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Booking an interpreter: the five details that prevent problems

12 August 20264 min read

Getting the right linguist first time is mostly about the brief. Here is the short checklist our coordinators wish every booking included.

Most rescheduled appointments come down to missing information at the point of booking. Five details remove nearly all of it.

  • Language and dialect — "Arabic" or "Kurdish" alone is rarely enough
  • Setting and subject — clinical, legal, safeguarding or commercial
  • Gender preference, where the service user has one
  • Duration and location, including parking or security access
  • Any documents to be read aloud, sent in advance under NDA

Why dialect matters most

A speaker of Sorani and a speaker of Kurmanji cannot rely on each other. The same is true across Arabic, Punjabi, Pashto and many African languages. Naming the dialect is the fastest way to a successful appointment.

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