Prism Linguistics provides Dinka interpreters and certified translation involving Dinka across Canada. Dinka is a Nilotic language of South Sudan, written in the Latin alphabet, and much of the community here arrived through refugee resettlement, with families in the Prairie cities, southern Ontario and Alberta. Most work is legal, medical and settlement related, on site in the main centres and by telephone or video anywhere in the country.
Last reviewed September 6, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
Dinka is a cluster of closely related dialects rather than one uniform language, and the group the speaker belongs to matters a great deal. When you book a Dinka interpreter, tell us whether the speaker is Rek, Agar, Bor, Padang, Twic or another group, because vocabulary and pronunciation shift between them, and in an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing a mismatch can distort how testimony is heard. We match a claimant with an interpreter from a compatible dialect.
Interpreters work in IRCC and IRB interviews, Canadian court and tribunal hearings, hospital and clinic appointments, and school, legal-aid and settlement meetings. In healthcare they give a complete rendering rather than a summary, which matters for consent and history-taking with speakers who have had little formal schooling in English. On-site interpreting is available in the main centres and telephone or video interpreting anywhere in Canada. Requirements vary by province and case type, so we confirm what a specific court will accept before assigning, and we are a private agency, not a court-appointed vendor.
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.
Certified translation is a smaller part of Dinka work than interpreting, because years of conflict mean many South Sudanese arrive with few civil records, and those that exist are often issued in English or Arabic rather than in Dinka. Where a document is written in Dinka, we translate the full text into English or French with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy, or a sworn affidavit before a commissioner of oaths where the receiving body asks for one.
The records we handle include birth and baptismal certificates, marriage records, school documents, and statutory declarations used in place of missing paperwork for permanent residence, family reunification and citizenship. Names are transcribed to match the passport spelling, with any variant noted for the officer, since South Sudanese names are often recorded inconsistently across documents. Acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution.
For documents rather than spoken interpreting, see certified Dinka translation, our full Dinka 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 Dinka 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 Dinka translation in the same cities:
Or browse every city we cover.
Dinka (Thuongjang) is a Nilotic language spoken by around 4 million people in South Sudan, where the Dinka are the largest ethnic group. The Dinka community in Canada is one of the larger South Sudanese populations outside Africa - concentrated in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and southern Ontario, dating largely to the refugee waves driven by the Sudanese civil wars. Our Dinka translation work is overwhelmingly IRCC refugee and family-sponsorship paperwork and IRB hearing documents, plus the healthcare and school-enrolment paperwork tied to refugee resettlement.
We match the speaker's group, whether Rek, Agar, Bor, Padang, Twic or another. Tell us where the speaker is from and we assign a compatible interpreter. This matters most in refugee hearings, where dialect differences can affect how testimony is understood.
That is common. Where records are missing, families often rely on statutory declarations and affidavits. We can translate what you do have and advise on how missing-document situations are usually presented, though acceptance depends on the receiving institution.
Yes. We cover IRCC and IRB interviews, Canadian courts and tribunals, and medical and settlement appointments, in person in the main centres and by phone or video across Canada.
Telephone interpreting is often available the same day. On-site bookings in the main centres usually need a few business days; tell us the city, date, setting and the speaker's dialect and we confirm.
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 Dinka interpreter and a firm price.