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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Did you know that it’s easy to be multilingual in this day and age? According to language experts any person determined to learn a new language can do so much easier than most people think. True, you may take much more time than native speakers to master it, but you can enchant a beautiful lady, place an order at a restaurant and generally sustain a conversation that can make you new friends and networks.
First, discipline yourself to spend the first 20 minutes of your day everyday studying a new language. That means you may need to spend on a new dictionary of that language you want to learn. It will help you better if you have a friend who speaks the language you’re trying to learn and ask him always to chat with you in that language and to correct you whenever you make a mistake. Maybe that might be too much work for him, but what are friends for!
Secondly, start by learning the simple words or statements we use in ordinary interactions. For example, if you love pets then you have to first learn what cats or dogs are called in your language of interest. Learn what your favourite dish in that language is called, learn expressions for good morning or good night and make it a point to use them in conversation routinely. With such enthusiasm and commitment, it will not be long before you’re proficient in the new language.
Thirdly, take it easy. Don’t try to learn too much at the same time. One word at a time is the trick. Just like children learning the alphabet, repeat that word or statement again and again until it settles into your memory bank. Before you know it those portions of words will be popping out at the right time during conversations and you will even impress yourself.
In our ICT-driven era, maximize your smart phones and internet connected computers to download apps and tutorials for learning a new language. There are so many and very helpful, believe me. For example, I taught myself to drive a manual car by watching online tutorials on driving a manual car. After watching too many of them, I practiced briefly in my brother’s car and was soon good to go. A word to the wise is enough!
Fourthly, whatever you learn, practice it; put into action; speak it out and soon people will start admiring your new language vocabulary and coming to you to coach them as well.
If you have the financial capacity, then it helps a lot to migrate to the country of the language you want to learn. For example, if you want to learn Swahili it makes pretty much sense to move to Tanzania where Swahili is spoken everywhere. If you want to learn German, move to Berlin.
Last but not least, take the plunge and mingle with groups that speak a concentration of the language you’re trying to learn. For example, if you are a Munyankore trying to learn Luganda, the best place to be where concentrated Luganda is spoken is downtown at St. Balikudembe Market or in kikubo. Go do some business there; watch people speak, listen keenly, and interact with them. I can guarantee that a few months down the road you will be speaking admirable Luganda. Take a look at some of the languages you might want to grasp with the help of translations,
Runyankole translation services
Karimojong translation services
When all is said and done, only determination to learn the new language and consistent application of the said language in real-life dialogues will get you to the Promised Land of the language of your interest faster than a rocket shooting to the sky. Good luck.
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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The unfortunate incident where a tourist guide gave a fraudulent interpretation from English to Kiswahili of what a white tourist was saying before journalists in one of Africa’s sought after tourist destinations; The Serengeti National Park caused quite a stir in 2017.
The above was able to be pointed out however there are sadly so many other cases when it comes to interpreting situations from foreign languages to African languages and vice versa. This happens especially when people or businesses in need of effective communication in terms of African Languages Interpreting Services turn to whoever is available instead of seeking professional help.
This harms the service providers in question like it did to Tanzania’s tourism industry at that time. Potential tourists were a little skeptical as to what aids they would be assigned with in case they visited the Serengeti. This goes for any other kind of business where in case of any miscommunication, buyers or users of a service or product become skeptical and may unfortunately opt for the competitor’s product. understand.
Nelson Mandela’s would be 100th birthday was recently celebrated, taking us back to his funeral in 2013 when people watching a live broadcast in South Africa noticed that the interpreter was merely making meaningless hand gestures and not communicating anything at all.
Another example here is facebook; a social media platform used by 16 million Nigerians every month, 12 million people in South Africa and 4.5 million in Kenya. It offers a translation slot under a post but the results are hilarious when the initial post is in an African language like Luganda and is translated into English. It seems funny in the beginning but kind of discourages users from clicking the translate icon again.
It is advisable that a professional translation companies are approached for any kind of translation work; this could be translation, transcription, subtitling or interpreting when it comes to African Languages Interpreting Services.
It is in such companies that one finds experiences and qualified interpreters especially those specific to the client’s language of interest. Since there are over 1500 languages in Africa, it is paramount that the interpreter has the desired language as their mother tongue. This is important because interpreting is successful when done within context and observing the mannerisms and characteristics of a language spoken by people from a certain region. For example; the Afrikaans in South Africa differs a little from that of Namibia and Swahili in Tanzania defers from that spoken in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
By Angela Kyolaba
For professional services African Languages Interpreting Services click here
The work of translators is so underrated yet it is one of the most important and painstaking works in the world. This is because knowledge is power and it is knowledge written down and preserved for posterity that latter generations have relied on to do incredible things from building skyscrapers, making advances in technology and even travelling to the moon. What people forget is that in the background is a team of very hardworking translators who burn the midnight oil for years, translating this useful knowledge into various indigenous languages so that it can benefit people in most corners of the world.
Consider the Bible, for instance. This is the most important piece of literature in the world because the message it transmits has such resonating potency with the citizens of planet earth that it is unsurpassed in sales and is the most translated book of all time. As of 2017, according to Wikipedia, the full Bible (both Old and New Testaments) has been translated in 670 different languages whereas the New Testament alone is available in a whopping 1,521 languages.
Why? Because of the sheer universal value of its message. In fact, it has been established by researchers that people who read and believe in the message of the Bible are less prone to depression and suicides, and live longer, happier lives than those who don’t believe in the message of hope and eternal bliss conveyed in the Holy Book. Here is the question? Do you think people in all parts of the world would have benefited from the values and ideals espoused in the Bible had it not been translated from original Greek and Hebrew into other languages? I bet your answer is a resounding no!
Take a look at some of the language translation services done;
Wolof translation services and so many others.
Yet you wonder why the work of the translator is often a thankless one. The ability to have a deep grasp and appreciation of a language to the point of decoding it coherently and artistically for didactic purposes into indigenous languages is not an easy ability. That is why the translators all around the world are still few, unappreciated and underpaid.
For the uninitiated, translating a piece of literature is a complex process that involves initial research and consultation about all the people and the distinct places in that piece of literature. To produce a concise version of the original book in another language in no mean feat. It’s often an onerous task involving a lot of experts who have to decode little things; analyze grammar, have an eye for small details and keep cross-checking to stay on the right track. Martin Luther the reformist was a very bright theology professor who was the first to translate the Bible into German and confessed that during the process of translation, one quest for an expression would sometimes take a month. That is how tough the business of translation can be.
It is my prayer that governments globally may recognize the thankless job of translators and reward them accordingly. It is a good sign that institutes of languages are becoming key entities in most universities around the world. I hope they continue to churn out better language experts and translators because more and more are needed and their work is indispensable in the transmission of knowledge important for building stronger societies.
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.”
The world is warming up to the translation notion because it is involved in almost everything as professional translation services are required in the global world today for purposes of effective communication.
There are various aspects that fall under translation services and we are going to look at some here;
Translation services which involves getting the meaning of a text or document from one language to others. This might be a book, journal, Newsletter, text books or novels. For example the novel Poor Dad Rich Dad, the Bible has been translated into several languages.
There is what we call interpreting services which involve the word of mouth. Here an interpreter listens to what the source says and relays it to the intended audience in the language they understand best. This maybe consecutive, simultaneous, whisper and many more.
Subtitling is also among the forms of professional translation services and here words are seen on the screen sometimes different from the ones heard on the audio or the words on audio may be the same as those on the screen. In other words it is the printed version of a dialogue on film or television. These words are called sub titles. This means that a deaf person can understand what is being said in the visual even though they cannot hear. In the same way those who do not understand the language spoken are able to because of the sub titles in their own language. I am sure the move Titanic has several versions with subtitles.
There is what we call Transcription which refers to the written form of something spoken.
It should be noted that translations maybe required in differing fields there is and therefore all forms under translations need to use the terminologies involved in the different fields.
Fields in which translation services are carried out include;
For the audience to get the message the way the source intended, professional translation services are the best to be hired for purposes of accuracy, confidentiality and satisfaction. It should be remembered that not every other linguist is capable of carrying out professional translation work.
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