Prism Linguistics provides professional Romani interpreters across Canada. Romani is the language of Roma communities spread across Europe, with many distinct dialects rather than one standard form, so matching the speaker's dialect is the central task on every booking. A large share of Romani work is refugee and asylum interpreting for claimants from Central and Eastern Europe, and speakers reach communities in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, Hamilton and other centres, served on site or by telephone and video nationwide.
Last reviewed September 6, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
The most important thing to tell us is where the speaker is from, because Romani dialects such as the Vlax varieties, Balkan Romani and the Carpathian group differ enough that an interpreter from the wrong background can miss detail. In an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing this can affect how a claimant's account is understood, so we match dialect and country carefully. Many Roma speakers are also fluent in the national language of their home country, such as Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak or Czech, and where a precise Romani match is limited that second language is sometimes the practical route.
We assign Romani interpreters for IRB refugee hearings, IRCC interviews, hospital and clinic visits under PHIPA and PIPEDA, legal-aid appointments and school and social-services meetings. The interpreter renders in the first person and keeps the speaker's own wording rather than summarising for the official. On-site interpreters attend in the main centres, and telephone or video covers appointments in smaller communities across Canada.
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.
Romani is predominantly a spoken language and has no single standard written form, so there is usually nothing to translate from Romani itself. Documents belonging to Roma applicants are in the official language of their home country, such as Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak or Czech, and the certified translation work is from that language to English rather than from Romani.
The records we translate are the ordinary civil documents of the applicant's country, birth, marriage and death certificates, court and police records and school documents, into English or French with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy from a certified translator, or a sworn affidavit before a commissioner of oaths where required. We are a private agency, not a court-appointed vendor, and acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution.
For documents rather than spoken interpreting, see certified Romani translation, our full Romani 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 Romani 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 Romani translation in the same cities:
Or browse every city we cover.
Romani is the language of the Roma people, with around 4 million speakers distributed across Europe - particularly in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Spain - plus diaspora communities in Canada. It's an Indo-Aryan language descended from ancestral languages of northern India, brought west during medieval Roma migration. The Romani-speaking community in Canada is small but distinctive, concentrated largely in the Toronto area, and has grown through waves of Roma refugee claimants from Central Europe. Our Romani translation work is occasional and typically tied to IRB refugee hearings, cultural, or community-association documents.
Tell us the speaker's country and community and we match the dialect, since Vlax, Balkan, Carpathian and other varieties differ. The right match matters most in refugee hearings, where detail can affect how testimony is understood.
Almost never. Romani has no single standard written form, so documents are in the official language of the home country, such as Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak or Czech. We translate those into English or French.
Yes. We assign Romani interpreters for IRB hearings and IRCC interviews, matched to the speaker's dialect, on site in the main centres or by phone and video across Canada, kept in the first person. We are a private agency, not court-appointed.
Where a precise Romani match is limited, many speakers are fluent in their country's national language, and an interpreter in that language can be a practical alternative. Tell us the situation and we advise on the best option.
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 Romani interpreter and a firm price.