Author: Angela

Languages of Somalia, Professional African Translation Services & Insecurity

Once considered the pearl of the Indian Ocean, Somalia is famous for the wrong reasons owing to al-shabaab’s unconventional methods of trying for decades to push it to extreme Islam, thus carrying out deadly attacks on civilians, foreigners and neighbouring countries who resist the radicalism and Professional African Translation Services could play a positive role.

The recent such attack was on DusitD2 complex in Nairobi, Kenya where more than 21 innocent people (Kenyans and foreigners) tragically lost their lives as armed men stormed the complex shooting at random while hurling explosives at the same time.

Indigenous Languages of Somalia

Somalia is itself a beautiful country in the horn of Africa boasting of … kilometers of a coastal line with beautiful architectural borrowed from the Arabs with a dash of British and Italian influences too as the latter too once colonized Somalia in the 1800s and 1900s.

Somali is the most spoken language in Somali as the language and ethnic group are the large accounting for about 65% althlough there are other minority languages such us Bravanese, Kibajuni and Mushunguli with most being localized versions of the Swahili language.

The Foreign Languages of Somalia

The main foreign language in Somalia would be Arabic, first of all because of influence of Islam where the country is 100% Muslim and of course the main language of instruction in Islam is Arabic. It should be noted that the Somali dictionary has over 1000 words borrowed from Arabic.

Then there is English and Italian that came in the picture as Britain and Italy had their share of ruling the Somali land in the

The strides of progress

We ought to acknowledge the fact that Somalia has and is still making strides to becoming better and safer. Despite of the safety levels being better, the insecurity dispersed many Somalis to both neighbouring and faraway lands and that is why there are big Somali communities in countries like Kenya, Uganda, UK, US, South Africa and Canada just to mention a few of such places. This came about as they searched for safer places to raise families, build careers and live normally without fear of attacks from the al-shabaab and civil unrests in general.

Communication is crucial back home in Somalia where humanitarian groups both local and international trying to make it easy for the civilians and in other countries where people from Somalia reside.

Even in terms of businesses communication is vital thus Professional African Translation Services come in handy for effectiveness.

Professional African Translation Services include;

Fighting terrorism requires effective communication and one way to do this is through Professional African Translation Services for purposes of accuracy.

By Angela Kyolaba

For more information, click here.

Beat the Competition to become an effective Local Professional African Translations Company

A little research points to the possibility that many translation clients seeking professional services in African indigenous languages concentrate in the U.S, UK or South Africa and Kenya for almost all African languages and translation services.

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Beat the Competition to become an effective Local Professional African Translations Company

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How African Indigenous Languages Combat Oppression in Zimbabwe

Did you know that African Indigenous Languages are used as a tool for protests and airing out grievances? This is exactly what is happening in Zimbabwe where the President; Emmerson Mnangagwa has more than doubled fuel prices as a solution to the shortages that have seen Zimbabweans queue with their cars waiting for their turn of this liquid gold!

A Glimpse at History

A little history here is that President Mnangagwa was seen by many as a political savior from the infamous Robert Mugabe who was the country’s president for more than 3 decades and once held the position of the longest serving president from 1987 to 2017 and was also seen by many internationally as a dictator. Under his reign, the country’s economy spiraled down. As a result the Zimbabwean dollar inflated and lost its value.

This has seen Zimbabweans in thousands take on the streets of Harare and other major cities to protest the fuel hike in their various mother tongues while burning tires, blocking roads and closing up businesses as a sign of disapproval. In fact, opposition leaders and pressure groups have called out the government for its alleged lack of empathy for the country’s poor.

African Indigenous Languages of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe stands out in Africa as that country with so many indigenous languages included as official and national languages. Yes, the country registers 11 official languages and with the draft constitution allegedly suggesting 16 official languages. It should be noted that most African countries have languages adopted from their colonial masters as official or national languages while their own African Indigenous Languages are not officially recognized. In fact many have a colonial language as an official language and an indigenous one for a national language.

It is these Zimbabwe African Indigenous Languages that the people are using on the streets to protest against what they deem an unfair decision by the government to hike fuel prices.

Communication is more effective when the language used as the vehicle for the message is the one most understood by that particular people and in this case the protests are mainly carried out in the languages the people understand best. English comes in mainly for the purpose of spreading the message internationally thus the world getting to know what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s scenario of having multiple indigenous languages with official status makes sense because Africa alone has over 2000 languages with many individual countries on the continent having more than 50 languages. For example, Nigeria alone is reported to have more than 500 languages, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo come next with over 200 languages and last but definitely not least Sudan and Tanzania with over 100 languages each!

The list of Zimbabwe’s national languages includes;

Languages to consider for translation in African include;

African indigenous languages are vital and part of Africa’s identity therefore, preserving them should be a priority. However, there are situations where Professional Translation Services are required for purpose of communication internationally.

By Angela Kyolaba

For more information click here.

How Professional African Technical Translation Services may save lives

A boat with 100, mostly young revelers capsizes shortly after setting off the Mutima beach shores of Lake Victoria (known as Nalubaale locally) in Mukono near Kampala, the Capital of Uganda killing over 30 on the 24th of November this year resulting into a nationwide discussion about safety measures, including learning how to swim and maybe Professional African Technical Translation Services should be looked at too.

You see, there are stories told by survivors, including Iryn Namubiru a celebrated Afro-pop Artiste of how the ill fated MV Kalangala looked to have been in poor physical condition; raggedy, rickety and supposedly picked up the already intoxicated revelers hours late who were by the way 100 by number yet the boat is allegedly meant for about 50 persons. The reason for this lateness, which for the superstitious ones may as well have been a warning not to board, was caused by faulty mechanical conditions and thus was hurriedly being worked upon by who knows who as seconded by the Police Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Onyango.

WHO states that the drowning rates is highest in the WHO Africa region by 15-20 times  than in the United Kingdom and Germany all together. In the year 2015 the New Vision Newspaper reported that 5000 Ugandan fishermen die on Lake Victoria every year.

In related News, preventable loss of lives happens continually including the deadly bus accidents that cost over 100 lives in Zimbabwe and Kenya in separate but equally gruesome road accidents with many blamed on over speeding but with faulty mechanical conditions involved; on Harare-Mutale Highway in Zimbabwe where 46 are reported to have perished and the government called it a national disaster  and with 50 dead in Kericho, Western Kenya 7 children inclusive .

Where Professional African Technical Translation services come in handy

Water transportation vessels like other mass transportation means in Africa are mainly manufactured from Developed countries although there are some African countries taking a lead in such manufacturing like Ethiopia manufacturing motors for vehicles in the automation, industry and agricultural sectors.

It is the small duty transportation vessels that are usually locally made for personal or small scale business use by the common man and these are usually handmade like canoes for fishing.

How the problem comes by

This may point at the fact that when the heavy duty means of transport like buses, cars, trains or ships get mechanical problems, the owners hire locals to do the work even though they are not skilled enough to handle the vessel in particular.

A size-able number of mechanics in Africa is self-taught or may have gone to technical institutions where the knowledge and skills acquired are not enough for handling the intricate work that maybe needed to handle cases like large water vessel mechanical failures.

How do we solve this problem?

The first step is admitting that there is something missing in our industries because then a problem has been spotted and plans can be put in place to solve it.

Hiring Professional African Technical Translation Services for all manuals and handbooks that come with these transportation vessels. I say Professional because this requires individuals who are not only translators in the specific languages needed, but are also specialists in the sector being dealt with for purposes of accuracy.

If this is seconded and monitored by African governments then the water safety in African countries would go higher thus securing the lives of people who if alive contribute to the economy and well-being of their countries and also save their families for heartbreaks due to avoidable deaths.

Professional African Technical Translation Services may include fields like;
  • Machinery
  • Energy
  • Oil and Gas extraction
  • Auto Sector
  • Mining
  • Electronics
Common languages in Africa into which to translate technical documents include;

By Angela Kyolaba

For more information, click here.

How Geographical Locations Dictate African Translation Services

Africa is 30.37 million km sq making it 14 times larger than Greenland with over 1.2 billion inhabitants who are rich in diversity when it comes to traditions, clothes, culture, food, color and definitely one we cannot overlook; languages especially when talking of African Translation services and no, Africa is not a country!

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How Geographical Locations Dictate African Translation Services

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Have you heard Ethiopia’s New Language?

Right from the moment Abiy Ahmed was nominated the country’s Prime Minister in April 2018, it was a telltale sign of Ethiopia’s New language and a morphing Ethiopia. Coming from the largest Ethnic group; Oromo that was hunted down by previous regimes, having a Muslim father and Christian mother has made him some sort of bridge to the country’ conflicting peoples.

Ethiopia's New Language
Ethiopia’s promising Prime Minister; Abiy Ahmed

There seems to be so many positive changes pertaining to peace, reconciliation and women empowerment in this heavily patriarchal society ever since the Prime Minister came to power in the country having a population of 107 million people.

Signs of Ethiopia’s New Language and of the Morph

This guardian angel as some call him has done away with the decades long enmity between the country and neighbouring Eritrea, seeing the first airline flight land in Eritrea with dozens shedding tears of joy after being able to see family they thought they would never see.

The alleged bringing to book of senior officials, even in the army for cases of corruption and last but not least, the appointment of women into major positions of power in the last couple of months has seen the international scene fix their eyes on an African country for something great.

Senior Positions offered to women in Ethiopia this year alone

The first shocker to this patriarchal society came when the Prime Minister appointed Ms. Sahle Work to the post of Presidency, which though is a ceremonial position, it was a major step into the right direction for Ethiopia, in addition to the 20 ministerial posts being given to women thus joining Rwanda to have equal representation of women to men in parliament.

The latest development is that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia has appointed human rights lawyer Meaza Ashenafi who inspire a 2014 Angelina Jolie film, as the Ethiopia’s senior Judge.

Although not a woman, Feyisa Lilesa a famous marathon runner who made headlines for making an anti government gesture in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics has finally returned home from exile in the USA.

A glimpse into the past

Apart from women being marginalized in Ethiopia, it should be noted that it was alleged that over 5000 people belonging to the Oromo Ethnic group were arrested from the year 2011 upwards with alleged abuses like rape, torture and murders by the then government. These were subjected to such horrible circumstances after being thought to have political intentions or sympathy for the opposition Oromo Liberation Front, thus forcing many into exile as reported by Amnesty International.

Speaking of languages

With the positive changes taking place in the Horn of Africa, one should note that Ethiopia is a diverse community and therefore rich with languages. It is estimated that the country has 88 languages, five of these said to be extinct and they include;

  • Amharic which is the country’s official and national language
  • Oromo
  • Tigrinya
  • English
  • French
  • Sidamo
  • Gurage

The international bodies especially those to do with Human Rights like the direction Ethiopia is taking for purposes of welfare, peace and stability therefore, being a good model for those African countries struggling with gender inequalities, civil wars and corruption.

By Angela Kyolaba

 

 

Was Turkey’s ambassador to Uganda’s Greek inspired costume misinterpreted?

Turkey’s ambassador to Uganda recalled for apparently dressing up as an Greek methodology figure Helena of Troy which might have been interpreted as promoting the former masters of Turkish territories!

Since Sedef Yavuzalp dressed this way in the beginning week of November it maybe that she was trying  to participate in the Halloween festivities but his was definitely interpreted in a very different way by her home government, Turkey a predominantly Muslim country located in Europe which she is meant to have been representing in Uganda an East African Country.

How Language misinterpretation occurs on a daily

Misinterpretation happens on a daily and ranges from actions, signs and in our daily verbal communication in the different languages we speak. Misinterpretation happens even when people are conversing in a common language which maybe their mother tongue or words are taken out of context subconsciously at times,

It is therefore very possible for misunderstanding to occur when it involves different languages as the interpreter or translator may fail to capture the meaning that the source intended to be received by the audience or market.

Professional Translation Services to combat Language misinterpretation

And this is why although translation services are important, professional translation services are more important and fix the misinterpretation and miscommunication problems that would have occurred.

Reasons as to why professional translation services are vital include;

Accuracy is key for any kind of communication to be effective; that is to be received and understood by the audience which is further evidenced when they act as the source of the message hoped they would act after receiving the message. Accuracy determines the quality of outcomes and this could be convincing potential customers to buy a product or subscribe to a service after reading, watching or listening to an advert in a language they know best.

Accuracy also involves using qualified native speakers when translating any kind of information because native speakers put the information into context of a specific region, having the cultural of the people in that area in mind.

Professional Language translations to consider in Africa

 

Just like a costume caused Turkey’s ambassador to Uganda to be recalled by their country of origin, consequences of poor translation services is costly and if not deadly! This is because for fields like auto, finance and Medical, things can get fatal for example when the wrong medicine or dose is administered to a patient, they could get life changing consequences or loss of life because of misinterpretation, when a car manual is mistranslated, then road accidents are inevitable this maiming people or death.

Therefore, professional translation services are vital in this day and era where the world is a global village with thousands of languages and effective communication is still very important.

By Angela Kyolaba

For more details click here.

How to Preserve Native Languages through Professional African Translation Services

Did you know that we can actually preserve African native languages through African Translation services? Yes we can because this here means that translations are done into and from these languages thus leaving the original source intact and available for viewing in the archives.

Where hate for African Native languages probably came from

For those who went or go to school in an African country have gone through, witnessed or at least heard of students getting punished for speaking their native languages at the school premises! These punishments include/included wearing sacks on top of the school uniform, back cloth in Uganda, cleaning up vast surfaces or being spanked as means to deter one from speaking their very own language.

And sadly there are some homesteads that discourage native languages especially with toddlers as official languages speaking toddlers are viewed as more desirable and are depicted to fit in more in the societies. There are cases where nannies and older siblings are instructed to speak to these young children in languages like English, French, Portuguese or Arabic, depending from which part of Africa they hail from.

This therefore made/makes most people growing up in Africa hate their native languages because they were associated with punishments from a very young age. Instead students are always encouraged to use formal languages while at school, even in their free time and dormitories if they are in boarding schools and the encouraged languages usually include; English, French, Arabic and Portuguese apart from a few African countries that are blessed to have some of their native languages included on the official language list.

African languages that have official language status in their countries;

What is the way forward?

Instead of discouraging people from speaking their native languages, professional African Translation Services should be embraced so as to kill 2 birds with one stone. In this way, African native languages will be preserved as people will continue speaking them freely and using them in all forms and yet still professional African Translation Services will be hired for purposes of effective communication with people speaking different languages.

This means that for businesses wishing to expand in African countries, they will have to hire translation companies to translate their product/service information into languages most understood by their audiences. This will definitely drive the point across more than it will have been in a person’s second or third language which their country uses as an official language.

Native Languages one should consider translating to/from in Africa

Effective communication is crucial and although official languages that were once foreign to Africa like Arabic, English, Portuguese, French, German and Spanish foster that, African native languages should be made a priority because they are an identity to Africa and eroding them away would be eroding Africa and therefore Professional African Translation Services are the best alternative to preserving them.

By Angela Kyolaba

For more information click here.

Are African Languages Responsible for Political Uprisings on the Continent?

Finally Saudi Arabia comes out to agree with Turkey that the Saudi Arabia journalist and critic, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, though allegedly not on the crown prince’s orders. It should be noted that Khashoggi a well-known critic for his country’s vices made News for the past weeks after Turkey claimed, with video evidence that the journalist made his way into the Saudi embassy ye there is no evidence to whatsoever to prove that he ever came out.

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Are African Languages Responsible for Political Uprisings on the Continent?

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Cement your Business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services

How cementing your business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services will help  your establishment get rooted in the long run.

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Cement your Business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services

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