Kanuri Language Translation Services

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Kanuri Translation

Overview

Kanuri is a challenging language. If you are working on a project which involves understanding or using the language, you need good linguists. That’s where we come in.

Through a network built over a decade, we have built a team of linguists from across Africa. As a result we are able to offer you a number of services and solutions.

Please contact one of the team to talk through your requirements; we can then best advise you as to the next possible steps.

If Kanuri is new to you, get up to scratch in seconds with the quick guide below.

Quick Facts
  • Alternate names & spellings:  none.
  • Language ISO code: kau
  • Number of speakers: 4 million
  • Writing system:   Latin alphabet
  • Spoken in: Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
About Kanuri

The Kanuri language, spoken mainly in Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon, is a Western Saharan language that belongs to the Nilo-Saharan branch family. It is closely related to Kanembu, spoken in Chad. The language it is also spoken in Chad and also by some small communities in Libya and Sudan.

The language is one of the most important national languages of Nigeria, where it has been selected among other 11 languages for being implemented in the Universal Primary Education Program and in Niger, where it is one of the five national languages being included in the primary program of educational reform.

Today Kanuri it is not only used in Nigeria and Niger schools for instructing, but also it can be studied until PhD level in both countries.

There is currently a standardized Romanized orthography known as Standard Kanuri Ortography in Nigeria developed during the 1970s and approved in 1975. However, in the seventeenth century the language was written I the Arabic alphabet.

Kanuri dialects:
  • Nigeria: Maiduguri, Sugurti, Mober and Manga.
  • Niger: Kanembu dialects, Mober and Manga.
  • Chad:  a wide range of Kanembu dialects.

Bilma, Dagera, Manga, Mobar and Yerwa are the main common dialects spoken in Nigeria and Niger. The Mang and Daguera dialects are mutually intelligible, even though completely different from Mobar and Yerwa Kanuri dialects.

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