Chaochow Interpreter

Prism Language Solutions supplies Chaochow (Teochew) interpreters for hospital and hospice appointments, naturalization and other USCIS interviews, guardianship and probate hearings and depositions anywhere in the United States, in person, by phone and by video. Teochew is a Southern Min language that Mandarin and Cantonese speakers cannot follow, so we book it by name rather than as Chinese. Request a quote at /quote or call +1 (833) 282 8883.

Chaochow is the older English spelling of Teochew, the language of the Chaoshan coast of eastern Guangdong around Shantou and Chaozhou. More than ten million people of Chaoshan descent live outside China, and in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos they form the largest Chinese group of all. Some Teochew-speaking families in the United States came by way of Cambodia, Vietnam or Thailand rather than directly from China, so ask where the person lived before arriving.

• 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

Chaochow, Teochew, Chiu Chow: Booking the Right Interpreter

Families use several names for the same language: Teochew, Chiu Chow, Chaozhou, and Swatow after the old name of the port of Shantou. Any of them on a booking reaches the same interpreters. What we check is whether Teochew is really the language in the room, because a family from Chaoshan that spent three generations in Phnom Penh may speak Khmer at home now.

Teochew carries eight tones and is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Cantonese, and only partly with Hokkien. A Cantonese-speaking grandson helping his Teochew-speaking grandmother is guessing at part of what she says. For anything that goes on a chart or a transcript, book a Cantonese interpreter only if Cantonese is genuinely her strongest language.

Chaochow Interpreter for Naturalization Under the Age Exemption

Naturalization is the main USCIS setting for Teochew. USCIS exempts from the English requirement anyone filing at 50 or older after 20 years as a permanent resident, or at 55 or older after 15 years, and that person may take the civics test in their own language. USCIS requires that applicant to bring an interpreter fluent in English and that language, and a Cantonese speaker will not satisfy an officer who hears the applicant struggling.

Our Chaochow interpreters put each civics question across as asked and give the officer the answer as spoken, without prompting. Adjustment interviews for parents follow the same discipline. See USCIS interview interpreting.

Chaochow Medical Interpreter in Hospitals and Hospice

Hospital work is the bulk of what we book in this language: a consultation, discharge planning, a psychiatric evaluation, a hospice conversation. Federally funded providers owe the patient free language assistance under 45 CFR 92.201, and the family should ask for Teochew by name, because a generic Chinese request produces a Mandarin interpreter every time.

Video is the workable default when so few Teochew interpreters live in any one city, and it can usually be set up quickly. A capacity assessment or an end-of-life discussion is different, and there we look for an interpreter to attend in person. See medical interpreting.

Chaochow Families from Cambodia and Vietnam: Interpreter Matching

A Teochew speaker who grew up in Cambodia or southern Vietnam may mix Khmer or Vietnamese words into Teochew, and may be more fluent in those languages than the family realizes. We ask where the person lived before arriving, which languages they use with their children, and which they would choose for a difficult conversation. Sometimes the honest answer is a Vietnamese interpreter, and we say so.

Where a family came through Southeast Asia, the documents in the file are often Cambodian, Vietnamese or Thai rather than Chinese. That side of the case sits on the Chaochow translation page.

Chaochow Court Interpreter for Guardianship and Probate

Courtroom Teochew follows the age profile: guardianship of an elderly parent, probate, elder financial abuse, a deposition in a dispute over a family restaurant or wholesale business. Teochew has no state certification exam, so the court qualifies the interpreter on the record after questioning. We brief the clerk beforehand and arrange video where no Teochew interpreter is based near the courthouse. See court interpreting.

Chaochow Interpreter by Video: Lead Time and Cost

Tell us the date, the setting, where the speaker grew up and whether video is acceptable. The quickest route is usually video remote interpreting; an in-person Teochew interpreter needs more notice outside the largest Chinese communities. On-site rates typically run $45 to $95 an hour as a US market guide, with a two-hour minimum, and the written quote you receive is the price.

Questions we get asked