Why Legal Translations Are Necessary

It’s a well-known expression that knowledge is power. In fact Africa continues to limp simply because its people are not equipped intellectually and lack support to translate the available knowledge into tangible benefits. So instead of the governments in Africa investing more in building libraries and supporting the creative process, they invest more in building more prisons and buying guns and teargas to suppress dissent.

Now consider the developed world; people there know their rights and demand better services short of which the leaders are impeached or voted out without fear. It goes without saying that Uganda and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa can never attain the long-cherished dream of middle-income status without equipping its people to know and stand for their rights.

The need to translate the constitution

The first step in equipping Ugandans to know their rights and play their role as responsible citizens is give them the constitution. It is the mandate of the government to make the constitution accessible in both print and audio versions and in all languages that cover this multi-ethnic nation so that everyone can read it and understand it, while those who cannot read can access it in audio format in their mother tongues. If the government can do that, then people will know their rights; they will know that they pay taxes so that the government can deliver services and when the latter fails as it has often, then people can rise up and demand accountability from the rulers. Thus the need to translate not only the constitution but also the penal code and other legislative and executive literature is paramount. Thus legal translations are quintessential and essential if Uganda is to achieve Vision 2030.

Translation services can also be provided in number of languages within different African countries such as;

Tigrinya translation services

Somali Translation services

Malagasy Translation services

Yoruba Translation services

Chewa Translation services

Wolof Translation services

Kinyarwanda translation services.

All the above may also apply to a specific genre of work or expertise and this could be Financial translations, Court Interpreting and conference interpreting, Educational translations, Immigration translations etc.

Is African Languages Blogging Even Possible?

African Languages Blogging is so rare and therefore sites like Jamii Forum, a Tanzanian based site that engages with its visitors in the Swahili language has become popular because it is not an everyday thing.

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Is African Languages Blogging Even Possible?

Why African Countries Undergo Name changes

So on Wednesday last week the last absolute monarch of Africa; king Mswati of Swaziland stated during a gathering in a stadium marking the nation’s 50th year of independence that he had changed the name of the country from Swaziland to eSwati meaning the land of the Swazis when translated from Swazi, joining other African Countries that have done so already.

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Why the English Language Should Not Eclipse Uganda’s Local Languages

Has it ever occurred to you that the fact that we have different complexions and speak different languages is a testament to God’s love and appreciation of diversity? It is amazing that there are an estimated 6000 languages spoken around the world, but what’s alarming is that 40% of these languages face the threat of extinction unless everything is done to protect and preserve them.

For that matter, UNESCO should always be lauded and applauded for coming up with the International Mother Language Day which has been observed annually since 2000 to promote multilingualism and protect all mother languages worldwide.

One East African language?

Here in Uganda, it’s a shame that some schools still punish students who are caught speaking their mother tongues. This is because such schools insist on English language being the language of expression. What they forget is that although English is recognized as the official national language, it can never take the place of the mother tongue especially in a multi-ethnic nation where over forty (40) indigenous languages are spoken.

At a time like this when the trumpet of the East African Federation is sounding, it is better to ditch English and make Luganda and Swahili the national and East African official languages respectively since the two languages are popular and would push for the cause of the East Africa integration as well as give us regional identity.

Need for a national language policy

Otherwise a language policy needs to be passed by the national assembly whereby local languages become the medium of instruction as was the case back then, at least up to upper primary schools. For creative artists, the better language to write in and generally express themselves in is their mother tongue. That is why musicians like Paulo Kafeero, Elly Wamala and the Afrigo Band are legendary because of the mastery of their first language—Luganda in which they sung about things that their listeners could relate to.

According to UNESCO, “Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.”

Let us therefore continue to promote our mother tongues by writing in them, speaking them, and translating our popular books into local languages. Thus we need more African legal language translators, African Financial translations, African conference interpreters and translation services from Somalia to Ghana translation services to keep the dream of African languages alive.

Why Professional Translations are vital for African Indigenous Languages

Being a linguist is an advantage in Africa as it makes life easier for one as they get to interact more efficiently with less limits unlike for those who only speak one or two African indigenous languages. This is because Africa alone is estimated to have between 1500 to 2000 languages alone.

Having good command of the English language may not be enough in Africa as there are parts where it is Portuguese, French or Arabic working as an official language or second language of the people making communication almost impossible.

Importance of Translation for African Indigenous languages

Like pointed out earlier that Africa has more than 1500 languages, translation is a very important aspect here so as to carry out day to day businesses and to generally run the continent. Translation is important because it eases communication and therefore forges unity among the African countries. That is why interpretation is available at summits, gatherings and meetings with the African Union summits being a very good example because here we see delegates wearing headsets a sign that there are interpreters in the background passing on information to them in the languages they understand best.

However it should be noted that that the translation services ought to be professional especially if it comes to official gatherings, business or if the field involved is a serious one and such fields include; Medical, Academic, Construction, Finance to mention a few. This means one ought to hire a reputable service provider looking at specific attributes.

What to look out for in a Translations Service Provider

Experience; the service provider should have recommendations from official organizations or individuals to ascertain that they have been in the game for long and have carried out satisfactory work for their former clients.

Confidentiality; this too is vital because sometimes clients’ work or documents contains information that light give their rivals an edge if it leaked to the public. This especially for business personnel and therefore a service provider keen on confidentiality is key and here a confidentiality agreement maybe signed between the client and service provider that none of the information shall be disclosed.

Accuracy; this like the above is crucial and this is why native speakers of the languages in question ought to be hired because it is only these who are well versed with the mannerism and characteristics of the language in question. Therefore, the translations, interpretation, subtitling or transcription of African Indigenous Languages is carried out within context having the region where the particular version of the language comes from.

Examples of such professional Translation Services include;

 

By Angela Kyolaba

Time to Translate Uganda’s Popular Books

If there’s any man who has contributed to Ugandan literature and to the appreciation of our indigenous languages more than any, it is Okot p’Bitek. Though long gone, his epic poem, Song of Lawino remains the finest and most known piece of literature to be hatched out of Uganda.  First published in 1966, this lengthy poem has been taught in schools and universities in and outside Uganda and continues to intrigue and excite literary analysts, thanks to its resonance and the sheer beauty with which p’Bitek constructed it. It really was a trailblazer that earned Ugandan authors credibility on the global stage especially in the 1960s, an era that was rightly labelled the golden age of Ugandan literature.

Why the Need for Book Translations

What many however don’t know is that p’Bitek actually wrote his lengthy poem in his native language, Acholi, before translating it himself into English. He released the English version before releasing the Acholi version three days later. Although the latter version didn’t command literally acclaim like its English counterpart, it was p’Bitek’s desire and dream that his book become accessible in as many languages as possible. p’Bitek’s wish has since been granted since Song of Lawino has been translated into more than 30 languages including; German, French, Spanish, and Indonesian, among others. And just as recently as two years ago, Song of Lawino was as well translated into Luganda as Omulanga gwa Lawino by Prof. Abasi Kiyimba of Makerere University.

Imagine then how nice it would be to translate all our popular books of fiction and non-fiction into our local languages. That would be a sure way of inculcating a reading culture into Ugandans since they would now have no excuse of the Queen’s language being more complicated. If books like Tropical Fish by Doreen Bangaina and Kintu by Jennifer Makumbi which are currently the most popular Ugandan fictional works were translated into local languages too, they would be sure to provide the spark for Ugandan writers to use local languages as their languages of expression just like famous writers like Ngugi wa Thiongo now writes in his indigenous language, Kikuyu.

Some of other language translations include:

Kinyarwanda translations

Kirundi translations

Oromo translations

Yoruba translations

Somali translations

Tigrinya translations

Language is culture and the best way we can appreciate and evolve along with cultures is to express ourselves through our mother tongues. As Ngugi wa Thiongo said, “Language has a dual character: it is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture.”

Is Arabic Africa’s most widely spoken Language?

Although Arabic as a language has over 250 million speakers worldwide with 100 million of these found on the second most populated continent; Africa. Arabic is also the most widespread official language of many African countries with the biggest number of Egypt having the biggest number of about 54 million speakers which has earned it the nickname; the Latin of Africa. Continue reading

Is Arabic Africa’s most widely spoken Language?