The African Language Solutions Blog

One area it is clear to see the status of African languages becoming elevated is within education; Gauteng in South Africa has now made a bold move to preserve indigenous languages through the education system. According to many online reports, schools in will be at the forefront of a new language education policy in 2017 which…

We 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…

If 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…

Swaziland’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…

“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,…

Born to an Ethiopian father and a Turkish mother in Australia, Toltu Tufa, has now launched a publishing company from Australia that aims to revive the Oromo language. Growing up Toltu never understood why her father never discussed Oromo or his past in Ethiopia. As she grew older she discovered the reasons why.  The Oromo…

Mogadishu – the capital of Somalia – has ordered businesses to remove English-language signboards and to replace them with Somali language ones in order to protect the native language. In yet another strike against the languages of colonial times, this is another step in the revival of African languages. “Residents are required to remove signs written…

Some great news for the future of one of Africa’s languages: Algerian MPs have passed a package of reforms that include giving the Berber language official status. The language, also know as Amazigh, can now appear on official documents, although Arabic will remain the language of government. Although the language was recognised in 2002 as…

If Africans want their languages and cultures to survive, they have to make strides themselves and no expect others to help. If you want an example, look no further than UK based Nigerian, Adebunmi Adeniran, who has invented a keyboard to support and enable writing of at least 12 Nigerian languages. Adeniran, in a story by…

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, had recently called for more African users to upload content in African languages. Charlie Fripp from htxt.african investigates whether this has made any difference. At present there are over 5 million articles in the English language, 1.8 million in German, almost 1.3 million in Russian, and 1.2 million in Spanish and Italian….