checked by a translator from the eastern DRC.
Swahili court and police interpreters
Swahili interpreters are booked for immigration tribunals, criminal courts, family proceedings and employment claims. Our first choice for a hearing is a Swahili interpreter who has worked in legal settings before; where Swahili interpreters with the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or a place on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) are available, we ask for them. In an appeal hearing, raise any doubt about the interpreter's dialect at the start. Leaving it until the end makes it far harder to fix.
How to book a Swahili 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 Swahili language
Swahili is a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family, with many words borrowed from Arabic. It is spoken mainly in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Comoros. Swahili is an official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, and of the African Union and the East African Community.
Swahili is written in the Latin alphabet. Varieties include Kiunguja (Zanzibar), on which Standard Swahili is based, Kimvita (Mombasa), Kiamu (Lamu), Bajuni and the Congolese Swahili of the eastern DRC.
At the 2021 Census, 10,154 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Swahili or Kiswahili as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (465 people), Manchester (462) and Bolton (444). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Swahili is a second language for most of the people who speak it, and some are more comfortable in a first language such as Kikuyu, Luganda or Kinyarwanda. For asylum work, the Congolese Swahili of eastern DRC and the Bajuni of the Somali coast need interpreters who know those forms.
| Name in Swahili | Kiswahili |
|---|---|
| Language family | Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family, with many words borrowed from Arabic |
| Where it is spoken | Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Comoros |
| Writing system | Latin alphabet |
| Language code | sw |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 10,154 people |
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Swahili interpreters near you
We send Swahili 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.
Swahili interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a Swahili 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 Swahili interpreters work nearby.
How much does a Swahili 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.
Does the Swahili dialect matter when booking an interpreter?
It can. Swahili varieties include Kiunguja (Zanzibar), on which Standard Swahili is based, Kimvita (Mombasa), Kiamu (Lamu), Bajuni and the Congolese Swahili of the eastern DRC. Tell us where the speaker is from, or the dialect they use, so the interpreter is a good match for them.
Can you certify Swahili 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 Swahili 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 a Swahili interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Swahili in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 10,154 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Swahili or Kiswahili as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Barking and Dagenham (465 people), Manchester (462) and Bolton (444). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Swahili at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
