How African Languages Barrier may become a death trap

A Taiwanese national Chang Ming Chuang has been reported dead after an attack by a hippo at lake Naivasha in Kenya after the man who was first falsely identified as Chinese is reported to have been tracking the hippo. It is also reported that there are about 500 deaths of people by hippos in Africa a year, although this very incident is said to have been caused by rising water levels that cause these animals that way more than 2000 kilograms to get into people’s farms and at hotels in search for food and African languages barrier.

While a multilingual might interpret when the need arises for easier communication, there are serious moments when Specialized African Translation Services call it customized interpretation will be needed. This especially in more complex sectors where there’s no room for any kind of mistake as the latter may lead into causalities that may not necessarily reversed.

For example, if information on a medical report is mistranslated, this may lead to wrong dosages being dispensed thus causing health problems that may bring about death!

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Why you need Specialized African Translation Services

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Time to Learn Another Major Language or Two!

On Sunday, the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia reached a grand finale with France hoisting the coveted gold trophy after beating Croatia 4-2. And soon the new season of the English Premier League will kick off as are other leagues in Europe. For soccer lovers, these are exciting times!

What is of more interest to me though is how all the transnational players that ply their trade in these lucrative leagues communicate effectively. I mean how do their coaches manage to get the message across on the training field to all these players of different nationalities? Could it be that a player that speaks many languages has more chances for success in these cutthroat competitive leagues than those who don’t?

Multilingualism gives one an edge over others

Oh yes, multilingualism gives one an edge over others. Arsene Wenger who was at the helm of Arsenal FC for 22 years became hugely successful not only because of his coaching nous but also because of his ability to speak many languages. Monsieur Wenger speaks six languages fluently: French, English, Japanese, German, Italian and Spanish. This ability helped him to transmit his ideas clearly and easily to the players who could not speak English. For example, when he signed Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona in 2003, the latter didn’t speak or understand a word of English. Thus Wenger always interacted with him in Spanish. He also encouraged him to learn English and by the time Fabregas left the club, he was bilingual; very fluent in English and Spanish.

Wenger’s realization that the ability to speak many languages helps players to bond and understand the world and football philosophy better saw him advocate for language learning in Arsenal’s youth setup. The benefits from this quickly spilled over so much that everyone knows about the “Arsenal way”, which is basically about Arsenal’s synergy; Arsenal players having a bond akin to one close family as well allowing their feet to speak a language of their own on the field by playing quick, beautiful and aesthetic football that is hard to imitate.

Also the fact that football managers and players that are multilingual have been hugely successful wherever they have plied their trade shows that speaking many languages is a huge plus. For example, Pep Guardiola who has been very successful in Spain, Germany and England as a manager speaks German, English, Catalan, Spanish and Italian. Jose Mourinho who is also one of the most successful football managers speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and English fluently.

Cristiano Ronaldo who has four times won the Fifa Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English, whereas Manchester United star Romelu Lukaku who was born in Belgium but has Congolese roots is fluent in six languages: Dutch, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili.

All these coaches and players are hugely successful because their ability to speak many languages helps them to easily receive and internalize messages. It gives them that extra edge and boosts their confidence. They can easily settle into many geographical realms and feel at home, thanks to their ability to easily interact with the natives of those areas.

As people continue to intermarry and travel, being multilingual becomes a necessary skill that comes with many opportunities. Moreover, many countries today have more than one official national language, thus those unable to communicate in at least two or more major languages such as English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic or Hindi, will soon be left behind in a world that gets more complex and competitive with every passing day. However, translation companies have also kicked in to save the day with services like Somali translation services, Yoruba translation Services, Malagasy translation services, Africa Conference Interpreters among many others.

The English Language may have saved the Trapped Thai Soccer Team

Adul Sam-on maybe one of the reasons as to why the soccer team of 12 teenagers with their 25 year old coach were rescued this week after being trapped in a cave obscured by flooding for a total of 18 days! It turns out as the only English speaking one in the trapped team, he managed to ease communication with the British divers as he communicated to both sides in languages they understand best which are; English for the divers and Thai for the trapped team. In fact the Daily Mail referred to him as “the sole communicator”.

Apart from the ongoing 2018 Russia World Cup the trapped soccer team has been the major headlines all over the world as good willed people from all over the world offered and volunteered their skills, time and resources to not only try to keep the trapped team alive but to also finally get them out of the damned cave.

Why the English Language could be the most important

English could be after all the most important language in the whole world; not the most spoken but most important. One of the reasons maybe because while other mega languages are spoken by multitudes of people who live in the same geographical areas or neighboring communities, English on the other hand is pretty widespread. There may be chances that the English language is spoken or understood by some people from every corner of the earth.

The mega languages spoken most but usually concentrate in a certain geographical are apart from a few of the speakers in the diaspora include Mandarin, Arabic and Russian to mention a few. Chinese or Mandarin is spoken by 1.2 billion people mainly in China with Spanish having over 400 million speakers.

Other common Languages include;

Arabic the language of Arabs with its various variations is spoken in Arab nations in the Middle East and Northern Africa although it is the default language or second/third language adopted by Muslims all over the world. Arabic happens to be the language in which the Quran which is the holy book for Islam is written and is the religion’s language of instruction. Countries where Arabic is the order of the day include; Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Yemen, Oman and Morocco to mention a few. This sacred language boasts of 250 million speakers.

What makes it special?

For some reason the English language is at least taught ass a lesson in almost every school in the world, even in those countries where English is not an official or national language. In fact even in countries where the English language is not a priority, it is still of major importance in the so called International schools. These are schools in countries where children of expatriates go and those of the rich go to; these could be children of ministers, governors, ambassadors, presidents or leading businessmen. The English Language boasts of about 360 million speakers all over the world.

By Angela Kyolaba

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Could Malagasy Be Africa’s Most Interesting Language?

Not many people actually know what Malagasy is, so it helps to start with the basics. Malagasy is the native language of Madagascar, spoken by around 18 million people in that beautiful island country located in the Indian Ocean in the Southeast coast of Africa. Interestingly, the people of Madagascar are also called Malagasy, little wonder the language is spoken throughout the country.

Even of more peculiar interest is that Madagascar is not a Malagasy word but a corrupted version of Madagasikara, which is the indigenous name of the country. However, Madagascar is more known, thanks to its popularization by the Europeans after it was first recorded by 15^th century explorer Marco Polo.

Malagasy remains a rich language that unites all the people of Madagascar and makes communication and interdependence easy even in its capital city Antananarivo. This is why Malagasy shares the status of official national language with French, the lingua franca of Madagascar’s former colonisers from whom independence was attained in 1960.

The origin and distinctness of Malagasy

Malagasy originates from Indonesia but also borrows from Arabic and Bantu languages and more recently from French and English. What continues to pique the curiosity of linguists is how that language has passed the test of time by remaining the only language spoken in this large island country with diverse ecosystems separated from one another by forests, deserts, mountains and rivers, yet there are over 60 languages spoken in Uganda alone.

Malagasy has managed to stay strong and popular, thanks in large part, to the artistic and oratorical way it has been passed down from one generation to another. Madagascar’s oral tradition is rich and distinct; poetry, public discourses and proverbs have kept the language intact because of the country’s strong oral history.

The overreliance on oral history to commemorate the country’s past key events whilst preserving their language and traditional beliefs only began to change with the introduction of the written form. However, Malagasy remains the language of instruction in all public schools, which explains why written Malagasy is far different from spoken Malagasy.

The language of love?

Islands are often associated with romance – places where newlywed couples and lovers with hearts pounding with the chemistry of love go to unwind. Madagascar being an island nation is no exception. Most people take their honeymoons there, but to maximize your stay it helps if you know and speak Malagasy. Luckily, in 1818 the London Missionary Society sent some missionaries to Madagascar; they evangelized the nation and translated the Bible into the Malagasy language, so you can pick a few Malagasy words by reading the Malagasy Bible.

Certainly there are also some Malagasy dictionaries that you can buy online from Amazon to teach yourself Malagasy—a language whose alphabet is the same as the English alphabet but with only letters C, Q, U, W, and X missing. Malagasy diplomats are spreading their language to France, Belgium and Washington, D.C., where it is growing in popularity, which is why the Malagasy translation services are now much sought-after. Here are some of other language translation services you may happen to need;

Somali translation services

Tigrinya translation services

Yoruba translation Services

Africa Conference Interpreters

Africa Financial Translation

Africa Legal Translation

Ghana Translation Services

Somalia translation services

Why African Website Translation Services are Necessary

There is a possibility that potential customers and consumers of a particular product or service especially in Africa visit other websites other than their favorite for purchase of products because those websites are using a language that they understand best thus making African Website Translation Services a pre-requisite.

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Why African Website Translation Services are Necessary

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Why Translators Are Indispensable

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;

Tigrinya translation services

Somali translation services

Malagasy translation services

Yoruba translation Services

Oromo translation services

Ndebele translation services

Wolof translation services and so many others.

The Work of a Translator is Tough

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.

The Russia World Cup Rainbow of Languages

After Croatia lost to Brazil at the opening match at the Russia World Cup, Vedran Corluka, a Croatian player complained that he did not understand what the referee was saying as the latter was speaking Japanese at the ongoing Russia World Cup Rainbow of Languages!

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The Russia World Cup Rainbow of Languages

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Arsenal-Rwanda Deal Good for Local Language Translators

Rwanda is headlining in the global press for striking a mega partnership with popular English football club Arsenal, in which for three years, the words “Visit Rwanda” will feature on the left sleeves of Arsenal jerseys. Arsenal has worldwide appeal; its jersey is seen 35 million times a day worldwide, and it is these masses that Rwanda is trying to tap to boost its tourism industry.

This is where it gets palatable for all people offering local language translation services. Rwanda being formerly a Francophone nation, still has major strides to make since 2009 when it ditched French and switched to English as the official national language after joining the Commonwealth. This essentially means that many Rwandese still speak French and Kinyarwanda at the expense of English although the latter is now taught in all of Rwandan schools after it was made the national language just nine years ago.

Need for Translation Services

So as Rwanda’s economy continues to grow (it’s the second fastest growing economy in Africa) and as the nation becomes a top tourist destination thanks to its eye-candies like Mountain Gorillas, endless bird species and volcanic mountains, it will urgently need the services of local language translators to ease communication between investors and tourists that will be flocking to this land of a thousand rolling, grassy hills.

As part of the deal, Arsenal’s players for its men and women’s teams as well as coaches will occasionally visit Rwanda and help the country’s young talent through coaching camps. Obviously some of these players and coaches who don’t speak French later alone Kinyarwanda will need the services of these translators. Likewise, Rwanda’s talented young boys who don’t speak English will as well need translators during the training to help them understand what Arsenal’s maestro coaches will be teaching them.

What’s more, the sports literature that Arsenal players will be bringing to Rwanda will be in English and will need to be translated into Kinyarwanda so that it can be accessed even by those boys in the far-flung parts of the country who may not necessarily be part of the sports academies but are interested in sport. It is also important to note that there are other language translation services that can be provided within the country like;

Kirundi translation services

Yoruba translation Services

Somali translation services

Tigrinya translation services

Malagasy translation services

Wolof translation services, among many others.

Kinyarwanda as a Unifying Factor

Some of the tourists that the Arsenal-Rwanda deal will attract may also want to live and work in Rwanda longer. These people will have to learn the local language to be able to interact with the locals and experience a sense of belonging. They will want to enjoy Rwanda’s local music and poetry and to be able to do that they will need the services of local language translators.

Clearly, not only is Rwanda’s tourism industry going to benefit from the Arsenal-Rwanda deal but local language specialists will benefit immensely too because Kinyarwanda is so deeply entrenched in the spoken culture of Rwandese that inability to communicate in that language is a deal breaker for most foreigners doing business in this tiny central African nation. It is only Kinyarwanda language translators that will help bridge the great language divide through offering translation services that will unite the tourists, the investors and the natives whether Hutu or Tutsi.

African English Language in the Gold Coast Common Wealth Games

While English is what the Common Wealth countries have in common, there are lots of the African English Language varieties spoken by the African countries taking part in this year’s Gold Coast Common Wealth games!

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African English Language in the Gold Coast Common Wealth Games

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