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Krio Interpreters

Professional Krio interpreting, virtual or in person, for the settings where getting it wrong has consequences — asylum interviews, hearings, attorney meetings, medical appointments and school meetings.

Krio sounds like English, which is exactly why an English-only interview goes wrong

Does a Krio speaker need an interpreter if they speak some English? Often yes: Krio is a creole language of its own, with most of its vocabulary from English but its own grammar, tones and meanings, and an English speaker listening to Krio tends to misunderstand it while believing they have understood it. Sierra Leone’s official language and school language is English, which makes the mistake easy to make on both sides of the table.

The grammar sits in small words English speakers skip over. Krio marks tense and aspect with particles before the verb, as Malcolm Finney’s description in the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures sets out: a du am “I do it”, a bin du am “I did it”, a dɔn du am “I have done it”, a bin dɔn du am “I had done it”, a kin du am “I usually do it” or “I can do it”, a blant du am “I used to do it”. In an account of events, the difference between something that happened once, something that kept happening and something that was already over is carried by those particles — and lost if the listener hears them as filler.

Pronouns and tone do the rest. The third-person pronoun (i, am, in) does not distinguish he, she or it, so “he” or “she” in an English record is the interpreter’s choice unless it is clear from context; una is plural “you”. Krio is also tonal: by tone alone, fada can mean a Catholic priest, a father or God, and kɔntri either a country or someone from the countryside.

For most Sierra Leoneans, Krio is the common language, not the first one

Krio is the first language of a small minority — about 10% in figures based on the 2004 census, around 350,000 people concentrated on the Western Area peninsula and Freetown — but some 97% of Sierra Leoneans speak it, natively or as a second or third language. The most common first languages are Mende (32%) and Temne (30%).

So Krio is the right booking for most appointments and much testimony. But for a long account from someone who grew up speaking Mende or Temne in the provinces, ask which language they want to tell it in. If the answer is Mende or Temne, tell us early, and we confirm whether we can staff it before you book.

Register matters too. Finney describes a long-standing split between an anglicized Krio associated with class and education and what is called, dismissively, “broad” Krio — windo against winda for window, bɔkɛt against bokit for bucket. A speaker who sounds close to English in a formal interview may move into broader Krio under stress, and the interpreter has to follow without making the shift itself look like inconsistency.

Where Krio is booked in the United States

The Census Bureau lists Krio separately: about 10,600 people spoke it at home in 2009–2013, the largest groups in Maryland (about 2,400), Virginia (1,300), Georgia (1,000) and Texas (900), followed by California, Pennsylvania and Florida. Maryland and Virginia together — in practice the Washington, DC area — and Georgia are the largest centers and the likeliest places for in-person Krio work; elsewhere it is usually done by video or phone.

Written Krio is uncommon. There is a proposed standard orthography, but it is still in its infancy, print use is sparse, and English is the language of government and of official documents. A declaration will be drafted in English and has to be read back to the client in Krio before signing; book time for that sight translation rather than handing over an English text for signature.

Krio is a limited-availability language

There are comparatively few qualified Krio interpreters working in the United States, and the ones there are get booked. That is why Krio carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate, and why lead time matters more here than with a common language: a week is comfortable, two days is a gamble.

We would rather tell you that before you book a hearing date than after. If your date is fixed and close, say so when you enquire and we will tell you honestly whether we can staff it rather than accepting and hoping.

The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate. If a language is not on that list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.

By video, by phone or in person

Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.

In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.

Where interpretation is used

The settings differ in what they demand of the interpreter, which is worth saying because they are frequently priced as though they were the same work:

• Asylum and immigration interviews. USCIS asylum interviews require the applicant to bring an interpreter, and the interview can be rescheduled if the interpreter does not appear or is not competent — which makes this the setting where getting it right matters most.
• Attorney–client meetings and declarations. Preparing testimony, taking a statement, going through documents.
• Depositions and hearings. Where the record is being made and accuracy is examined afterwards.
• Medical appointments. Note that hospitals receiving federal funding generally must provide language assistance themselves, so ask before you hire.
• School meetings. IEP meetings and parent conferences — districts also have their own obligations here.
• Business meetings and signings, such as real estate closings.

Each setting has its own page — who has to provide the interpreter, what the meeting asks of one and what it costs: see interpreters by setting.

What it costs

Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.

• Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
• In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
• Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
• Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.

How the travel charge works out

Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.

We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.

How booking an interpreter works

• You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
• We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
• You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.

What we will tell you before you book

Two things, both of which occasionally cost us the booking. Whether the venue supplies its own interpreter. Immigration court provides one. Hospitals receiving federal funding generally must provide language assistance. School districts have obligations of their own. If yours does, you should not be paying us — ask them first.

And whether we can actually staff your date. For a limited-availability language on short notice the honest answer is sometimes no, and we would rather say it than accept a booking we cannot fill. Interpretation is not translation: see certified translation at $24.95 per page if what you need is a document rendered in writing.

What to have ready

The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:

• The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
• Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
• The setting and the subject matter.
• How many people need interpreting for.
• Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.

Request an interpreter

Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.

Sources

The facts on this page about the language and its speakers in the United States were checked against these sources on October 28, 2026.

• Malcolm Awadajin Finney — Krio, survey chapter in the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures (APiCS Online)
• CLEAR Global (Translators without Borders) — Language data for Sierra Leone (2004 census)
• US Census Bureau — Detailed languages spoken at home, 2009–2013 American Community Survey (national and state tables)
• Glottolog — Krio (West African Creole English)

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