Cantonese predominates in New York’s older, longer-established Chinese communities — Manhattan’s Chinatown, Sunset Park and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn — reflecting earlier migration from Guangdong and Hong Kong.
A detail most agencies miss: a meaningful share of older Chinatown residents speak Toishanese (Taishanese), a variety from Taishan county that is not readily intelligible to a standard Cantonese speaker. Elderly witnesses in particular may be far more comfortable in Toishanese. If an examination goes badly with a Cantonese interpreter, this is often why.
Cantonese speakers generally use traditional characters in writing, relevant for evidentiary translation. As with Mandarin, family-name-first ordering creates recurring identity confusion in files.
Common contexts
Personal injury, restaurant and construction workplace injuries, workers’ compensation, depositions, elder care and medical appointments.
Coverage and availability
- In person: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk). We also take in-person assignments in New Jersey and Connecticut
- Remote: phone or video interpreting, available nationwide
- Short notice: accepted
- Hours: 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week
Why firms keep calling us
- 25+ years interpreting in New York legal and medical settings
- NAJIT member — National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators
- 5.0 stars on Google across 17 reviews
- Trusted by attorneys, carriers, SIU teams, and healthcare providers
Book an interpreter
Call (718) 496-9129 or email inquiries@interpret.agency — available 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Most bookings take under two minutes.
Related services
- Deposition interpreters in NYC
- Examination under oath (EUO) interpreters
- 50-h hearing interpreters
- Independent medical examination (IME) interpreters
- Field investigation interpreters
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Other languages we interpret
Spanish · Mandarin · French · Korean · Arabic · Portuguese · Russian · Haitian Creole · Polish · Ukrainian · Albanian · Punjabi · Wolof · Uzbek · Hindi · Croatian · Soninke