Maithili Interpreter Services

Prism Linguistics provides Maithili interpreter services across the UK, often by video or telephone, with an interpreter in person where one can travel to you. Maithili comes from Bihar in India and southern Nepal, and a speaker can end up recorded as Hindi or Nepali, so we confirm the language first.

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

• UK-wide Maithili 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

For three censuses running, 1971, 1981 and 1991, India counted Maithili as a mother tongue inside Hindi. Only from 2001 did it appear as a scheduled language in its own right, and the Census of India 2011 language paper then recorded 13,583,464 people under the Maithili heading. That history matters when booking in the UK: a record that says Hindi may belong to someone who would rather speak Maithili.

Britain has no matching figure. The Census 2021 main-language table (TS024) gives a dozen South Asian languages their own line, and Maithili is not one of them. In October 2026 the language list on the NRPSI register search had no Maithili entry either. We plan every Maithili request as a rare-language search.

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

Maithili interpreting services supply a trained interpreter who carries spoken Maithili into English and English into Maithili while the conversation is happening, on a video link, over the phone or across a table. Like the rest of our interpreting services, it runs consecutively, turn by turn.

Maithili is now usually written in Devanagari, the script Hindi uses. When a consent form or discharge letter comes up mid-session, the interpreter reads the English and voices it in Maithili; a written Maithili copy is separate translation work.

English to Maithili interpreter (and Maithili to English)

You book one person, who works as an English to Maithili interpreter and a Maithili to English interpreter in the same session. Into English, the risk is that a courteous, indirect answer to a doctor or an officer comes out sounding vague or unwilling. Into Maithili, it is technical English: a word like biopsy or adjournment may need a short explanation, which the interpreter should flag.

The GOV.UK migrant health guide on interpretation says a professional interpreter should always be offered instead of family or friends, says children are inappropriate interpreters, and wants staff to note the patient's preferred spoken language with its dialect. For this group, that record should read Maithili.

Maithili court interpreters and HMCTS work

A Maithili court interpreter conveys every question, answer and ruling faithfully and impartially. According to GOV.UK's page on court and tribunal interpreters, criminal defendants are given one, while defence witnesses go through their solicitor. The family court supplies one in cases about children, forced marriage or domestic violence; the civil court, for committal and for claims to possess land or property. Some tribunals want the request made on the appeal form. Relatives can step in only if a judge has said yes in advance.

Solicitors may also need one for conferences, proofs of evidence and immigration statements (see legal interpreting). If a listing names Hindi or Nepali for a client who speaks Maithili, raise it with the court early, because whether another language will do is for the court and the speaker to settle. Prism Linguistics is a private language-services provider and does not present itself as a court-appointed supplier.

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

No official data shows which UK services Maithili speakers use, so these are the likely settings, starting with healthcare interpreting.

Maithili NHS interpreter: GP surgeries and hospital clinics

NHS England's guidance for commissioners covers interpreting in primary care, and the practice, not the patient, arranges it. Ask for Maithili to go on any referral.

Maithili medical interpreter: maternity and long-term illness

Antenatal visits and diabetes or blood-pressure reviews, where a new regime has to be followed at home.

Maithili police interpreter

Witness statements, victim care and interviews (see police interpreting). We check each force's vetting rules first.

Solicitors and immigration advisers

Statements where names and places in Bihar or Nepal must be checked, not guessed.

Councils and employers

Care assessments, housing interviews and school meetings; occasionally a workplace welfare meeting (see business interpreting).

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

For Maithili, start remote: it lets us use an interpreter from any part of the country. A video interpreter suits most clinics and legal meetings; a telephone interpreter covers short calls. Save face-to-face interpreting for hearings and sensitive meetings where being in the room changes the outcome.

Maithili interpreting modes at a glance

Mode	Best for	Typical notice
Maithili telephone interpreter	Booking changes, results, medication questions.	Two to three working days; sooner subject to availability
Maithili video interpreter	Outpatient reviews, solicitor meetings, social care assessments.	Two to three working days, subject to availability
Maithili face-to-face interpreter	Court days, safeguarding meetings, anyone who struggles with a screen.	Ten working days or more, and not every location

Lead times for Maithili bookings

No census line and no register entry means no visible local pool, so each Maithili job begins with a nationwide search. If the date is close, we will usually propose video and keep looking for an attended interpreter in parallel.

Qualified, professional Maithili interpreters: what to look for

Where a language has no register category, the questions you ask matter more. Put these to whoever you book:

DPSI (Diploma in Public Service Interpreting)

A Level 6, Ofqual-regulated qualification from CIOL Qualifications. CIOL's DPSI page warns that some languages need a minimum number of candidates to run, so ask which language and specialism an interpreter was examined in. A Hindi or Nepali pass is evidence of skill, not of Maithili.

NRPSI listing

Since the register search offers no Maithili, an interpreter may be listed under another language or not at all. Ask which.

Enhanced DBS

Expect to need it for custody suites, children's services and many ward-based assignments.

Maithili as a home language

Ask whether they grew up speaking it, and how many interpreted appointments they have done in Maithili itself.

Every Maithili interpreter we assign is professionally qualified and background-checked. Hearings get someone court-experienced, with Enhanced DBS where the setting requires it.

Maithili dialects and varieties: why it matters at booking

Maithili has its own ISO 639-3 code, mai, and is classed as an individual living language, not a dialect of Hindi. The labels around it are untidy, though. India's 2011 census filed Thati and Tharu returns under its Maithili heading alongside plain Maithili, while Angika and Bajjika have separate ISO codes (anp and vjk for Bajjika). Someone may call their speech by any of these names.

So book by the person, not the label: tell us their home district, in India or Nepal, and what they call their language. Only the speaker can say whether a second language such as Hindi or Nepali is strong enough for a consent discussion or a statement.

How to book or hire a Maithili interpreter

Tell us the brief

Send the date, start time, expected length and venue or video link, what the appointment is for, where the speaker grew up and whether they also use Hindi or Nepali, plus any preference for a woman or a man.

We match and price

We search nationally for a Maithili interpreter who fits the setting, say at once if only remote cover is realistic, and quote a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours.

Confirm and the interpreter attends

Once you agree, the interpreter is briefed and then dials in, logs on or travels to the venue; public bodies and law firms are invoiced, and private clients pay by card.

Book a Maithili interpreter

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

For most people, a Maithili interpreter near me will turn out to be a video call, and that is no bad thing. Official statistics do not show where Maithili is spoken in Britain, and we will not guess at hotspots. Remote sessions reach anywhere in the UK; attended cover is arranged case by case, travel quoted up front.

How much does a Maithili interpreter cost in the UK?

What you pay for a Maithili interpreter depends on the mode, the length, how much notice we get, travel and the setting. Our 2026 price guide sets attended interpreting at £40 to £75 hourly, travel extra, for at least two hours (three in court). Telephone is £1.10 to £2.50 a minute; video, £60 to £120 per 30-minute session. Maithili, as a rare language, prices towards the upper end, and travel can outweigh the interpreting fee. Send the quote form and a fixed figure comes back, normally within the hour during UK office hours.

NHS appointment? The NHS service you are seeing should offer and book the interpreter, so ask them before paying anyone.

Confidentiality and GDPR for Maithili interpreting

Anything said in a Maithili session stays confidential, and personal data is handled in line with UK GDPR. With so few interpreters, a client may fear the one we send knows their relatives; mention it and we will look for someone unconnected, by video if needed.

Need a Maithili translator instead?

Interpreters handle speech. For a document, such as a birth record coming into English or a care plan going into Maithili, see Maithili translation services or Maithili document translation, and the Maithili language services page for the full range.

Maithili interpreting FAQs

How much does a Maithili interpreter cost in the UK?

In person it is 40 to 75 pounds hourly with travel on top, by phone 1.10 to 2.50 pounds per minute, and by video 60 to 120 pounds per half hour, on our 2026 guide. Expect the upper end for Maithili. Send the details and we return a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours.

How quickly can you book a Maithili interpreter?

Allow two to three working days for a Maithili telephone or video interpreter and ten working days or more for one in person. Sooner is occasionally possible, subject to availability, though the pool is small and each request starts as a national search.

Are your Maithili interpreters qualified for court and tribunal work?

For hearings we send court-experienced Maithili interpreters, all professionally qualified and background-checked. The NRPSI register has no Maithili category, so ask which language any interpreter is registered or examined in. We are a private agency, not a court-appointed supplier.

Do you provide Maithili interpreters for NHS appointments?

Yes, for GP practices, hospital clinics and community teams, often by video or telephone. The NHS service, not the patient, should arrange the interpreter, so ask it to book Maithili by name and to record Maithili, not Hindi or Nepali, as the language.

Can I book a Maithili interpreter by telephone or video?

Yes. For Maithili, remote is often the realistic choice, as the interpreter can be based anywhere in the UK; phone suits brief calls and video longer or sensitive ones.

Can I request a female Maithili interpreter?

Yes. Ask when you book, especially for maternity or gynaecology; more notice and openness to video make it easier to confirm.

Do you interpret both Maithili to English and English to Maithili?

Yes. One interpreter covers both directions throughout the session.

Will a Hindi or Nepali interpreter do for a Maithili speaker?

Only if the speaker says so, and then mainly for short, routine matters. A Maithili speaker may also know Hindi or Nepali, but for consent, evidence or mental health work a Maithili interpreter is the safer booking.

About the Maithili language

Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language that Glottolog places in the Bihari group and records in India and Nepal. Its traditional script is Tirhuta, which the Unicode Standard says remained the main way of writing Maithili until Devanagari replaced it in the late twentieth century; Tirhuta is still seen on signs in Darbhanga and other north Bihar districts. The same text describes Maithili as the second most spoken language in Nepal.