“Arabic” on a booking form is not enough: three checks before you book

On a booking form, “Arabic” is one box. On the ground it is not one language. North African Arabic (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Libyan) differs from Middle Eastern and Gulf Arabic in vocabulary, pronunciation and borrowed words from French, Berber and other languages. Yemeni, Gulf and Sudanese Arabic are not interchangeable either.

That matters because getting by is not the standard in an asylum interview, a police station or a courtroom. One misunderstood word can become an “inconsistency” in a decision, and a misheard place name can become a credibility point.

Three checks before you book

• Ask the client which country and region they grew up in, not just “Arabic”. If you are not sure, a free 30-minute dialect check will confirm the variety before you instruct.
• Put the dialect on the booking request. Say it plainly, so whoever fills the booking can match it. Do not leave it to be worked out on the day.
• If the first few minutes do not feel right, stop and rebook. A delayed interview costs less than a flawed record.

Why a good specialist will say no

Under the NRPSI Code of Conduct, an interpreter should only accept work they are competent to do. Saying no is part of the job. I cover Yemeni (my mother tongue), Gulf including Kuwaiti, Sudanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Modern Standard Arabic. I do not cover North African Arabic, and I say so at the outset. Where I know a suitable NRPSI-registered colleague, I will put you in touch, with no referral fee.

If a dialect mismatch may already have happened

If an interview record or transcript has already been produced and something about it looks wrong, an Arabic interview record review checks the English record line by line against the Arabic. It is a linguistic review for the instructing solicitor’s consideration, not expert evidence. See also does the English interview record match what your client said in Arabic?