Prism Linguistics arranges Bajuni interpreters and related certified translation across Canada. Bajuni, or Kibajuni, is a coastal Bantu variety closely related to Swahili, spoken by the Bajuni people of the islands between southern Somalia and the Lamu archipelago of Kenya, and most reach Canada through asylum streams. The community here is small and dispersed, so support is mainly interpreting-led and often delivered by telephone or video.
Last reviewed September 6, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
Bajuni claims frequently turn on identity, which puts the interpreter at the centre of the file. Kibajuni differs from standard coastal Swahili in vocabulary and pronunciation, and a claimant's command of the specific island speech can itself be examined in a hearing, so we match a genuine Bajuni speaker rather than a general Swahili interpreter and confirm the home island at booking.
Interpreters attend Immigration and Refugee Board protection hearings, IRCC interviews, legal aid meetings and hospital appointments held under PHIPA and PIPEDA privacy rules, rendering exactly what is said rather than smoothing an answer. Because so few Bajuni speakers work as interpreters in Canada, most sessions run by telephone or video to reach the right person, with on-site attendance arranged in the larger centres where one is nearby.
Common settings include legal and court interpreting, medical and hospital interpreting, IRCC and Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) interviews, and police and enforcement work. See all on-site interpreting options or start a free quote.
Official documents in Bajuni are rare, because it is largely an oral coastal language written, when at all, in the Latin alphabet like Swahili. Somalia and Kenya issue civil records in Somali, Arabic, Swahili or English, so a Bajuni claimant's birth, marriage or identity paperwork is usually translated from one of those rather than from Bajuni itself.
Many people arrive holding very little, and we translate exactly what a person has, reporting names and dates as printed and saying plainly when a source is informal. Where an original record is missing, a sworn affidavit before a commissioner of oaths can accompany a translation to set out how a name or date was established. Output is issued by a certified translator or supported by affidavit, and acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution.
For documents rather than spoken interpreting, see certified Bajuni translation, our full Bajuni translation services, or general document translation. Every translation moves through our TEP workflow — translation, editing and proofreading by separate linguists — with free revisions.
An interpreter attends in person for hearings, medical appointments and meetings. On-site interpreting
Same-day, often within minutes, for calls, intake and urgent situations. Phone interpreting
Telehealth, remote hearings and sign language, anywhere in Canada. Video interpreting
Simultaneous interpreting for events and multilingual meetings. Conference interpreting
Legal consultations, settlement services and private appointments. Private interpreting
ASL and LSQ interpreting for accessible appointments and events. Sign language
We arrange Bajuni interpreters in cities across every province and territory — on site in the major centres and by telephone or video everywhere else:
Need documents translated locally? We provide certified Bajuni translation in the same cities:
Or browse every city we cover.
Bajuni is a Bantu language closely related to Swahili, spoken by perhaps 50,000 people on islands off the southern Somali coast and adjacent stretches of the Kenyan coast. The Bajuni community has been heavily impacted by Somalia's instability, with many displaced into refugee camps and onward to resettlement countries - including small populations in Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton, the Canadian cities with established Somali communities. Our Bajuni translation work is overwhelmingly IRB refugee documentation, often paired with Swahili and Somali translation for documents written in mixed languages or by mixed-heritage families.
They are closely related, but Kibajuni has its own vocabulary and pronunciation and is not identical to standard Swahili. For a hearing we match a genuine Bajuni interpreter rather than a general Swahili speaker, because dialect can be central to a claim.
We translate whatever you hold, reporting names and dates as printed, and a sworn affidavit can explain a missing record. Acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution, such as the IRB or IRCC.
Yes. Most Bajuni interpreting in Canada is arranged by telephone or video precisely because the community is small, which lets us reach a speaker of the right island variety wherever your hearing is.
Tell us the language, the setting and the date through our quote form or by phone. We return a written quote with the exact price and turnaround, usually within 60 minutes during business hours, before you commit.
Tell us the setting, the city and the date, and we will confirm a qualified Bajuni interpreter and a firm price.