Damara Interpreter Services

We arrange Damara interpreter services UK-wide for speakers of Khoekhoegowab, the Namibian language that Damara and Nama people share. Because so few interpreters work in it, video or telephone is usually the realistic option. Solicitors, NHS teams, police and councils can book, and we tell you at the outset whether an in-person interpreter is realistic.

Get a Damara interpreter quote or call +44 (0) 20 3880 6688

• UK-wide Damara cover
• Face-to-face, telephone or video
• Fixed quote, usually within the hour (office hours)
• Published price ranges
• Since 2017

Settings we interpret in NHS and private healthcare · courts and tribunals · police · local authorities · solicitors · businesses · private appointments

How we work UK GDPR · client terms · published price ranges · purchase-order invoicing for NHS and public bodies

Damara is not catalogued as a language in its own right. The international standard, ISO 639-3 code naq, files it under Khoekhoe, also listed as Nama (Namibia), and Namibians call the written language Khoekhoegowab. Damara speech is one dialect of it. If a form, a GP referral or a solicitor's file just says Damara, that is the language to ask for.

What we cannot give you is a count of speakers in Britain. The 2021 Census main-language table for England and Wales has no Khoekhoe, Nama or Damara category. Any speakers were not counted separately, and we will not guess at a number.

Damara interpreting services: face-to-face, telephone and video

Damara interpreting services put a professional interpreter between a Khoekhoegowab speaker and an English speaker so that both follow every turn, across a desk, on a phone line or by video. The work is almost always consecutive: a point is made, then rendered.

It is one strand of our wider interpreting services, and with a language this rarely requested here, we check supply before quoting, looking for someone who speaks Khoekhoegowab at home, ideally the Damara variety.

English to Damara interpreter (and Damara to English)

An English to Damara interpreter carries speech in both directions during the same session: your English into Khoekhoegowab and the client's answers back into English.

English is Namibia's official language under Article 3 of the Namibian Constitution, so a Damara-speaking client may well hold a conversation in English. Getting by in a shop is not the same as following a consent form, though. Where that gap exists, GOV.UK guidance on interpreting for migrant patients says to offer a professional interpreter rather than family or friends, never to use a child, and to check the preferred dialect or variety.

Damara court interpreters and HMCTS work

A Damara court interpreter puts every question and answer across in full, without tidying or advising. Under the GOV.UK page on interpreters at courts and tribunals, the court supplies one to a criminal defendant, in family cases about children, domestic violence or forced marriage, and in civil possession or committal hearings; some tribunals want the request made on the appeal form. A relative can step in only if the judge agrees in advance.

Conferences and witness statements before a hearing are booked privately by solicitors through our legal interpreting team, usually by video for a language this rare. Prism Linguistics is a private language-services provider and does not present itself as a court-appointed supplier.

Damara interpreters for NHS, police, solicitors, councils and business

No public data shows which UK services Damara speakers use; these are the likeliest settings, led by immigration and healthcare interpreting.

Home Office and immigration advice

In July 2023 the government imposed a visa requirement on Namibian nationals. Its explanatory memorandum to HC 1715 said Namibians and Hondurans then ranked first among non-visa nationals for asylum claims. It gives no language breakdown, so it is context, not a measure of Damara demand.

Damara NHS interpreter for GP and hospital care

Registration, medication reviews, antenatal care. The GOV.UK guidance above makes the NHS provider responsible for interpreting, at no charge to the patient.

Damara medical interpreter in mental health

Longer assessments, where keeping the same interpreter across sessions helps.

Damara police interpreter

Victim and witness statements, or an interview under caution, through our police interpreting service.

Councils and schools

Housing, social care and safeguarding meetings, where everyday English may run out.

Business and government contacts

Uncommon, since English is Namibia's official language; our business interpreting team can advise.

Face-to-face, telephone or video: which one fits?

Remote is the sensible default for Damara. A video interpreter lets us use the closest match wherever they live, and a telephone interpreter covers short, practical calls. Face-to-face interpreting may not be available for some dates and places, and we say so early.

Damara interpreting modes at a glance

Mode	Best for	Typical notice
Damara telephone interpreter	Test results, appointment changes, a quick housing or benefits query.	Several working days; sooner only subject to availability
Damara video interpreter	Legal conferences, statements, therapy, remote interviews where faces help.	About a week, to find and confirm a match
Damara face-to-face interpreter	Hearings, vulnerable clients, sessions where a screen would get in the way.	Two weeks or more, and not always possible

Lead times for Damara bookings

Plan further ahead than for French or Arabic; Khoekhoegowab interpreters are few in the UK. Send a fixed deadline anyway, and the quote will say whether a Damara speaker can cover it, or whether video, or another language the client uses confidently, is safer. Home Office practice is similar: its caseworker guidance on asylum interviews allows an interview in another language the claimant is shown to be proficient in when no interpreter in the preferred one can be found.

Qualified, professional Damara interpreters: what to look for

A qualified, professional Damara interpreter is judged on paper and on fit. Reasonable questions for any interpreter or agency:

DPSI

CIOL Qualifications awards this Level 6 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting, Ofqual regulates it, and only some languages and options run. Ask which specialism and language they passed in; CIOL's DPSI overview explains the units.

NRPSI

NRPSI, the national register, lists interpreters who pass its published entry criteria. Check the language on the entry, since it may not be the one you need.

Enhanced DBS

Expected for many settings involving children or adults at risk.

Home language and variety

Did they grow up speaking Khoekhoegowab, and is their variety Damara, Nama or another?

Setting experience

Clinical, police or tribunal work, and how much of it.

On our side, court and tribunal bookings go to court-experienced interpreters, every Damara interpreter we offer is professionally qualified and background-checked, and Enhanced DBS is arranged where the setting requires.

Damara dialects and varieties: why it matters at booking

Damara, Nama and Haiǁom are dialects of one language, Khoekhoegowab, according to a 2024 paper in the Journal of the University of Namibia Language Centre. It is a tone language, the paper notes, the dialects differ mainly in tone, and the standard spelling, first published in 1970 and revised in 1977 and 2003, leaves tone unmarked by design.

A Nama-speaking interpreter may well suit a Damara client, though for evidence ask for the closer match. Sight translation needs care, as one spelling can carry different meanings depending on pitch. The language also uses click consonants. A 2023 study in the NAWA Journal of Language and Communication lists four basic clicks, written with a single bar, a double bar, a crossed double bar and an exclamation mark, so names should be spelled out for the record, not guessed.

How to book or hire a Damara interpreter

Tell us the brief

Give us the date, time, setting and length, the mode you want, the client's home area in Namibia if known, their other languages, and whether a female or male interpreter is preferred.

We match and price

We look for a Khoekhoegowab interpreter suited to the client and setting, then reply with a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours, and say whether attendance is feasible.

Confirm and the interpreter attends

When you confirm, the interpreter receives the joining link or venue details and the name of your contact on the day; individuals pay by card, while firms, NHS services and councils can be invoiced.

Book a Damara interpreter

Find a Damara interpreter near me: cities and towns across the UK

Booking a Damara interpreter near you works anywhere in the UK, but no official source shows where Khoekhoegowab speakers live here, so we name no places. On video, distance stops mattering. The city pages below cover local booking.

How much does a Damara interpreter cost in the UK?

The price of a Damara interpreter turns on the mode, duration, notice, any travel and the setting. Our published 2026 interpreting prices list telephone work at £1.10 to £2.50 a minute, video at £60 to £120 for each 30-minute session, and attendance at £40 to £75 an hour plus travel (two hours minimum, three at court). As a rare language, Damara sits at the higher end.

Travel can outweigh the rest when the interpreter is far off, so video often costs less. For a firm figure, our interpreter quote form brings back a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours.

Confidentiality and GDPR for Damara interpreting

Anything said through a Damara interpreter stays confidential, and we process personal data under UK GDPR. With a language this rarely interpreted, a client may worry that the interpreter knows their family; tell us and we will look for someone without ties to them.

Need a Damara translator instead?

Interpreting is spoken. For written material, see Damara translation services or Damara document translation, and check first whether the paper is in Khoekhoegowab or in English. Our Damara language services page shows the rest.

Damara interpreting FAQs

How much does a Damara interpreter cost in the UK?

Under our 2026 guide, telephone runs at 1.10 to 2.50 pounds a minute, video at 60 to 120 pounds for each 30-minute session and attendance at 40 to 75 pounds an hour plus travel, and rare languages such as Damara sit near the top. A quote request gets a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours, by email.

How quickly can you book a Damara interpreter?

Allow several working days for telephone and about a week for video, since finding a Khoekhoegowab speaker takes time. Faster cover is subject to availability. In-person attendance needs two weeks or more and cannot always be arranged.

Are your Damara interpreters qualified for court and tribunal work?

Court and tribunal bookings go to court-experienced interpreters who are professionally qualified and background-checked. Ask about DPSI or NRPSI status and the language it covers. We are a private provider, not a court-appointed supplier.

Do you provide Damara interpreters for NHS appointments?

Yes. GP practices, hospital outpatients, midwives and mental health teams can book us, usually by video. The NHS service books and pays, since GOV.UK guidance makes NHS providers responsible for free interpreting.

Can I book a Damara interpreter by telephone or video?

Yes, and for Damara it is normally the most reliable option, because we can use the best-matched Khoekhoegowab interpreter wherever they are based in the UK.

Can I request a female Damara interpreter?

You can ask and we will try, but the pool is very small, so we cannot promise it. In asylum interviews, Home Office guidance asks caseworkers to make every effort to meet a request for a male or female interviewer or interpreter.

Do you cover Damara interpreting across the whole UK?

Yes, in all four UK nations. Remote sessions reach anywhere, while attendance depends on whether a suitable interpreter can travel to you.

Is Damara the same language as Nama?

Broadly yes. Damara and Nama are dialects of Khoekhoegowab, which has one written standard and the ISO 639-3 code naq. A Nama interpreter can often work for a Damara speaker, though a closer match is worth asking for in legal work.

About the Damara language

Khoekhoegowab is a Khoesan language spoken in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and southern Angola, as the UNAM journal paper above records. In Namibia it is a school subject in its own right: the National Institute for Educational Development published a Khoekhoegowab first-language syllabus for Grades 8 and 9 in December 2024. Nobody has published a UK speaker count.