South African languages to English translation is in great demand lately. Most South Africans speak indigenous mother languages, but they are likely to end up using either English or Afrikaans at work and school. Hence the great need of South African languages to English translation. This makes the translation simple, as English is the country’s primary language. South Africa’s official languages are namely, English, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, isiXhosa, isiZulu, isiSwati, Xitsonga, and Tshivenda. South African sign language is also greatly understood across the country as well, especially with an interpreter decoding the message.
South African languages to English translation beneficiaries
The reason behind the recognition of the South African indigenous languages is to give the languages voices, as they were previously disregarded during the apartheid era. This has affected numerous African individuals to an extent that some could not to go to school and as a result, they fail to understand the English and Afrikaans language. Of which they currently are the beneficiaries of South African languages to English translation. Our Foreign national brothers and sisters, that travel to South Africa will be benefitted with the wide use of English and a number of indigenous languages that they can learn from and get translation from one language to another as well.
Here is a list of South African languages that can be translated from one language to another.
The South Africa’s official languages
isiZulu
IsiZulu is the most spoken language of all the South African official languages. IsiZulu is understood by more than half of the country’s population, including individuals who are not native speakers of the language. The language has approximately 12 million speakers who originates from KwaZulu-Natal.
Setswana
Setswana language is most commonly spoken in the north-western parts of South Africa. This language is also Botswana’s national language and it is widely spoken in the country by approximately 70% of the country’s population. Setswana is also referred to as a language that is spoken by small group of people in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
isiXhosa
isiXhosa language is one of the languages that part of the Bantu language group. The language is spoken by approximately 7 million South African citizens, who mostly originate from the Eastern part of the country. It is also part of the South African Nguni languages group. isiXhosa language contains three types of click sounds, which were borrowed from the Khoisan language. It is also one of South Africa’s official languages.
isiNdebele
The beautiful Nguni language that is known to be melodic to the ear, is separated into chief dialects. The separated Ndebele languages are namely, Southern Ndebele and Northern Ndebele. Most of the Southern Ndebele people are based in Limpopo province. Then most of the Northern Ndebele are based in Mpumalanga and Gauteng. isiNdebele is one of the less spoken and easily understood languages in South Africa.
siSwati
siSwati or Swazi language is a Bantu language that is also part of the Nguni languages. The language is spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. It is also the official language of both South Africa and Swaziland. The language is taught in schools of some parts of South Africa (specifically in Mpumalanga) and in Swaziland. The language is spoken by approximately 2.4 million speakers. It is also one of South Africa’s official languages.
Sesotho
Southern Sotho is one the South African Bantu languages. It is also one of the official languages that is widely spoken in the country (more than 85% speakers) in Lesotho. Sesotho is also one of South Africa’s official languages. The language has approximately 4 million speakers that are based in South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, and Namibia. The language has dialects that originate from Sotho, Pedi and Tswana. Although all these languages are considered to be separate languages.
Northern Sotho
Northern Sotho, which is also known as Sepedi is Sotho-Tswana language that is mostly spoken in the Limpopo province, north-eastern part of South Africa. It is the 5th most spoken language in South Africa, with over 4.6 million speakers. It is also one of South Africa’s official languages. Northern Sotho is mostly spoken in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. The language has dialects such as Lovedu and Setlokwa.
English
The English language first came to South Africa when the British people occupied the Cape of Good Hope so that they can protect their trade with India and the Orient. English is one of South Africa’s official languages. The language has ever been used all over the country in media and advertising, in education, law, commerce and government. One can say that it is the language of the city, as it is mostly spoken in the cities.
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic South African language that developed from 17th-century Dutch Cape settlers. The language is also known as Cape Dutch. Afrikaans and English are the only Indo-Europeans languages in South Africa. The language is also one of South Africa’s official languages. It is widely spoken in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and other surrounding countries as well.
Tshivenda
The Tshivenda language is mostly spoken by Vhavenda (the Venda people) who originate from the northern part of South Africa’s in Limpopo. The Venda language is related to Kalanga which is widely spoken in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Like other South African languages that are spoken in foreign countries, Tshivenda is also spoken by the Lemba people in Zimbabwe.
Tsonga
Tsonga language is one of the languages that is widely spoken in Limpopo, as most of its speakers are based there. The language is also spoken in some part of the countries. The languages has approximately 2.3 million speakers. It is one of South Africa’s official languages. Tsonga languages is also spoken in Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Frenchside – South Africa’s official languages translation
We are a Johannesburg based certified translation company that has a number of professional linguists who specialise in different departments. We confidently carry out affordable language translation services. We are aware of our clients’ expectations, therefore we offer high quality, affordable language solutions. We make sure that we provide accurate and error free translations. We translate legal, technical, financial, educational, medical and global marketing documents. Our team of experts, conducts translation services from all South African languages to English and vice versa.
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