Oxfam has been making headlines a while ago and all for the wrong reasons which is very ironic given the fact that this is a combination of about 17 charitable organisations operating in 90 countries including African countries like Nigeria, yet one would think it is only mentioned for bringing relief to those marred with disasters.
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At times the language in a host country of an expat happens to be his mother tongue or one he speaks as well even if it’s not their mother tongue. For example American expats in East Africa are set for a great start in their new country because English is not only their native language but also an official language in countries there like in Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.
The exact number of expats in Africa is not known however, it is estimated that Africa has the largest number of expats with Nigeria leading with the highest paid expats when it comes to the African continent with an ever increasing surge in this direction. This thought to be so because of the natural resources that most of these African countries are blessed with e.g. coal, oil,
Then there are those expats who are sent to countries where there is no common language but still have to bear for work purposes with the help of other professionals like interpreters and translators.
In both cases though, a new language/languages are acquired whether by only learning a few of the beginners’ words like greeting phrases, goodbyes or asking for directions and so forth. Even for the ones where their mother tongue happens to be an official language in their African host country, there is still influence from indigenous languages especially through interaction with locals.
For example, at the source of the Nile in Uganda, T-Shirts with a “I am not Mzungu” slogan targeting expats are sold at such a strategic point where they usually flock to admire the source of the world’s longest river; the river Nile. This phrase Mzungu refers to a white person when loosely translated and is usually belted out by kids when they see an expat, tourist or native with a white complexion.
If it is about the casual stuff like hanging out with the locals at the bars, cinemas, music festivals, tour trips or the beach, then haggling with natives in a foreign language maybe harmless and such scenes are usually accompanied by bouts of hearty laughter as both sides try to understand what the other is saying.
However, on a serious note, if it is work related then professionalism should be a priority and in cases where there is no mutual language then professional translation services ought to be hired. This is because communication is vital and more importantly if it has to do with anything professional.
There are so many translation related services and can be chosen according to the nature of an expat’s work.
Interpreting services
Medical document translation services
Online marketing translation services
Immigration translation services
Security breaches
Poor infrastructure
Corruption
Bureaucracy
Lack of proper medical care
Cultural shock
It is actually very exciting that an African language is featured in this revolutionary movie. Why revolutionary? Finally, may blacks admit that they feel a fair representation especially because part from the biggest number of the cast being black, the majority of those have dark skin tons which is rarely the case as blacks with lighter skin tons usually feature in the mainstream movie industry.
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France coercing Joseph Kabila to pull out of the coming presidential polls to take place in Congo while in the southern part of the continent, the ANC party members which is the ruling party in South Africa voting to oust the incumbent Jacob Zuma as the country’s president thus gaining it’s name, Zexit thus the phrase when Africa’s Leaders hold onto power.
Continue reading “Have you heard of the Zexit? When Africa’s Leaders hold onto power.”
Lingua francas are those languages that are used for communication by people in different communities who do not speak the same languages. Such languages are usually not their first languages and in rare instances not formal languages too.
Usually these are put in place to solve the communication barriers as common ground since everyone involved seems to have a first language that it different from the others. It should be noted that such languages are very important in Africa because African countries have plenty of indigenous languages for example, Nigeria is estimated to have more than 500 indigenous languages while Uganda has about 53.
Swahili happens to be the lingua franca in a number of countries in Africa where it serves as on in a country but also as a lingua franca for a number of countries. For example, as much as Swahili is a lingua franca in the whole of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, the east of Uganda and some parts of Zambia too. This languages still can be called the lingua franca of all those countries put together.
Afrikaans came up as a common language to ease communication especially with the white rule in South Africa although its importance has waned over the years with important institutions that were named in Afrikaans having their names changed to English. However Afrikaans holds a special place in Namibia to date with the language being common in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.
Arabic and its various varieties is the lingua franca of so many African countries majorly found in the North and in the horn of the continent and the countries here include Ethiopia, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Djibouti, both Sudan and South Sudan, Libya, Chad, Tanzania etc.
When it comes to West Africa, there are several languages too that act as lingua francas to certain communities of people and these are;
Wolof
Manding
Hausa
Krio etc.
It should be noted that there are the famous lingua francas in Africa that came about as a result of European scramble and partition of the countries and these are Portuguese, English, a little German, Spanish and French. A further uniting factor here is professional translation services that bring about more effective communication when it comes to languages one cannot understand and with no lingua franca to act as a middle ground.
