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Africa Translation Services | Africa Interpretation Services
TransCultures provides Translation and Interpretation services in all African languages. Our African translation services are done by native African translators and interpreters. Our African languages translation and interpretation services are available for all African countries, languages and dialects. With more than 1,500 different languages, Africa boasts greater linguistic variety than any other continent in the world. Our vast network of professional translators and interpreters work includes major languages such as Swahili and Hausa, spoken by millions of people, and minor languages such as Hazda, which have fewer than a thousand speakers. Africans speak English, French, or Portuguese in addition to their indigenous languages. Centuries of Arab influence in North Africa have led to the widespread use of Arabic in that region. In fact, most African countries have adopted Arabic or one or more European languages as their official language. With more than 900 million consumers, Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing markets.
African Markets Served:
Country Official Language Other Spoken Languages
| Algeria | Arabic, Berber languages, four dialects (by constitutional amendment) |
French | |
| Angola | Portuguese | Narrow Bantu like Umbundu and other African languages mainly Bangala, Cokwe, Fiote, Helelo, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Kwanyama, Lunda, Ngangela, Ngoya, Nyaneka, Oxiwambo, Songo, Umbundu. |
|
| Benin | French | Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north). | |
| Botswana | Setswana (national language with minor differences in dialects), English is the official business language and it is widely spoken in urban areas. | ||
| Burkina Faso | French | Native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population. | |
| Burundi | Kirundi, French | Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area). | |
| Cameroon | English, French | 24 major African language groups. | |
| Cape Verde | Portuguese | Kabuverdianu (Crioulo) (a blend of Portuguese and West African words). | |
| Central African Republic | French, Sangho (lingua franca and national language) | Banda, Gbaya and other tribal languages. | |
| Chad | French, Arabic | Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects. | |
| Comoros | Arabic, French | Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic). | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | French | Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba. | |
| Congo, Republic of the | French | Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread). | |
| Côte d’Ivoire | French | 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken. | |
| Djibouti | French, Arabic | Somali, Afar | |
| Egypt | Arabic | English and French widely understood by educated classes. | |
| Equatorial Guinea | Spanish, French | pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo. | |
| Eritrea | Tigrinya (Tigrigna), Arabic, English | Tigré (second major language), Afar, Bedawi, Kunama, other Cushitic languages. | |
| Ethiopia | Amharic | Tigrinya, Oromo, Gurage, Somali, Arabic, 80 other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) | |
| Gabon | French | Bantu languages like Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi. | |
| Gambia, The | English | Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars. | |
| Ghana | English | African languages (including Akan, Adangme, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) | |
| Guinea | French (spoken by 15-20%) | Eight national languages, Soussou (Susu, in coastal Guinea), Peulh (Fulani, in Northrn Guinea), Maninka (Upper Guinea), Kissi (Kissidougou Region), Toma and Guerze (Kpelle) in rain forest Guinea; plus various ethnic groups with their own language. | |
| Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese | Crioulo (a mixture of Portuguese and African), other African languages. | |
| Kenya | English, Kiswahili | numerous indigenous languages. | |
| Lesotho | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English | Zulu, Xhosa. | |
| Liberia | English 20% | some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence. | |
| Libya | Arabic | Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities. | |
| Madagascar | French, Malagasy | ||
| Malawi | English, Nyanja (Chichewa, Chewa) | Lomwe, Tumbuka, Yao, other languages important regionally. | |
| Mali | French | Bambara (Bamanakan), Arabic and numerous dialects of Dogoso, Fulfulde, Koyracini, Senoufou, and Mandinka/Malinké (Maninkakan), Tamasheq are also widely spoken. | |
| Mauritania | Arabic | Hassaniya Arabic, Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, French | |
| Mauritius | English, French | Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri | |
| Morocco | Arabic | Berber dialects, Hassaniya Arabic, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy. | |
| Mozambique | Portuguese (spoken by 27% of population as a second language) | Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, numerous other indigenous languages. | |
| Namibia | English 7% | Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama. | |
| Niger | French | Hausa, Djerma | |
| Nigeria | English | Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, Ijaw, Ibibio and about 250 other indigenous languages spoken by the different ethnic groups. | |
| Réunion | French | Creole widely used | |
| Rwanda | Rwanda (Kinyarwanda, Bantu vernacular) French, English | Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers. | |
| Saint Helena | English | ||
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Portuguese | ||
| Senegal | French | Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka | |
| Seychelles | English, French | Creole | |
| Sierra Leone | English (regular use limited to literate minority) | Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | |
| Somalia | Somali | Arabic, Italian, English | |
| South Africa | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, Pedi, Sesotho (Sotho), siSwati (Swazi), Xitsonga (Tsonga), Tswana, Tshivenda (Venda), isiXhosa, isiZulu | ||
| Sudan/South Sudan | Arabic | Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English. note: program of “Arabization” in process | |
| Swaziland | English (government business conducted in English), siSwati | ||
| Tanzania, United Republic of | Kiswahili (Swahili), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education) | Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), Gogo, Haya, Makonde, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Tumbuka, many other local languages. | |
| Togo | French (the language of commerce) | Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) | |
| Tunisia | Arabic (and the languages of commerce) | French (commerce) | |
| Uganda | English (used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts) | Ganda (Luganda; most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Acoli, Swahili, Arabic | |
| Zambia | English | major vernaculars: Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages. | |
| Zimbabwe | English | Chishona (Shona), Sindebele (Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects like: Sotho and Nambya, Shangani, Venda, Chewa, Nyanja, and Tonga. | |
| Sources: Ethnologue, ISO Country Names (ISO 3166-1), ISO Languages Names (ISO 639-1), African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) and others. | |||
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