Levantine Arabic translator

Levantine Arabic (Shami) is the spoken vernacular of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, with its own vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA / Fusha) is the written formal standard in which official documents are drafted; no one speaks it as a native tongue. For interpreting you work with the Levantine dialect, for document translation with written MSA. We confirm up front what you need.

Yes. Ecrivus is a Levantine Arabic translation agency: we provide interpreting for the spoken Levantine and document translation through written Modern Standard Arabic. We pair you with a specialist who recognises the right sub-variety and arrange certification — a signed statement of accuracy — where an authority requires it.

Certified document translation runs through written Modern Standard Arabic, because official certificates and diplomas from the Levant are almost always drafted in MSA. The UK has no sworn-translator institute, so for official acceptance we provide certified translation: a signed and dated statement of accuracy. Where a body asks for more, this can be escalated to notarisation by a solicitor or notary public, or to an apostille through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). We confirm the level your receiving authority requires in the quote.

Yes. These sub-varieties of Levantine differ in pronunciation and word choice. Particularly in asylum and healthcare settings we match the interpreter to the speaker's origin, so the nuance comes across. We confirm that matching up front.

We work with native specialist translators and interpreters and reference the recognised UK professional bodies — the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting), the CIOL (Chartered Institute of Linguists) and, for interpreting, the NRPSI (National Register of Public Service Interpreters). These are bodies of reference for the profession; we name them so you can see the standard the work is held to.

On working days you receive a reply within 1 hour. The lead time for a translation, or the scheduling of an interpreting assignment, depends on document type, volume, the variety required and any certification, and is confirmed in the quote rather than promised as a fixed turnaround.

A translation agency takes the coordination off your hands. We assess whether you need an interpreter for the spoken dialect or a document translation in MSA, select the specialist who fits the speaker's origin and the document, and arrange certification, notarisation or legalisation where an authority requires it. You keep one point of contact for variety, terminology, scheduling and delivery, all under a single quote. A skilled freelance interpreter or translator does excellent work too; the difference an agency adds is bringing those moving parts together so you are not managing them separately.