Translation Africa Blog - Languages
Nigerian Soldiers Ordered to Learn Local Languages
06/12/2017According to a letter published on the BBC news website, Nigerian soldiers are now expected to learn local languages in order to improve relations with the population and mend bridges. The editor-in-chief of Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper, Mannir Dan Ali, in his article highlights that the new regulation gives serving soldiers one year to learn…
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BBC Targets Ethiopia and Eritrea With More African Languages
20/09/2017The BBC is on a roll when it comes to African languages! Its has now announced it is adding even more languages to its news service in Africa, this time to attract users from Ethiopia and Eritrea. The latest localization move see the launch of three news websites in Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language, Afaan Oromo,…
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BBC Adds Seven More African Languages
19/05/2017The BBC has announced that it will launch 11 new language services in 2017 as part of an expansion project – 7 of the languages are African! The new languages are Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya, Igbo, Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin. This is great and exciting news for the development of African languages. Why these African…
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French Language to Become Compulsory for Schools in Ghana
19/05/2017Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that he has given the go-ahead for the process to start on examining how to implement the teaching of French in the Ghanaian education system, from primary to senior high school education levels. “We’ll want to make French a compulsory language in our schools right until the…
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Lingala Spoken on Pitches of English Premier League
02/11/2016Believe it or not, but Lingala has now joined the many languages spoken on the pitches and during the matches of the English Premier League (EPL)! The recent move of Yannick Bolasie to Everton FC has seen him team up with Romelu Lukaku. The former Crystal Palace man has revealed in an interview with the…
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Kiswahili Translation in Kenya
27/06/2016The Kenyan government has given Kiswahili translation services a massive injection of hope as it has launched a new language policy which includes compulsory translations for official documents. On June 21, 2016, Kenyan media broke the news that the government has launched the language policy as part of a wider plan of creating social cohesion. State-run…
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More Calls to Make Kiswahili official EAL Language
06/06/2016We reported before how there is a growing call for Kiswahili to become a recognised official language of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA); a Tanzanian member has now reiterated the call. Ms Shy-Rose Bhanji reportedly urged the Council of Ministers, “to take the request to the EAC Heads of State and the current Chair of…
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Language Will Lead Afrobeats to Global Success
06/05/2016If you aren’t aware of the current rise in Afrobeats music across the globe, then you’ve probably been hiding under a musical rock. Afrobeats is now spreading its wings beyond Africa and the diaspora to becoming a global sound – how is language contributing to this success? WHAT IS AFROBEATS? Afrobeats is essentially a modern…
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UNESCO Warn SiSwati Language is in Danger
04/04/2016Swaziland’s only indigenous language, SiSwati, is is in danger of extinction by the end of this century, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has warned. In order to highlight the plight of lesser known languages, UNESCO have launched an interactive electronic catalogue containing some 2, 500 endangered languages worldwide. You can visit…
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Working Mums Nigeria Help to Save African Languages
26/02/2016“Working Moms, others partner to save African languages” – yes that is the headline! The momentum in people across Africa coming out and stating they want to prioritize African languages, embrace them and save them continues. February 21 saw International Day of Mother Language and in an attempt to stop the extinction of African languages,…
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