Arabic Dialect Specialist for solicitors and counsel
I check English interview records against the Arabic recording, and analyse dialect where a client’s origin is in issue. Yemeni Arabic is my mother tongue; I also work in Gulf (including Kuwaiti) and Sudanese Arabic. Remote, UK-wide, instructed directly.
الأمانة في النقل — لا وسيط، لا هامش وكالة
★★★★★ 5.0 from 18 Google reviewsSame working-day replyFree 30-minute dialect check
يمكن كان في شهر رجب، ما أتذكر بالضبط
“It was in the month of Rajab.”
“Maybe it was in the month of Rajab. I don’t remember exactly.”
A hedged estimate became a firm date. If a later statement gives a different month, the account looks inconsistent when it never was. Fictional example, taken from the sample note.
Every fee is published. Review and assessment work is estimated in writing before it begins.
£100 per hour of time spent
A line-by-line check of the English record or transcript against the Arabic recording. Every rendering that alters meaning is set out with its timestamp, the Arabic as spoken, the English as recorded, a suggested rendering and why it matters.
from £750
A written analysis of regional Arabic markers where a client’s claimed region or nationality is disputed. Origin-level analysis for Yemeni and Kuwaiti Arabic.
Concise notes where cultural context affects how evidence is read: Hijri and Gregorian dates, naming conventions, and indirect answers that can be misread as evasion.
£50 per hour
Conferences, hearings and interviews by Teams, Zoom, CVP, Prison Video Link or telephone. One-hour minimum, £45 per hour for blocks of 10 hours or more, and legal aid at the LAA-prescribed rate.
Review and assessment work is independent linguistic analysis for the instructing solicitor’s consideration. It is not expert evidence, and formal expert-witness reports are not offered at present. I do not interpret in any matter in which I have provided consultancy to a party.
Four steps, from first message to written note.
The setting, the dialect and the length of the recording. Leave out client-identifying detail. A free 30-minute scoping call is available.
You receive a written estimate before any work begins, so the cost is known in advance.
The English record is checked against the recording line by line. Material is handled confidentially and returned or deleted on completion, as you instruct.
Delivered within 5 working days for recordings up to 2 hours. Payment within 30 days of invoice.
A one-page sample note with four findings: an added characterisation, a dropped qualifier, “I don’t know” recorded as “I don’t remember”, and a place name the audio does not support. Fictional extract, not from any real case.
“Would highly recommend this use of Mustafa Ahmed’s interpreting services. I have recently instructed Mr Ahmed for two conferences and he is very efficient…”
“I had the pleasure of working with Mustafa and found him to be a highly professional, reliable, and skilled Arabic legal interpreter.”
“They delivered a fast, accurate, and professional translation that exceeded expectations.”
Home Office commendation letters are available on request.
“Arabic” is one box on a booking form. It is not one language in the room. Yemeni, Gulf and Sudanese speakers can use the same word to mean different things, so the dialect should be confirmed before you instruct, not after the account looks inconsistent.
| Mother tongue | Yemeni |
|---|---|
| Origin-level analysis | Yemeni and Kuwaiti |
| Interpreting | Gulf (including Kuwaiti), Sudanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Modern Standard Arabic |
| Not covered | North African (Maghrebi) Arabic: Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian. Where I know a suitable NRPSI-registered colleague, I will put you in touch, with no referral fee. |
Founding Member of the Kuwait Mirror Register (REG-1542509B) for Kuwaiti Bidoon, statelessness and Kuwait-related asylum and nationality matters.
Also available for hearings, conferences and interviews. All work is remote, with no travel charged. In-person attendance is not offered; where it is essential, I will refer you to an NRPSI-registered colleague.
Flat across every dialect I cover, with no agency margin. Yemeni and Sudanese work is not charged at a premium.
Cancellation requires 48 hours’ notice. Itemised invoices and attendance notes are provided as standard to support legal aid claims. Firms with a regular Arabic-speaking caseload can ask about a named-specialist arrangement.
| Arabic interview record review | £100 per hour of time spent, written estimate first |
|---|---|
| Legal Language Assessment | from £750 |
| Briefing note | from £350 |
| Remote legal interpreting | £50 per hour, one-hour minimum |
| Blocks of 10+ hours | £45 per hour, agreed in writing in advance |
| Legal aid | LAA-prescribed rate: £28 per hour civil (including family), £32 per hour criminal, non-London |
| Document translation | 14p per word. Translation only, not certified or sworn |
Birmingham-based and resident in the UK since 1987. Yemeni Arabic is my mother tongue. I hold a BA in Islamic Studies from the University of Birmingham and the Level 6 Diploma in Community Interpreting (Legal Pathway), awarded with Distinction, the DPSI (Law) equivalent. My experience also includes a year teaching community Arabic at the Muath Trust, Camp Hill, Birmingham.
One named specialist reads the bundle and prepares dialect-specific vocabulary in advance. You deal with the same person from first message to final invoice.
Short notes on where Arabic language evidence goes wrong, and what to check before relying on a record.
Free resource: Mental health tribunal glossary, English–Arabic (179 terms, searchable, PDF download).
A line-by-line comparison of the English interview record or hearing transcript against the Arabic original. It identifies which renderings are contestable, what the Arabic actually carried, and where dialect or register may have shifted the meaning, in a written analysis for the instructing solicitor.
No. It is a linguistic review for the instructing solicitor’s consideration, to read before deciding whether there is a point worth taking. Formal expert-witness reports are not offered at present.
£100 per hour of time spent, with a written estimate agreed before work begins. The written note follows within 5 working days for recordings up to 2 hours; longer recordings are agreed in writing first.
Where a client’s claimed region or nationality is disputed, or their dialect or origin is in issue. It is an independent written analysis of regional Arabic markers, from £750, provided for the solicitor’s consideration.
Yes — NRPSI Full Registration (No. 17911), Full status on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (Level 6 qualification plus 400+ hours’ experience). You can verify it on the public register before you instruct.
Yes. Solicitors, counsel and chambers can instruct me directly. That means one named, accountable specialist, no agency margin, and a same working-day response.
An Ofqual-regulated Level 6 Diploma in Community Interpreting (Legal Pathway), reference 610/1137/X, awarded with Distinction. It is the DPSI (Law) equivalent, is accepted for NRPSI Full Registration, and is approved for the UK Police PAIT scheme.
Yemeni is my mother tongue and specialist variety. I also interpret Gulf Arabic (including Kuwaiti), Sudanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Modern Standard Arabic. Yemeni, Gulf and Sudanese Arabic are not interchangeable, so the dialect should be confirmed before booking. North African (Maghrebi) dialects — Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian — are not covered; where I know a suitable NRPSI-registered colleague I will put you in touch, with no referral fee; otherwise I will point you to the NRPSI register.
Yes — a free 30-minute pre-instruction consultation for solicitors, barristers and caseworkers, to confirm the client's dialect and plan logistics (CVP, PVL, Teams or telephone) before you instruct. Case evidence is not discussed outside a formal instruction.
Yes, and it is the preferred mode — Microsoft Teams, Zoom, HMCTS Cloud Video Platform (CVP), Prison Video Link (PVL) and telephone, with no travel cost charged.
Yes. I am CTC Home Office registered (Counter Terrorist Check), valid to September 2030, alongside a current Enhanced DBS on the Update Service — suitable for prison, family court and Schedule 7 work. Police forces set their own vetting requirements for PACE work (usually NPPV); please confirm your force's requirement when booking.
Yes. Itemised invoices and attendance notes are provided as standard to support legal aid claims.
Booking requests receive a same working-day response. Same-day and out-of-hours bookings for police stations, custody suites, courts and tribunals can often be accommodated — telephone or WhatsApp is fastest.
The client's dialect or region, the setting (for example a CVP hearing, PACE interview or asylum interview), the date, time and expected duration, and the platform. Please leave out client-identifying detail at this stage. Papers can follow once the booking is confirmed, and the earlier they arrive the better the preparation.
Yes. Firms with a regular Arabic-speaking caseload can arrange a named-specialist arrangement with priority availability, and a block-booking rate of £45 per hour for blocks of 10 hours or more. Contact me to discuss.
Remote interpreting is £50 per hour with a one-hour minimum, for all dialects excluding North African (Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian) and with no travel charged. In-person attendance is not offered; where it is essential, I will refer you to an NRPSI-registered colleague. Firms with regular instructions can agree £45 per hour for blocks of 10 hours or more. Legally aided work is charged at the LAA-prescribed rate, currently £28 per hour for civil work and £32 per hour for criminal work, non-London. Arabic interview record review is £100 per hour of time spent, with a written estimate agreed before work begins.
No. Written translation is provided as translation only — not certified or sworn. Clients arrange any certification separately. I am a registered interpreter, not a certified translator, and I will say so rather than sign something I am not qualified to sign.
Send the setting, the dialect and the length of the recording. You’ll hear back the same working day.
Prefer email? Write to [email protected]