The African Language Solutions Blog

Interesting news from the US Army that it is currently developing a  handheld translation device that can be used by soldiers in in foreign countries, starting with Africa. According to an article from army.mil, the device, named SQ.410 Translation System, currently works with nine languages. It is worn on a soldier’s chest and can be used without a…

OK Yoruba might not yet be a “global” language such as the likes of English, Spanish or Chinese, but an academic in the USA has (rightfully in our opinion) stated that it is definitely becoming more important. Dr. Akinloye Ojo, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia, Atlanta, USA, in a recent…

Linguists from Boise State in Idaho (USA) are joining forces to help preserve languages from Somalia from potential extinction. Michal Temkin Martinez and Jon Dayley are currently in the process of compiling the first-ever Somali Chizigula-English dictionary which they hope will be used by native speakers and linguists. The project will hopefully secure the future of…

Facebook’s growing investment and interest in Africa has received some heavyweight publicity of late. The social media site has also opened an office in South Africa from where it aims to increase its audience across the continent. We have been tracking Facebook’s involvement in Africa for the past few years. Their Internet.org project is helping…

In an indication of the growing demand for Hausa language content, The BBC has announced it will introduce advertising to its Hausa language websites, as part of a wider strategy to commercialise its foreign language news sites. From statements made by The BBC it is clear they have identified the region as holding huge potential….

On this blog we have long been tracking the increased calls for African languages to reclaim their places within education systems. In South Africa, as part of a new African languages policy by the Department of Basic Education, South African schools will soon be teaching African languages as part of the curriculum. We strongly believe…

The Guardian, UK, is reporting a fascinating story of a 95-year-old woman who is helping in a last ditch effort to preserve an ancient African language very close to extinction. According to the newspaper, Hanna Koper and her two sisters are thought to be the last remaining speakers of the San language N|uu, which is…

A Kenyan street language is helping to reduce tribal tensions and unite young people. So impressed are observers of the language’s influence that a social media platform promoting it will form the crux of a presentation at this year’s eLearning Africa conference. If you follow our blogs you might have come across the language before…

We talk a lot on this blog about the need to localize content for the African market; mobile phone company Airtel have recently announced they are partnering with an App store developer to bring more of such content to Malawi. Airtel Malawi has made an agreement with neXva, who provide white labelled app stores, to help…

The Ugandan government is being helped by Cambridge academics to understand an urban language that was originally used as code by criminals – but is now being used among Ugandan youth. Many of the country’s cool kids now speak Luyaaye rather than the traditional native languages of Kiswahili, English and Luganda. Originally Luyaaye was a…