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Why you must never stop learning as a medical interpreter- Abdikadir Adan from Kenya.

The language industry in Africa is full of untapped opportunities. Kabod has ventured on a journey of identifying, documenting and highlighting inspiring stories and innovative projects from entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers in the translation, interpretation and natural language processing communities. The final goal is to celebrate African professionals in the language industry and facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. Mr. Abdikadir Adan, is a freelance Medical Interpreter in Kenya. He works with three languages which are English, Somali and Swahili. He is committed to service and gives his best to please his clients. Kabod: What attracts you to the role of interpreter? I get fulfilment from providing language services to clients who are not able to express themselves as a result of language barriers. As a medical Interpreter, I have been able to serve patients in critical health conditions and in many situations; save lives through 911 emergency cases and this is what drives me. Kabod: How did you start your career in the interpretation industry? I started my career in Medical Interpreting after Covid hit and like many people, I got laid off from my previous job. Interpretation gave me all the flexibility that I needed in my day to day activities as I do work fully remotely. Kabod: What type of interpretation do you find most difficult? For me servicing court sessions is the most challenging aspect to handle because you need intensive training and knowledge to be able to handle legal /court sessions. Kabod: How do you market yourself and your services as an interpreter? I market myself through the LinkedIn platform by sharing my achievements and certifications so far attained. Kabod: How did you get your first contract? I got my first job as an Interpreter through a friend who later became a colleague. Kabod: How can African translators/interpreters position themselves to better tap opportunities in the global language industry? We can position ourselves better by providing top notch services as translators and interpreters in whatever jobs we are contracted for. Kabod:  What strategies do you use to increase your pool of clients while maintaining the existing ones? I do a lot of research on companies that offer contracts that are in line with what I do. It’s Important to follow up with them in case they have openings and in instances where they don’t, I usually ask them to keep my files for future projects . Maintaining my contracts with my current Language service Co’s requires High standards of customer service and complying with work ethics & Principles among others. Kabod: How do you leverage technology to facilitate your work as an interpreter? As an interpreter, I do use Google translator in some instances where I want to double-check certain words that I might not be sure of. Kabod:  Do you think there is a viable market for African languages translation/interpretation? Yes I believe there are opportunities out there for African Translators and Interpreters, especially for  Interpreters from countries that got  affected by civil wars and hence forcing their citizens to immigrate and seek asylum abroad. Kabod:  Are you a member of ALATT or any strong network of interpreters? Kindly mention them. For translators, I am not a member of any company but for Interpreters, there are companies with good call volumes, e.g Language Line, Language link and Akorbi just to mention a few. Kabod: What are the three top pieces of advice that you will share with a budding interpreter from Africa from your experiences? 1. Make sure to keep on sharpening your language skills every day and never stop learning. 2. Maintain relationships with colleagues 3. Be updated every day with whatever is happening in your industry. Kabod: How do you envision the future of interpretation in African languages? I see most language services companies exploring  Africa at some point in search of Interpreters / Translators  because of the costs involved in running those companies abroad v/s in Africa due to labour costs. Thanks, Mr. Adan, for your time and for sharing your experiences with us. Are you also in the language industry in Africa? Would you also like to be featured in our Knowledge Exchange Series, which highlight the journey and experiences of African language translators, interpreters, computational linguists etc.,? Then, reach out to languages@kabodgroup.com to express interest.

The African Behind The World’s First Live Translation Earbud

Today, Artificial intelligence (AI) translation technologies have been the solution for many globetrotters to travel to any country even if they do not understand the language spoken there.  Businesses are reaching diverse nationals with their services or products with the help of these technologies. AI translation tools are engineered to translate text/speech from one language to another. These usually come as online software or mobile apps. But this article highlights an invention that will blow your mind.  An earbud engineered to perform real-life translation into over 40 languages. An invention such as this must be flagged as top-notch ingenuity. The man behind this ingenious invention is a Ghanaian by the name, Danny Manu, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Mymanu – the designer and manufacturer of the world’s first live translation earbud that helps individuals and companies break language barriers with its inventions. Danny highlights the importance of AI translation technology in these words, “By breaking down language barriers, AI translation enables people and organisations to reach out to a wider community. From teaching new skills to deprived communities, sharing best practices with international colleagues to develop skills faster, and discovering new cultures to understand people better, this can have such a positive impact on communities globally”. Mymanu Products Mymanu first introduced the Mymanu click, a versatile wireless earbud, designed to break language barriers. With this earbud, you can listen to songs in HD sound, make calls, and have access to messages and notifications. In case you are travelling with it, no need to worry about the longevity of the battery- it can stay on for 30 hours.  Apart from the functionalities above, the earbud can perform live voice translation that currently supports 40 languages. Mymanu click+ was produced in 2017 and the updated version in 2021 known as Mymanu Click S.                   This year, 2022, Mymanu Clik S was selected as part of the  20 finalists of the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards. Mymanu being featured on the Amazon platform testifies to the credibility of the product. The translation functionality of the device is powered by a  messaging app MyJumo which is proprietary of Mymanu and designed to aid communication in multiple languages, the best gadget for travellers, and companies who want to internationalise. Mymanu Titan Early this year, Mymanu titan was unveiled and shook the telecommunication industry as the first voice-activated, e-sim-powered earbuds. A screen-free device that functions as a phone. This means you can choose to be without your phone and still make calls, listen to music in HD, send or receive messages and again with the MyJumo app you have a live translation. In a month, Titan will be on market, and you have the chance to secure a 51% early bird discount if you join the waitlist. Apart from earbuds, Mymanu also produces wonderful products such as; a magnetic 3-in-1 charger, magnetic phone case, wireless charger, and conference speaker. To know more about how Mymanu products are helping businesses make it big in this globalised world of diverse languages; travellers travelling without the fear of language barriers, and changing industries such as health and tourism, this blog might be of interest to you. There is no doubt that AI translation helps individuals and companies interact with audiences that would have been shut out because of language barriers. With these language technologies, we are marching towards an inclusive world without language barriers. I would very much appreciate that, and if you know of any language technology made by an African, do share in the comment section as well I would love to dig into it.

6 ways to limit enslavement to foreign languages in Africa

Africa is a multilingual continent with diverse and numerous languages. According to the 2018 edition of the Ethnologue Global Dataset, we have 2143 living languages as well as over 8000 dialects in Africa, which is therefore the most linguistically endowed continent. Ngugi Wa Thiongo during a lecture in Johannesburg on Reviving African Languages iterated that “If you know all the languages of the world and you don’t know your mother tongue or the language of your culture, that is enslavement. But if you know your mother tongue or the language of your culture, and add all the other languages of the world to it, that is empowerment.” Few ideas have already been shared on how to ensure that African languages are being preserved and promoted. Here we shall look at more ways to improve those methods and minimise Africans’ dependency on foreign languages.   1) Enrich the vocabulary—the totality of words in African languages.  In order for languages to increase and become better, they need a rich vocabulary. Creating more words would enhance the use and quality of African languages.  For example, in Ghana and Ivory Coast, there is a language called Twi which is spoken by 17 to 18 million people. Although it is spoken almost everywhere, it does not have a strong vocabulary with technical words and expressions to describe certain aspects of reality.  A practical example is the title of this article. I planned to write “Improving the quality, availability and accessibility of African languages” into Twi. I first used an application to to it and it gave “Mfasoɔ a ɛwɔ so, sɛnea ɛte wɔ Abibiman kasa ahodoɔ mu ne sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ yie” as a translation which rather means “The importance of it, how it is  in various African languages and how it can be improved”.  I then decided to ask a friend who is a Ghanaian to translate it. Unable to do it, he also had to ask another friend and later confessed: “Twi lacks a lot of vocabulary. Hence, quite a number of words in twi have the same connotations in English but the meanings are distinctive”.  I was not able to convey the correct idea. It was quite difficult to convey exactly what I wanted and that shows the vocabulary of most African languages need to be enriched, especially if we want to use them as lingua francas. 2) Be proud of ourAfrican languages and encourage leaders to use it publicly.  Speaking African languages will help everyone get familiar with them and we must seize every opportunity to use them in public. Like Ngugi Wa Thiongo said, “Make it both cool and clever to know an African language”.  Imagine I am selling shoes. Even though all clients are important, getting Bill Gates or Alassane Ouattara (the President of my country) to buy my shoes, will make everyone think they are of good quality. Right?  Now, let’s try to apply that same analogy to African languages.  If presidents, ministers, or influential African leaders were speaking African languages during worldwide conferences and events, people would automatically see those languages as significant, and they would be considered with more seriousness. Ibrahim Anoba lists this and language barrier as one of the obstacles to achieve the continental project of the United States of Africa. IBRAHIM ANOBA What do you think ? Do you think this could be enough? Of course, no! Hence, let’s look at more ways! 3) Writing more books and multimedia content in African languages Books carry knowledge, they make physically  available anything anyone would like to share. For example, when I was a kid, I used to write little stories about anything and those words were carrying my thoughts and knowledge.  Now ! Imagine writers make books or anyone writes in their respective African languages. This is going to catapult the availability of African languages everywhere and will contribute to their development.  We have authors like: Ngugi Wa Thiongo whom I quoted in the introduction, who decided to write only in his mother tongue since the year 2000. Nhlanhla Maake who has published twenty-five books of fiction and non-fiction in Sesotho and English.  Sabata-Mpho Mokae who is the author of a biography The Story of Sol T Plaatje (2010) and novels Ga ke Modisa (2012), Dikeledi (2014) and Moletlo wa Manong (2018).  Imagine that more Africans do well to write in their mother tongues. Can you imagine how this would result in the growth of African languages and creation of new businesses?  4) Teaching African languages everywhere possible to spread their use Teaching African languages in schools for instance or in  different institutions will ease their availability on the market. For instance, there are some languages in Ivory Coast that I would not have known were existing if I did not see or learn them at school.  Each African government must ensure that there are language schools where people, especially foreigners and tourists, can learn the indigenous language. People can’t speak our language properly if not taught, and places to learn them effectively must be created as much as possible through collaboration with language schools and the upgrade of selected local languages as official languages, despite the “representativity controversy” that this could generate.  5) Intensive and intentional promotion of content written in African languages There are trillions of books published in English, French and other international languages. But a tiny portion of books are directly published in African indigenous languages. Indigenous languages can grow quickly through media and culture, especially the movie, music and publishing industry.  Below are examples of 3 notable  publishing projects in indigenous languages from South Africa:  The Indigenous Languages Publishing Programme which offers free reading material in isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi and English, believes that being read to in your home language is an essential and powerful part of developing literacy skills, and one that makes all other learning easier.  The reprint of South African classics in indigenous languages to promote the culture of reading and writing in indigenous languages, thereby

African translators must upgrade their command of African languages – Mouhamed Diop from Senegal

The language industry in Africa is full of untapped opportunities. Kabod has ventured on a journey of identifying, documenting and highlighting inspiring stories and innovative projects from entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers in the translation, interpretation and natural language processing communities. The final goal is to celebrate African professionals in the language industry and facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. Mr. Mouhamed Diop, our next interviewee is the founder of AA-Langues, a translation company in Senegal. They provide translation services in three languages which are English, French and Wolof. Here is a fruitful interview we had with him. Kabod: What attracted you to the role of translator? How did you start your career in the translation/interpretation industry? I love languages and I started my professional career in 2015 after completion of my MA in translation at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal. Kabod:  How does your native language influence your fluency with other languages? My native language is Wolof. It does not influence my other working languages very much because I have a strong command of both English and French and teach them as well. Kabod: What are some of the relevant initiatives or projects you are currently working on?  I intend to carry out an academic research on the issues and difficulties accredited translators face in Senegal, and suggest long-lasting solutions. Kabod: What type of translation do you find most difficult? Legal translation is more difficult than any other translation type. Jurists have their own way to formulate sentences and the translator must always seek to translate as faithfully as possible while avoiding literal translation that might be nonsensical. Kabod: How do you market yourself and your services as a translator?  90% of my clients contact me thanks to my references on my blog, promoting websites like www.goafricaonline.com, www.astra-sn.com  and my own website. Kabod: How did you get your first contract? I got my very first contract through my teachers. Kabod: How can African translators position themselves to better tap opportunities in the global language industry? African translators should work in creating well-organized and honest professional networks. Maybe it is good to have one’s own website or a LinkedIn profile, but being part of a bigger family seems much better. African translators must also upgrade their command of African languages because as translators, our first mission should aim to promote our local languages. Kabod:  What strategies do you use to increase your pool of clients while maintaining the existing ones? I always respect deadlines. I do spotless work and I am available and honest. For example, I never accept to work towards a language that I do not have a command of though I have notions of it. Also, the deadlines I give are always respected. This is mostly enough for clients to keep contacting you and linking you to more people. Kabod: Do you have any translation topics you specialize in? Why those topics? I specialize mostly in the fields of animal health, agriculture, nutrition and food because I did my translation internships only with NGOs working in bettering equid animals’ lives. Kabod: Are you using Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) tools? Which one do you prefer and why? CAT tools are a must. 80% of clients often complain about being in a hurry and without CAT tools, tight deadlines will not be honored. I mostly use Trados Studio, Deepl, Wordfast and Memsource. Sometimes, clients express their needs in working with a particular CAT tool. Kabod: Do you think there is a viable market for African languages translation/interpretation? Are there enough economic opportunities for translators/interpreters in African languages? There is a growing interest in African languages. I do believe African languages specialists will be served sooner or later. Kabod: Are you a member of a strong network of translators? I am a first-hour and regular member of Astra (Association sénégalaise des traducteurs) created in September 2017 in Dakar. Kabod: What are the three top pieces of advice that you will share to a budding translator/interpreter from Africa from your experiences? 1) A translator must read a variety of texts 2) Watch documentaries 3) Discuss with resourceful people on any topic Kabod: How do you envision the future of translation in African languages?              The growth of African languages has no limit.  An unexplored or less explored thing always has the power of attraction, but the future of African languages will depend on the day Africans themselves will start to seriously learn their mother tongues and use them officially on top of “received or imposed languages”. Thanks, Mr. Mouhamed, for your time and for sharing your experiences with us. Are you also in the language industry in Africa? Would you also like to be featured in our Knowledge Exchange Series, which highlight the journey and experiences of African language translators, interpreters, computational linguists etc.,? Then, reach out to languages@kabodgroup.com to express interest.

The market is very big for African Languages Translators – Stephen Kwadwo Boateng from Ghana

The language industry in Africa is full of untapped opportunities. Kabod has ventured on a journey of identifying, documenting and highlighting inspiring stories and innovative projects from entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers in the translation, interpretation and natural language processing communities. The final goal is to celebrate African professionals in the language industry and facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. Mr. Stephen Kwadwo Boateng is next on our list! He is the founder of iTranscribe Consult in Ghana. They offer language consultation, translation, interpretation, transcription and transcreation services into Asante Twi and English languages, etc. Below is the result of a conversation with  him about his journey in the language industry. Kabod: What attracts you to the role of translator? How did you start? My zeal to see African Languages reach the global world with no difficulties is what attracts me to the role of translator. I started as a translator in 2013 after gaining admission to the university to study Asante Twi. Since then, I have loved to work in the language industry and I am currently working more as a language consultant. Kabod:  How does your native language influence your fluency with other languages? The Asante Twi dialect which is a part of the Akan Language is unique. Aside from its tonal nature, it has various sounds that are similar to other languages, especially the English Language. Kabod: What are some relevant initiatives you worked on? I have personally worked on the Google Gboard project which is a keyboard available on all stores that seek to have a word bank for suggesting words while users type in Twi. Kabod: What aspect or type of translation do you find most difficult? Why? Technology/Engineering Domain because with Akan where I work in, technology and engineering has very limited or almost no vocabulary. What we mostly do is to transliterate which becomes very difficult due to our alphabet. Kabod: How do you market yourself and your services as a translator? I have a website and on almost all language providers websites such as ProZ, freelancer, fiver, upwork. This helps people to reach out to us when they search for our services online. Kabod: How did you get your first contract? I had my first contract via Facebook after I sent a message to Kasahorow; one of the companies dedicated to promoting African Languages. Interestingly, they replied to my message after a year, but that was a breakthrough for me as a translator. Kabod: How can African translators position themselves to better tap opportunities in the global language industry? With the growing technological trends, African Language Providers should be very visible online by joining all Language Providers sites like the ones i listed above which are ProZ, freelancer, fiver, upwork, etc., and remain committed to clients for recommendations. Kabod:  What strategies do you use to increase your pool of clients while maintaining the existing ones? Mostly after our first encounter with a client, we continue to send them messages during holidays. We also have personal contacts with some of them to still get in touch with them. We keep advertising to reach out to potentially new clients. Kabod: Do you have any translation topics or areas that you specialize in? Why those topics? Yes, and it is because no one is a repository of knowledge. When I get a project outside my domain, I spend time reading up on the subject and continue to update myself with other areas. Kabod: How do you leverage technology to facilitate your work as a translator? Which Computer Assisted Translation tool do you prefer and why? Yes, technology has been a very instrumental part of our work as translators. I use CAT tools and mostly clients give access to some of these CAT tools for their projects. I personally use OmegaT, WordBee and Trados. Kabod: Do you think there is a viable market for African languages’ translation? Are there enough economic opportunities for translators in African languages? Yes, I think the market is very big for African Languages Translators. However, solely freelancing as an African Language Translator is a bit difficult to sustain one economically. I will advise African Languages Translators to look for other opportunities such as Transcription, Transcreation, Subtitling in their language pairs. Kabod: Are you aware of any network for translators in African languages? Are you a member of a strong network of translators or interpreters such as ALATT? Kindly mention them. No, I personally don’t belong to any Network for African Languages. I think there are Country Based Networks, but not an African Wide one. However, I am a member of the International Literacy Association. Kabod: What are the three top pieces of advice that you will share to a budding translator/interpreter from Africa from your experiences? 1. Build online presence 2. Invest in yourself and CAT tools 3. Network with other Language Professionals Kabod: How do you envision the future of translation in African languages? I see a very great future for the language industry in African Languages, however, with the current trends of technology, I think machine translation even in African Languages will gradually take over the industry in the future. Thanks, Mr. Kwadwo, for your time and for sharing your experiences with us. Are you also in the language industry in Africa? Would you also like to be featured in our Knowledge Exchange Series, which highlights the journey and experiences of African language translators, interpreters, computational linguists etc.,? Then, reach out to languages@kabodgroup.com to express interest.

African translators should market their skills and showcase their work – Wandile Nkambule from South Africa

The language industry in Africa is full of untapped opportunities. Kabod has ventured on a journey of identifying, documenting and highlighting inspiring stories and innovative projects from entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers in the translation, interpretation and natural language processing communities. The final goal is to celebrate African professionals in the language industry and facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. Today’s interviewee, Mr. Wandile Nkambule is an African languages  freelance translator in South Africa. He translates from English into Zulu and English Siswati. Keep on reading to know more about him. Kabod: What attracts you to the role of translator? How did you start? My love and interest in languages and my desire to see people reading publications in their own languages attracted me to this role. I started as a volunteer translator in one non-profitable organization and received training through the Translation Techniques courses. Kabod:  How does your native language influence your fluency with other languages? My native language touches the heart when spoken as naturally as possible, so as it is among the language group  called the Nguni languages, it helps me to be able to make the difference between the  grammar of my language and that of other languages which are closely related to it. What are some relevant initiatives or projects you are currently working on? Currently I am busy with translating books for children, evaluating and reviewing the Facebook community standard material and the User Interface which includes the display screen, appearance of a desktop. It is the way through which the user interacts with the application or the website. Companies need the website’s strings to be translated for their websites or their applications to be displayed on the computer. Kabod: How do you market yourself and your services as a translator?  I market myself using social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook and registering on Translation websites such as translationdirectory.com, proz.com, translationcafe.com. How did you get your first contract? I got my first contact after applying for the position advertised by a translation company on  Facebook. How can African translators position themselves to better tap opportunities in the global language industry? There is no other better way African translators could position themselves than marketing themselves and showcase their work and their skills. Kabod:  What strategies do you use to increase your pool of clients while maintaining the existing ones? Producing quality services, delivering the tasks on time helps me a lot! The good reputation I have moves clients to recommend me to others. Kabod: Do you have any translation topics or areas that you specialize in? Why those topics? As a Freelance Translator, I don’t have a specific area or topic I specialize in. Companies assign me different topics to translate, and I do my best in all of them. Kabod: How do you leverage technology to facilitate your work as a translator? Are you using Computer Assisted Translation tools? Which one do you prefer and why? Technology is a helpful tool for translation. I use technology to research complex ideas. I use technology to get other useful tools which help me to do my job efficiently. Currently, I am using the OmegaT as my translation tool. But companies sometimes provide their tasks online and let me use their translation tools like word bee, Smartcat and Trados. The one that I am comfortable with is the Smartcat because it is very easy to use, not complicated, effective and fast. Kabod: Do you think there is a viable market for African languages translation/interpretation? Are there enough economic opportunities for translators/interpreters in African languages? Yes there is a viable market for African Language Translators because Africans nowadays enjoy reading materials in their own mother tongue. There are many economic opportunities. For example, people prefer to read lease agreements, sign contracts, and purchase things that they understand. So having things like that translated in their mother tongue would be great. So African Languages Translators may use opportunities like that to show that they have people’s interests at heart. Kabod: Are you aware of any network for translators in African languages? Are you a member of ALATT or any other strong network of translators? Kindly mention them. No, I am not aware of any network for translators in African Languages. I am not a member of any strong network of translators except being in the list of translators appearing in the websites mentioned above. Kabod: What are the three top pieces of advice that you will share to a budding African translator? My first advice is that translators must understand that translation is not simply to change source language words to vernacular, but to localize the ideas in a way that touches the heart of a reader. My second advice is that they must be free to negotiate with the clients about the deadlines of the projects because the lack of communication leads to rush translation jobs with many errors. And my last advice is that translators should if they can try to sharpen their skills through translation courses and learn how languages differ in grammar. Kabod: How do you envision the future of translation in African languages? I see it growing bigger and having a tremendous influence in all African languages, where people enjoy reading material translated naturally and in a way that touches their hearts. I also see myself being a full-time translator in African Languages as well. Thanks, Mr. Wandile, for your time and for sharing your experiences with us. Are you also in the language industry in Africa? Would you also like to be featured in our Knowledge Exchange Series, which highlight the journey and experiences of African language translators, interpreters, computational linguists etc.,? Then, reach out to languages@kabodgroup.com to express interest.

A Machine Translation Software For African Languages By An African

Machine Translation (MT) is a computational linguistics and language engineering technique that uses software to translate text/speech from one language to another. This occurs by feeding a text to a computer algorithm that translates it automatically into another language. There is no human intervention in the translation process. The machine does the translation by simply substituting words from one language into another. Examples of MT softwares are Google Translate, Microsoft Translate, DeepL, Reverso, Systran, Quillbot, etc. However, few of these MT software, focus on African languages. The low-resourcefulness[1] nature of African languages is purported to be a reason why just a small percentage of African languages are featured in existing machine translation softwares. This, however, does not mean there is no machine translation software dedicated to African languages. The purpose of this article is to share the functionalities and benefits of a mind-blowing MT Software developed by a Nigerian tech-savvy called Emmanuel Gabriel, founder of OBTranslate. OBTranslate, increasing the visibility of African languages while creating jobs. [1] Low-resource languages are languages that have relatively less data available for training conversational AI systems.  OBTranslate is a deep learning company that develops online CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools, neural machine translation (NMT), and artificial intelligence platforms for African languages. OB Translate aims to translate over 2000 African languages. It has behind it a huge database, with more than 789 trillion dataset repositories, and uses neural networks to continue learning. According to Emmanuel Gabriel,  “Our scientists are working hard to ensure that when people present training materials in African languages, they don’t necessarily tell the machines what to look for. The system should find patterns themselves, such as contextual clues around the source sentence”. Further, he added “Since its first inception during Spring of 2019, OBTranslate has evolved and been repurposed several times. This has led to the development of version 1.1.1 in the summer of 2020 and the growth of its functionality to the point where it is now in its latest version (1.9.6).” OBTranslate version 2.0 will come with big changes, starting with the architecture, components, and “neural models” we built, that understand many African and foreign languages on our “universal free text and speech translator”. Apart from the above functions, OBTranslate was created to provide jobs for African language professionals, who can work as freelance translators on the platform. Gabriel explains that “We created OBTranslate with an innovative business model to guarantee that the tool is sustainable to pay everyone whose translations are very accurate.” Affiliate marketers are also welcome on the platform, able to earn a 20% commission anytime a downline pays for any OBTranslate service. “We created OBTranslate with an innovative business model to guarantee that the tool is sustainable to pay everyone whose translations are very accurate. In the next five years, we hope to acquire thousands or millions of users to take up translation tasks on OBTranslate.” – Emmanuel Gabriel. You might also like to read on :● Developing and using African indigenous languages in the digital age● 5 Technological Solutions enhancing the access and use of African languages The need of adopting, using and promoting African Solutions OB Translate is an example of what we call “Afrolutions”, African innovative solutions to African problems. And I cannot agree more with Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who reiterated and demonstrated that African issues can be solved by Africans with African solutions. African linguistic challenges can better be solved with African solutions by Africans. Thus, the African Union should and must support such initiatives[1] engaged in the preservation and promotion of African languages. The more we adopt and use this MT software, the more we make it better as the machine learns from our inputs. As African language professionals, I believe it deserves our full adoption and support to become the most reliable MT software for African languages. The benefits of using a Computer Assisted Translation tools can not be overemphasized and having a software that focuses on African languages is a revolutionary attempt to promote and preserve African languages. I will undoubtedly use it to ease my work at Kabod Group as an African language translator as I provide language services into or from African languages (Ewe and Twi); and to numerous African language translators this software is worth using. It is about time we take the continent’s fate into our own hands to build the “Africa We Want”.  If you know of other MT software that focuses on African languages, feel free to share it in the comment section or send resources you will like us to analyse at languages@kabodgroup.com [1] The efforts of Masakhane – a grassroot community that strengthens and spurs NLP initiatives and research by Africans and for Africans—must be supported in every possible way in order to preserve and protect our native languages.

Multilingualism Week Conference 2022

BACKGROUND Multilingualism Week Celebration began as  the International Translation Day in Ghana in 2017 at the Ghana Institute of Languages. A students’ initiative that sought to bring together language enthusiasts—students, lecturers and professionals to discuss topics related to the language industry. This initiative was birthed with the aim of broadening the perspectives of students of the Ghana Institute of Languages and the Department of Modern languages – University of Ghana. Thereby, creating the platform for deliberations on their respective courses of study; career choices in the language industry; discussion of current issues in the industry; and networking with language professionals. Each year since 2017, participants gain exclusive insights as we discuss pertinent issues that add great value to their professional and career development.  The 2020 edition was held online because of COVID-19, which increasingly recorded global participation: with over 120 participants on Zoom and over 1500 on Facebook. 2021 recorded similar participation. Our event has hosted very prominent language professionals such as Kevin Quirk – President of the International Federation of Translators, Dr Emmanuel Kuto – Translator at African Union Court, Valter Mavric – Director General for Translation, European Parliament, Elizabeth Kouaovi – Head of Translation Department, WHO – Africa, Joseph Sessou – Conference Interpreter, Laura Fevrier – European Parliament, just to mention a few. MULTILINGUALISM WEEK 2022 This year’s edition promises to be more educative as we move from a day’s event to a three-day virtual event, starting from 28th September to 30th September. The 28th and 29th are dedicated to roundtable discussions and workshops and the 30th is dedicated to the celebration of International Translation Day. As part of our program outline for this year, the following topics will be discussed: Subtitling Podcasting Post editing Transcription Machine Translation Specialising in Translation Natural Laanguage Processing Technologies for Translation The climax of the event, which is the 3rd day, will be the celebration of International Translation Day – a day slated to celebrate language professionals globally for their role in serving as mediators between cultures, languages, and people. 2022 THEME The theme for this year, which is that of the International Federation of Translators—FIT is, “A World without Barriers: The Role of Language Professionals in Building Culture, Understanding and lasting Peace”, recognising the vital role of professional translation in connecting the world despite barriers of all types and bringing people together. REGISTRATION Registration to attend all sessions from the 28th – 30th is absolutely free. To register click here For more information on the conference, click here or contact us via this email multilingualismweek@gmail.com WHY ATTEND? This is the biggest event on the continent that focuses on the language industry; discussing pertinent issues, sharing of ideas and experiences, high-level networking with industry players, partnering with professionals and many more. This and many opportunities you are privy to when you attend; all this for free! On this note, we cannot wait to host you online from the 28th to the 30th.

5 Reasons Why Budding Translators Must Volunteer

People volunteer everywhere, every single day, in all domains. It is estimated that over 1 billion people volunteer worldwide.  People volunteer for several reasons, but there is one overarching element for everyone — service. The beauty of volunteering is that it is a selfless act that brings joy and fulfilment. As a budding language professional, it is expedient to volunteer, as this comes as an opportunity for many reasons. Below are some reasons why you should start NOW! 1.       Gain hands-on experience Volunteering as a budding language professional helps you get hands-on training, thereby giving you the opportunity to practise the knowledge you acquire in the classroom. My first volunteering experience was with Global Citizen Ghana where I gained experience on how to recycle bottles and pen holders, transforming old car tires into beautifully crafted chairs, transforming used sachet water into art,  and above all educating market woman at the Madina Market in Accra Ghana on how to keep the environment in which they sell clean. This is where my journey of speaking  to large crowds began. 2.      Acquire new skills Another major reason why you should volunteer is the opportunity to learn new skills or develop your existing skills. Volunteers gain skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, time management, leadership, communication, presentation, and public speaking, among many others. Kabod Group International runs a flagship programme that gives room for volunteering and internships under its 3 main services: Languages, eLearning & Knowledge Management. In August, Kabod received Grace Yoboue as a volunteer, and after one month, she rejoiced over the numerous new skills she has acquired, namely; writing skills, blogging skills, research skills, networking skills and many others. 3.      Improve your C.V / resume Volunteering falls under your career history; it is, therefore, highly necessary to add to your C.V. Having more volunteer experience increases your employability rate. Personally, walking in the corridors of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change in Lomé (Togo) as a translator for the Regional Collaborating Centre was a dream far beyond imagining. However, I would not have had that opportunity without   the numerous opportunities I had volunteering with Global Citizen, Ghana International Model United Nation, and the United Nations Development Programme during the Africa Climate Week (ACW) in 2019. Heaven smiled on me as I  won the best volunteer award which came with working with the UNFCCC office in Togo for 3 months. All this, captured on my CV, helped me land several contracts especially in the field of climate change and international relations. It’s also a strategic way of getting the corporate and professional experiences needed by recruiters. In this regard, Christian Elongué, our managing director at Kabod Group International, revealed that over 70% of his experiences before becoming a consultant were gained through volunteering and internship. “A company may be reluctant to recruit and pay you for an executive or managerial position because of your insufficient years of professional experiences, but feel more safe and open to give you an opportunity and chance to work in a managerial role as a volunteer or intern, because the risk is lesser and the implied cost or salary paid is more affordable and beneficial for the company”, has he confided to us during a Kabod Spark Session, one of our internal talent development program. So don’t hesitate therefore to seize every volunteering opportunity aligned with your career goals in the language industry. 4.      Professional exposure Unemployment is one of the continent’s plagues. Volunteering in communities or organisations that require your skillset, especially while in school, increases your chances of employment after your studies. Research shows that 80% of employers value voluntary work experience, with 58% valuing it more than paid work experience. It is highly advisable to gain experience volunteering before applying for a permanent job. Volunteering with an organisation that aligns with your field of study helps you to know what lies ahead of you after graduation. I was a student when I started volunteering for the Ghana International Model United Nations. A year later, I moved to assistant administrator and finally head communications. These volunteering experiences prepared my entrance into the corporate world and helped me to avoid mistakes that fresh graduates usually do in their first job. 5.      Network Volunteering positions you to meet experts and people who have a wealth of expertise in your chosen field and the work others are doing, which might drastically change your career perspective. These contacts, as a result of networking, mostly become resorts in times of need and want.  My international contract as a freelance was as a result of networking while volunteering at the ACW. I met Richard (a Nigerian climate action activist) who recommended me to several people who needed translation and interpretation. Since 2019, he still contacts and recommends me, but where did it start? He saw me volunteering. This helped me grow my network of diverse nationalities. Since you have been reading till here, let me give you a BIG bonus! Below are organisations where language professionals can volunteer, either in person or remotely. Organisations you can volunteer with as a language professional. 1. Kabod language Services Kabod is a great place you want to consider when volunteering as a budding language professional because of the tailor made structures developed to help its volunteers and interns grow beyond their field of study. 2. UN volunteer The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the volunteer arm of the United Nations. Due to the presence of the UN in many countries, the need for language professionals is incessant. 3.      BabelCube It’s a platform that connects writers and publishers with translators. You may contact the author directly and provide your assistance. You will basically be a volunteer, but you may end up collecting a part of the revenue when the work you translated is sold. 4.      TED Talks Translators  TED is a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. You can join its team of volunteers to translate,

Africa will be the market for translation buyers globally – Alfred Mtawali

The language industry in Africa is full of untapped opportunities. Kabod has ventured on a journey of identifying, documenting and highlighting inspiring stories and innovative projects from entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers in the translation, interpretation and natural language processing communities. The final goal is to celebrate African professionals in the language industry and facilitate knowledge and experience sharing. The first to open up this knowledge exchange series is Mr. Alfred Mtawali, founder of the Kenyan translation company : Can Translators, which provides translation, transcription and proofreading services. Below is the fruit of Ms. Grace Yoboué conversation with Mr. Alfred on his journey and lessons learned working in the African language industry. Kabod: What attracts you to the role of translator? How did you start your career in the translation/interpretation industry? I started out as a Bible translator in 1992. I was 23 then. I attended an interview that had been organised by Bible Translation and Literacy (EA) who were looking for a Giryama translator to translate the Bible into the Giryama language. I passed and joined the translation team as one of the translators. In 1994, my colleague left to take up the role of provost and therefore I remained the lead translator until 1996 when another translator, Edward Chome joined. What attracts me to the translation profession is my passion for languages and my quest to see lives impacted through the translations that I produce. Also being a translator opens me up to the world of knowledge, whereby every kind of text I translate becomes my source of knowledge and new information. Kabod: How does your native language influence your fluency with other languages? My native language which is Giryama influences me to be more fluent in Swahili which is a Bantu language like Giryama. For instance, there are some words in my language that are similar to Swahili words. Also, both languages are agglutinating languages and therefore easy to write and work in them. For example in Giryama the word NINDARYANI means “What am I going to eat?” Whereas in English there are 6 words, Giryama glosses it as one word. Swahili has the same patterns too, for example WENDAPI-means “Where are you going?” in English. In a nutshell, my proficiency in Giryama contributes to my fluency in Kiswahili. Kabod: What are some relevant initiatives or projects you are currently working on? For the last couple of months, I was involved in training in house translators at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). These are translators who translate consent forms into Giryama. My role was to introduce them to translation principles and theories, translation research and community testing of medical terminologies. I have also been translating Joyce Meyer sermons into Swahili, proofreading translations and organising a translation conference popularly known as Africa International Translation Conference (AITCO) to be held in Mombasa next year 10-11 February 2023. Kabod:  What aspect or type of translation do you find most difficult? The most challenging discourse of translation is Christian translation where one has to also be well versed with various theologies and registers. The second is I would say is translating scientific discourse including but not limited to medical translation etc. Kabod:  How do you market yourself and your services as a translator?  My website is my arsenal when it comes to marketing my translation services. I also have a YouTube channel where I share translation tips and also place ads on Facebook for a couple of weeks and that attracts traffic to my website. Finally, I always make sure I write about translation in all my social media handles, as a result all my followers and friends become a point of reference when asked to recommend a translator. Kabod: How did you get your first contract? I first landed my first translation job when I was still an in-house translator with Bible Translation and Literacy (EA). An author by the name Rudi Lack (now deceased) went around Nairobi looking for a translator to translate his mission book Breakthrough. He knocked doors in several organisations and my name popped up in some of them and he ended up contacting me to translate his book. I completed the translation and over 30,000 copies of the book were printed and distributed in Tanzania and Kenya. Kabod: How can African translators position themselves to better tap opportunities in the global language industry? African translators need to position themselves by going with global trends in the profession. For instance, they need to learn how to use CAT tools, be members of both their local translation associations and international ones, they need to attend translation conferences for their professional development and networking and finally improve their language skills. The translation ‘cake’ is huge, but we need to sit on the right corner of the table to take a bite. Kabod: What strategies do you use to increase your pool of clients while maintaining the existing ones? One strategy I use is to increase my knowledge in the profession by attending translation conferences in Europe and America and grow my network. I attended one conference and one attendee recommended me to a client that I have been working for since 2015. Another strategy is gifting my existing clients with branded merchandise like mugs, hoodies and water bottles. This gesture of appreciation helps to keep the client-vendor relationship intact. I am also a member of the East Africa Interpreters and Translators Association (EAITA), International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) and the American Translators Association (ATA). Clients do contact me directly from the directories of these three associations. Kabod: Do you have any translation topics or areas that you specialise in? Why those topics? My area of specialisation is Christian translation and literary translation. Having translated the Bible in my language, I can comfortably handle translation of literary works and religious discourse. My second degree is on Children and Youth development and therefore, I can handle materials about youth and their development. Having translated for 30

Understanding artificial languages and how to create one?

Athchomar chomakea everyone! Do not be shocked, these two words are from the Dothraki artificial language used to say “hello” to non-Dothraki people.  I know for sure that no one is a Dothraki here. Are you? “taH pagh taHbe’. DaH mu’tlheghvam vIqelnIS”. This beautiful sentence is in Klingon language for Hamlet’s famous line, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” (Translated by Nick Nicholas and Andrew Strader). You are certainly wondering what all this is about. Well, today we are going to discuss artificial languages. Language facilitates communication and helps us transmit vital information around the world. But have you ever wondered about the genesis of languages? Who creates languages? How do they come about? All languages start as artificial languages before being called natural languages and used by everyone. They remain artificial languages as long as they are not lingua francas, consistently being spoken by a group of people. What are artificial languages? Artificial languages are languages created by individuals for specific purposes. They are sometimes called planned languages. A study by Robert Isenberg defines artificial languages as “any language whose lexicon and grammar were developed by an individual source for the sake of itself. An individual source refers to either one creator or a select body of creators. A great deal of time might transpire over the course of its development, but when it is released to others, the language must be communicatively functional – i.e., the system can be used to convey many ideas”. Artificial languages are being created frequently, either for artistic purposes, study, or personal will. They reflect the beauty of language in the sense that they emanate from the creativity and imagination of humans and contribute to the multiplicity of languages in the world. One of the most popular artificial languages used in real life is Esperanto, invented by a Polish Jew in 1887. Esperanto, which literally means, “one who hopes” was created by Ludwig Zamenhof from a blend of English, German, Latin and Romance elements. Today, it is spoken worldwide by about two million people. Are you a fan of movies? Have you watched the popular series called “Game of Thrones?” or the movie Avatar? Did you know that the languages used in those movies and many others were created for the specific purposes of these movies? Let’s look at more examples of existing artificial languages! You would probably like to create your own artificial language as well. But do you know how to create them? Is there a process to follow? Are there rules? How do they go about it? Let’s look at that in the next point! The process of creating artificial languages Together, let’s explore how we can create our own artificial language. Conclusion To conclude, artificial languages are languages created by individuals for specific purposes. A lot of movies, books, etc., make use of artificial languages. The beauty of artificial language is seen in the way that it comes from creativity and imagination while contributing to the growth of the language industry. What a great deal it is to have such inventions in the world, with people ready to let their creativity speak. Fonas chek! After reading this, you might have decided to create your own artificial language. Do not hesitate! Do you know other artificial languages you would like to share with us? Feel free to do that in the comments and indicate in what way that language is special!

Le nouchi, future langue nationale de Côte d’Ivoire ?

« Qui fait ça ? Faut pas fasser hein, nous s’amuser », ça c’est une phrase en nouchi. Le nouchi est un argot populaire créé et parlé en Côte d’Ivoire, pays situé en Afrique de l’Ouest. C’est l’un des pays d’Afrique linguistiquement hétérogène où aucune de ses langues locales ne sert de moyen de communication interethnique. Dans ce contexte de plurilinguisme, le nouchi, désormais pratiqué par toutes les couches sociales et professionnelles, apparaît être sur le bon chemin d’avoir le statut de langue nationale un jour. Mais avant d’explorer cette possibilité, il est important d’analyser les facteurs ayant contribué à la popularité du nouchi et comment cette langue est parvenue à s’imposer dans un pays linguistiquement hétérogène ? Peut-il devenir une langue nationale ? Origine et étymologie du Nouchi Le nouchi a été créé vers la fin des années 70 et au début années 80 dans les rues d’Abidjan, capitale économique de Côte d’Ivoire, par des citadins mal scolarisés ou délinquants, ne maîtrisant pas bien le français.Le mot « nouchi » tirerait son origine du Dioula, langue locale utilisée majoritairement dans le commerce. Il est composé de « nou », qui veut dire “nez” et de « chi » qui signifie “poils“, et donc “poils de nez” ou « moustache » pour désigner le méchant, à qui tout le monde voulait ressembler dans les westerns de ces temps. Un « nouchi », c’est un homme fort, craint de tous et qui n’a peur de rien ni de personne. Le nouchi est apparu sous la forme d’une langue hybride, constituée d’un mélange de langues étrangères (français, anglais, espagnol) et de langues locales, notamment le dioula, le bété, le baoulé, etc., de langues africaines et surtout des mots inventés par les locuteurs eux-mêmes. Il était utilisé dans les marchés, gares et rues avant d’être transporté dans la plupart des couches sociales. De langue de rue, le nouchi est devenu le moyen de communication interethnique par excellence de Côte    d’Ivoire. Le nouchi : langue véhiculaire de Côte d’Ivoire Selon Louis-Jean Calvet, une langue véhiculaire est « une langue utilisée pour la communication entre des groupes qui n’ont pas la même première langue » (Calvet, 1993, p. 40)[1]. Suivant cette définition, le nouchi peut être qualifié de langue véhiculaire. En effet, le nouchi est parlé en ville, dans les villages et dans la diaspora. Il est présent dans les lycées et universités, par tous les groupes ethniques et de toutes les classes sociales et professionnelles. C’est la langue d’unification des peuples de Côte d’Ivoire en raison de l’absence d’une langue locale imposante. C’est le point de rencontre de différentes langues locales ivoiriennes, notamment le dioula, le baoulé et le bété mais aussi africaines. Bien que n’étant pas une langue nationale, c’est celle qui identifie les Ivoiriens au niveau international. Le terme « nouchi » renvoie automatiquement à la Côte d’Ivoire et représente un emblème linguistique pour la Côte d’Ivoire. Vocabulaire en Nouchi Il existe un dictionnaire en ligne du nouchi dans lequel les mots s’actualisent quotidiennement. Ci-dessous, quelques exemples de mots et phrases en nouchi : *Mots en nouchi boucantier : personne frimant avec des marques de luxe    couper : voler, escroquer faroter : frimer dêmin-dêmin : se débrouiller gbô : manger kpata, zooh: joli(e), élégant(e) kpé, lalé : téléphone portable. gbata, piol, piss: maison, habitat goumin-goumin : chagrin d’amour fraya: fuir, partir dédja: ouvrir dèbè: tomber je suis piqué : je n’ai plus d’argent Notion d’argent moro : 5 francs CFA                                                  gbèssè : 500 francs CFA grosse : 25 francs CFA                                               bâr : 1 000 francs CFA sogban : 75 francs CFA                                             gbonhon ou key : 5 000 FCFA togo: 100 francs CFA                                                 diez : 10 000 francs CFA mambi: 100 franc CFA                                    une brique : un million de francs CFA 1. Phrases composées de mots d’origine française– On’ê calé issi.                              “On est installé ici” 2. Phrases marquées par un mot d’origine anglaise– Il’ê daï (die).                                 “Il est tout ivre” 3. Phrases marquées par un mot d’origine espagnole1- Il’ê calé à la pisso(piso).           “Il est à la maison.” 4. Les phrases marquées par un mot d’origine dioula  1- Ton môgôê là !                           “Ton ami est là !” Niveau de pénétration du nouchi dans la communication en Côte d’Ivoire Le nouchi est présent dans les conversations domestiques, la comédie populaire, la musique, la presse, et même dans les débats et réunions politiques. Au niveau des médias, le nouchi est utilisé sur les chaînes de radios, notamment sur Radio nationale et Fréquence 2 ainsi qu’une centaine de chaînes privées réparties dans toutes les villes et communes aux émissions « After work » sur Radio Nostalgie, « Djassa FM » sur Fréquence. Il est aussi utilisé sur les chaînes de télévision nationales (RTI 1, RTI 2 et RTI Bouaké) qui, en dehors de RTI Bouaké, émettent sur toute l’étendue du territoire et certaines chaînes privées depuis Abidjan. Ainsi, des émissions comme « On se dit les gbê », « On se djô », « kpakpato, dernier cri », « les dabali de chez nous », « kpakpato pressé » etc. sont diffusées en nouchi. Concernant la presse écrite, les premiers articles sur le nouchi ont été publiés le 06 septembre 1986 dans le journal Fraternité Matin par les journalistes Alain Coulibaly et Bernard Ahua sous le titre « Le nouchi, un langage à la mode ». Dès lors, la presse écrite s’est engagée à promouvoir cette forme d’expression à la mode. Aujourd’hui, certains journaux, pour séduire, ont adopté le nouchi comme langue d’écriture. C’est le cas du quotidien L’Intelligent d’Abidjan dont les pages de couverture affichait ce titre : « NON à des élections koutcha et wouya-wouya » où « Koutcha » et « wouya-wouya », deux termes malinké, se traduisent respectivement par « truquées » et « chose sans importance » comme pour dire : « NON à des élections truquées et sans importance ». Plusieurs autres journaux et magazines l’utilisent aussi. Le nouchi est beaucoup utilisé dans la musique. Tous les musiciens ivoiriens et même ceux de l’extérieur créent des chansons en nouchi. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, des vecteurs musicaux tels que les chansons de zouglou, de rap, de reggae,

3 Moyens De Promouvoir Les Langues Africaines

L’Afrique est un cas particulièrement intéressant quant à ses dynamiques sociolinguistiques et linguistiques, car elle est le berceau d’un tiers des langues parlées sur notre planète, soit 2,158 langues indigènes. Selon Emmanuel Gabriel, fondateur d’OpenBinacle:« plus de 52 langues autochtones d’Afrique ont disparu et n’ont pas de locuteurs natifs ». Parmi les raisons de la disparition d’une langue, citons la migration des locuteurs de cette langue vers d’autres horizons, la limitation de son vocabulaire, l’absence de manuscrits ou encore les changements constants dans les sociétés et aussi la faible transmission aux générations futures. La grande majorité des langues officielles parlées en Afrique a été importée et imposée durant l’époque coloniale. Ainsi, on parle aujourd’hui de l’Afrique francophone, anglophone, lusophone et arabophone. Nous pouvons aussi exiger l’apprentissage de nos langues locales afin de les promouvoir.  Découvrez trois moyens de promouvoir les langues autochtones africaines. 1)    Les décideurs africains devraient adopter des langues de leur pays comme langues co-officielles La promotion de nos langues ne peut se faire que par nous, interlocuteurs de celles-ci. Les dirigeants devraient cesser de trouver des excuses quant au fait que les langues africaines sont inaptes à porter la science, la technologie, la politique, l’économie et prendre des mesures concrètes à cet effet. C’est-à-dire financer des recherches approfondies pour combler le fossé qui puisse exister dans les langues susceptibles d’avoir le statut de deuxième langue officielle afin que celles-ci puissent porter la science, la technologie, la politique… Il est clair que la tâche est loin d’être facile si l’on considère l’encodage des caractères des langues, sa normalisation, l’enseignement de leurs alphabets aux citoyens. Elle apparaît toutefois nécessaire, car si l’on veut changer le cours des choses pour les générations futures, c’est maintenant que les bases doivent être posées. Prenons l’exemple du Swahili, langue parlée en Ouganda, au Kenya, en Tanzanie, à l’île de Zanzibar, aux Comores, au Rwanda, au Burundi, au Congo-Kinshasa, en Zambie, en Somalie, en Afrique du Sud et au Mozambique. Cette langue, considérée auparavant comme une langue “obscure”, compte aujourd’hui plus de 200 millions de locuteurs et est l’une des 10 langues les plus parlées au monde. Le swahili a été adopté comme langue nationale au Kenya, au Congo-Kinshasa, et comme langue officielle en Tanzanie et récemment en  Ouganda. Tout ceci pour montrer que parvenir à un tel résultat se fait pas à pas, continuellement, tout en y investissant les efforts et les fonds.. 2)  Introduction des langues autochtones dans le système éducatif par les décideurs africains Rappelons que le système colonial avait mis en place un système éducatif conforme à sa politique, où la langue d’enseignement et de communication était une langue européenne. Dans tous les pays africains, il semble que tous les moyens du système éducatif semblent être mis au service du prestige d’une langue occidentale, enseignée comme langue première. Ainsi, nous avons, en tant qu’élèves africains, précisément en Côte d’Ivoire, à apprendre l’anglais à partir de la classe de sixième(6e), parfois depuis le primaire pour certaines écoles privées, puis l’espagnol ou l’Allemand à partir de la classe de quatrième(4e). L’enfant est ainsi arraché linguistiquement et culturellement à son cadre de vie. Pourtant, tous les enfants africains ont le droit inaliénable d’aller à l’école et d’apprendre dans leurs langues maternelles. Involontairement, les systèmes éducatifs ont contribué à la dévalorisation des cultures et langues africaines, notamment dans les pays francophones où les décideurs ont non seulement manqué de faire introduire une langue autochtone dans leur système éducatif, mais aussi donné assez de valeur aux langues européennes dans nos systèmes. Pour y remédier, les dirigeants des différents pays africains doivent introduire l’apprentissage d’au moins une langue locale dans le système éducatif de leur pays respectif afin que les apprenants puissent apprendre cette langue depuis le primaire. Le Ghana peut être cité en exemple, où on enseigne à le Twi ainsi que l’Ewe à l’école primaire. 3)   Assurer la présence des langues africaines sur la toile La promotion des langues africaines impose d’assurer la présence des langues africaines sur la toile. C’est-à-dire introduire celles-ci dans les technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC). Ceci étant, les décideurs politiques doivent assurer la présence adéquate de l’outil informatique comme matériel didactique à la disposition des élèves avant de veiller à l’introduction de ces langues sur les TIC. Jusque-là, les actions menées à cet effet par le passé ont porté leur fruit car le logiciel de traduction Google Translate a dernièrement ajouté dix nouvelles langues africaines dans son système en plus de celles incluses auparavant telles que l’Amharique, le Haoussa, le Somali, le Swahili, le Yoruba ou encore le Kinyarwanda. Bonne nouvelle ! Il y a aussi l’existence d’une plateforme numérique dénommée OBTranslate qui vise à traduire plus de 2000 langues africaines pour permettre aux habitants des zones rurales d’accéder facilement aux marchés mondiaux. Nous pouvons également citer Boite A Innovations, une société canadienne représentée dans 4 pays (Canada, Bénin, Sénégal et Gabon), spécialisée dans l’alphabétisation des langues africaines, ensemble d’outils numérique d’apprentissage dans les langues africaines, plus de 12 langues précisément. Les États africains doivent apporter leur pierre à l’édifice de la promotion des langues africaines en soutenant financièrement toutes ces initiatives visant à promouvoir et à introduire les langues africaines sur la toile.   Conclusion En somme, l’adoption des langues locales comme langue officielles, l’introduction de celles-ci dans le système éducatif et sur les TIC s’avèrent être des moyens efficaces pour promouvoir les langues indigènes africaines. Il apparaît donc nécessaire pour les décideurs de réviser la méthode d’enseignement monolingue dans les pays africains. Ceci contribuera au développement du continent africain. Bien qu’un nombre de langues africaines soit plus ou moins présent sur la toile, plus d’efforts restent à fournir pour améliorer la qualité des services de langues, la traduction par exemple, vers ces langues. Cependant, la question du choix d’une langue particulière parmi tant d’autres que compte chaque pays afin d’assurer l’intégrité nationale se pose. Pour l’heure, il revient aux parents de jouer leur partition qui est de déjà enseigner à leurs enfants leur langue maternelle depuis la maison. Avez-vous

How to prevent African minority languages from extinction?

Have you ever heard of the NJUU language? Did you know that this language has only one remaining fluent speaker today? Do you know where it is spoken? Njuu language is the sole survivor of the Tuu cluster of San languages spoken in South Africa. It is considered the original language of South Africa. This language was declared extinct in 1973, only to be rediscovered in the late 1990s when a radio appeal turned up dozens of elderly speakers. This number progressively reduced to only 3 people, namely Ouma Katrina Esau, Hanna Koper, and Griet Seekoei, all sisters. Today, Ouma Katrina, aged 87, is the only remaining fluent speaker of Njuu, after her elder sisters have passed away. She works hard to save her language from dying out by teaching it to the local children for about a decade in Upington, town in the Northern Cape Province where she lives. The United Nations recognizes this language as critically endangered. How do we prevent this from happening to other African languages? Just like Njuu, many other African indigenous languages are on the verge of extinction and are, therefore, “critically endangered”. Of the 2,158 living languages in Africa, 195 are institutional, 581 are developing, 859 are vigorous, 396 are endangered, and 127 are dying. Per the statistics, about 523 languages (endangered and dying languages) have to be saved. These languages mainly account for minority languages. What is a minority language? How does a language become classified as a “minority language”? Why do minority languages disappear? How can minority languages be prevented from extinction? These are the questions that this piece will be exploring. What is a “minority language”? A “minority language” is a language spoken by less than 50% of the population in a given region, state, or country. Hence, a language can be a minority language in one region or state but a majority language in another, depending on the number of the speaker population within a given geographic context. How does a language become a minority language and eventually die? The first reason a language becomes a minority language is that speakers stop using their mother tongue at the expense of another language. Indeed, after migrating to a new region or state, sometimes because of natural disasters, some people stop using their mother tongue and begin to learn and use that of the region they have relocated to. Hence, these people may begin to use only that new language with their children, and gradually the intergenerational transmission of the mother tongue will be reduced or cease. As a consequence, the number of speakers who use that language as their primary language will start to decrease, and the total number of speakers will eventually decrease, causing the language to become a minority language. In the long run, the language may no longer be used at all and may go extinct. The second reason is that when fewer people connect their ethnic identity with a particular language, they tend not to give value to that language and therefore do not see the need to use it or pass it on to their children. Any language with many of this category of people will definitely have fewer speakers and become a minority language and/or an endangered language. A third reason is the age range of the speakers of a particular language. Let us take the example of the aforementioned language, Njuu. Let us consider that there are 100 speakers, of whom 40 are above 50 years. As these 40 people grow older and die, the number of speakers will decrease. Younger speakers may multiply, but if they fail to pass on their mother tongue to their children, the language will not only become a minority language but be “critically endangered”. A language may die as a result of economic reasons. Indeed, speakers of a minority language may, for one reason or another, decide that it is better for their children to speak a language that is tied to economic success. And this is to guarantee them a good future. Hence, they do not see the need to teach their own language to their children. Eventually, the more parents would do that, the fewer speakers of that particular language would have. And when those parents are no more, there would gradually be no living speakers and that language would die. How can minority/endangered languages be prevented from extinction? 1. The most crucial step in preserving a language and preventing its extinction is to create and maintain a detailed documentation of that language. In other words, written records (books), transcriptions, and recordings should be created for each minority/endangered language for its preservation. Languages involve technical aspects such as syntax, punctuation, phonology, and syllables that have to be carefully curated and recorded. And for that matter, linguists and anthropologists must work together to recreate accurate language resources. 2. The second effective way to preserve an endangered language is to teach it. Just as Katrina Esau said “I am teaching the language because I do not want it to become extinct when we die”. And this is a two-way affair. First, speakers of a particular endangered language must pass the language on to their children by teaching them how to speak it. Secondly, speakers of endangered languages must willingly teach their language to fellow citizens from different ethnic groups. This will increase the number of speakers of those languages and prevent them from dying. This is where the creation and maintenance of language resources are relevant because they will be used in the teaching process. Just as Ouma Katrina Esau has taken upon herself to teach her language at her home to the children of the community, she lives in. 3. The last, but not the least, means to save an endangered language is the use of technology to promote it. That is, create online dictionaries, websites, applications that will allow more people to learn it and promote it. An example of the various applications designed

Most African Indigenous Languages are on the Brink of becoming Extinct by 2100

Culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original peoples are defined as indigenous. Among indigenous peoples are the Mayas, Lakota, Pygmies of Central Africa, the Maasai tribe from East Africa, the Berbers of Northern Africa, etc. Indigenous peoples can be found on every continent and, globally, account for 6% of the world’s population. In total, they are custodians and speakers of more than 4000 out of 7000 languages spoken in the world. However, indications reveal that most indigenous languages are mostly endangered and are on the brink of becoming extinct by 2100. 3,045 languages are endangered as of 2022, which is 42.5% of all living languages. The Rights of Indigenous Peoples On December 18, 2019, the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations adopted a resolution on the “Rights of Indigenous Peoples” during its 74th session. The year 2019 was declared by the UN as the International Year of Indigenous languages, which preceded the proclamation of 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL), with UNESCO as the lead UN Agency.  Despite being the embodiment of cultural diversity, indigenous peoples are mostly marginalized, facing extreme poverty, suffering human rights violations, and living in constant fear of losing their cultures and languages as a result of factors such as increased globalisation, urbanisation, and migration, among many others. UNESCO, in light of IDIL, seeks to draw the world’s attention to indigenous languages and establish the urgent need to preserve and promote these languages by building a global community that revitalises and supports indigenous languages worldwide. To achieve the goal of IDIL 2022-2032 a Global Action Plan was developed for all individuals, governments, institutions, and stakeholders. In order to contribute to your quota, join the IDIL 2022-2032 global community. The State of African Indigenous Languages Language is the ultimate embodiment of our diverse cultures and identities. History, customs, and traditions are preserved through languages. Africa is known to be the most linguistically endowed continent in the world, as it accounts for one-third of world languages. The globally accredited and most authoritative inventory of world languages, Ethnologue in its 25th edition (2022) records a total of 7,151 living languages globally, with Africa recording 2158 living languages, with detailed categorisation into Institutional: 195, Developing: 581, Vigorous:859, In trouble: 396, Dying: 127. Extinct/Dead languages are characterised by having no native speakers and no native descendants, and an endangered/in trouble language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as a result of having few speakers. UNESCO categorises language endangerment into four. These are: Vulnerable – most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home) Definitely endangered – children no longer learn the language as a “mother tongue” in the home. Severely endangered – language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the younger generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves. Critically endangered –  the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently. Extinct – there are no speakers left. Despite the rich linguistic diversity the continent is endowed with, it cannot vaunt much about its languages owing to the many phases of colonisation it was subdued to, where the indigenous languages were sacrificed on the altar of the coloniser’s languages, which were used and are still used as a medium of instruction when the European colonisers in Africa introduced formal education. The dismemberment of the African continent as a result of colonisation is defined by Ngugi Wa Thiongo as ‘‘an act of absolute social engineering; the continent’s dismemberment was simultaneously the foundation, fuel, and consequence of Europe’s capitalist modernity.” The colonisation of a people’s language is to colonise their minds and the knowledge and history carried in that language. Ngugi further established in an interview that it is “self- enslavement if you know all the languages of this world but not your mother tongue. On the contrary, if you excellently know your mother tongue and add the rest of the languages of this world, that is empowerment. ” As Africans, we seem to overlook certain actions and inactions that endanger our native languages. First, most Africans (especially the youth of Africa) do not feel proud speaking their mother tongue and feel more empowered and educated speaking foreign languages. Second, the speaking of African languages in African schools is prohibited. On the notion that proficiency in the colonisers is essential in becoming successful. Third, African governments conduct their operations in foreign languages other than their native languages. Lastly, I personally find it extremely sad that, amidst the myriads of African languages (2158); the continental body- the African Union, which consists of 55 member states—has only one African language as an official language.  The AU has six official languages, namely; English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, andKiswahili. This begs the following questions; What is the African Union’s effort in preserving the  numerous  languages of its people? Why would the continental body that oversees the wellbeing of its members have only one African language as an official language? All of the problems stated above keep us in constant self-inflicted bondage. Conclusion The path towards empowerment is first and foremost embracing our native languages as Africans; for they are a conservatory of our culture and heritage. In it lies who we are, where we come from, what defines us, and why we exist, which in turn defines where we are going and how far we go.  You might also want to explore this  article  that talks about “4 critical reasons why every African should know their native language now and practical ways to promote African languages.”