Interpreting failures rarely announce themselves. A mismatched interpreter and client will often push through an interview by paraphrasing, guessing and simplifying — producing a record that looks complete and is quietly unreliable.
How misassignment happens
Booking systems treat “Arabic” as one language. An agency fills the slot with whoever is available; nobody asks whether a Ta'izzi Yemeni speaker and an interpreter trained in Egyptian or Levantine Arabic can actually understand one another at speed, under stress, over a video link.
Where it bites
- Asylum: credibility findings built on interview “inconsistencies” that are interpretation artefacts.
- Criminal: PACE interview records vulnerable to s.76/s.78 challenge; retrials and adjournments.
- Family: safeguarding decisions made on partially understood accounts.
The two-minute fix
Ask the interpreter, in writing, which dialects they cover — and expect a precise answer that includes what they don't cover. Verify registration on the NRPSI public register. This practice covers Yemeni, Sudanese, Syrian, Iraqi, Gulf, Kuwaiti and MSA — and not Algerian, Moroccan or Libyan.