Behdini Interpreter

Prism Language Solutions supplies Behdini (Badini) Kurdish interpreters for asylum and USCIS interviews, court and attorney work, and hospital or clinic appointments across the United States, in person where a Behdini interpreter is based near the venue and by phone or video everywhere else. Behdini is the Kurmanji Kurdish of Duhok province in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and we book it specifically rather than sending whichever Kurdish interpreter is free.

Requests that say only Kurdish are the ones we call back about first. Kurdish covers several varieties, and an Iraqi Kurdish client could need Behdini, from Duhok, Zakho, Amedi and the surrounding districts, or Sorani, from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Those two are not interchangeable in a hearing room, whatever the booking system says.

• Certified translations prepared to meet USCIS requirements
• Human linguists only, matched to the subject
• Fixed written quote within 60 minutes in business hours
• One office in New York, linguists in every state

Behdini, Kurmanji or Sorani Interpreter?

Behdini is a form of Kurmanji, the northern Kurdish of Turkey and Syria, and the two understand each other well. It still has its own vocabulary and verb endings, borrows more from Arabic and Sorani, and is written in an Arabic-based script where Kurmanji in Turkey and Syria uses Latin letters. A Kurmanji interpreter experienced with Duhok speakers can serve; we tell you when that is what we are sending. See Kurmanji interpreter.

Sorani is a different matter. It has lost the grammatical gender and noun cases that Behdini keeps, and a Sorani interpreter facing a Duhok witness will follow the outline and miss the detail. Sending one in place of the other only looks like a match on a spreadsheet. If your client turns out to speak Sorani, the right booking is a Sorani interpreter, and our general Kurdish interpreter page explains how we sort the varieties.

Behdini Interpreter for Asylum and Refugee Interviews

Asylum and refugee-related interviews are where most Behdini work begins. The applicant describes what happened in a village outside Duhok or in a displacement camp, and the officer compares today's answers with a statement filed months earlier. Put a Sorani or mismatched interpreter in that chair and the gaps get filled with guesses; one wrong guess reads as a contradiction in the file.

Our Behdini interpreters render each answer as it was spoken, hesitations included, and do not explain or improve anything. The asylum applicant supplies the interpreter at an affirmative interview, and 8 CFR 208.9(g) excludes the applicant's attorney, representative, witnesses and employees of the Iraqi government; a bilingual cousin is a poor choice anyway. More at USCIS interview interpreting.

Behdini Court Interpreter and Immigration Case Work

Behdini, like every other Kurdish variety, has no state court certification exam. A judge who needs the language qualifies the interpreter on the record, and we supply the interpreter's background with the booking so that step is brief. State court requests cover criminal and family matters, protective orders and depositions.

In immigration court the hearing interpreter comes from the court. Attorneys use our Behdini interpreters around the hearing: client preparation, declaration review, detention visits and witness interviews. Raising the variety with the court early, Behdini rather than Sorani, gives it the best chance of finding the right person for the hearing itself. See court interpreting.

Behdini Medical Interpreter Instead of an Arabic Default

Hospitals often assume an Iraqi patient speaks Arabic and route the call to an Arabic line. Some patients are comfortable with that; for others Arabic is a school language, or no language at all, and a consent conversation in it is not informed consent. The patient or family should ask for Behdini by name, and the provider should ask the patient rather than read the passport.

Any hospital or clinic receiving federal financial assistance owes a Behdini-speaking patient language assistance at no cost, and may not rely on an accompanying adult except in an emergency or at the patient's request. Video remote interpreting handles consultations and specialist reviews. A mental health assessment, a birth or a discharge conversation gets a Behdini interpreter in person whenever one is within reach.

Behdini Interpreter Scheduling and Cost

Remote Behdini sessions can often be set up within a day. In-person sessions in Nashville and other places with established Iraqi Kurdish communities need a few days of notice; elsewhere, plan on video or on travel costs. In-person Behdini work is quoted against a guide of $45 to $95 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and the pricing page lists the guide figures. The written quote is the price.

The quote form asks for the date, venue, length and setting; add the client's home district in Iraq, and a fixed quote follows within 60 minutes during business hours. Urgent requests reach the intake desk at +1 (833) 282 8883 around the clock. Iraqi civil records in Arabic and any Behdini letters in a Kurdish file are handled on Behdini translation.

Questions we get asked