The linguistic situation in much of Africa is complicated. Most countries across the continent have set a foreign language as their official language: English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, etc. In North Africa, Arabic really is the native language of most people. But in sub-Saharan Africa, most people learn these imported languages as second languages in order to communicate with their compatriots. In some areas, smaller local languages are used as regional lingua francas. One such language in Africa is Kituba.
Kituba had around 5.4 million native speakers as of 1990, a figure that is almost certainly higher today. Several million people also speak it as a second language, given that it’s a regional lingua franca. It’s even designated as a national language in the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kituba is known by many names, including Kikongo-Kituba, Munukutuba, Kikongo ya leta, Kileta, and Kikongo, although the final one is confusing because Kikongo is also a common name for the Kongo language. At TranslationServices.com, we’re proud to introduce our new translation services for Kituba.
A free quote for our Kituba translation services is available upon request—just send a message!
Kituba: the “way of speaking” in the Congo
Kituba literally translates to “way of speaking,” and indeed, it’s used as a lingua franca across various areas of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s a creole language based on Kongo (or Kikongo), a major Bantu language in the region. It’s uncertain how Kituba developed, but whatever circumstances led to its birth, it arose when speakers of various different languages needed a common language to communicate. Over time, the new language that evolved among this group of people was learned by children, becoming a fully fledged creole language.
As a Bantu language, Kituba appears quite grammatically complex to an English speaker. Pronouns in Kituba differ depending on whether they’re subjects or objects (similar to “I” vs. “me” or “they” vs. “them” in English), and nouns come in 18 classes, similar to the grammatical gender found in French or Spanish. Different from most other Bantu languages, Kituba’s class system is dramatically simplified and has less of an impact on sentences than in languages like Swahili. In terms of verbs, Kituba has various tenses and aspects, generally expressed through preverbial particles. These grammatical features can make Kituba difficult to translate, but if you work with experienced native speakers—like our team members—you won’t have to worry.
Our Kituba translation services are for anyone.
We’re passionate about Kituba and making sure that all our clients with Kituba translation projects have access to the services they need. We’ve hired native speakers of Kituba from all over the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which allows us to cover different dialects of this important African language. Our translation services are available for projects both to and from Kituba, so just let us know what you’re looking for.
We offer Kituba translation services for all kinds of purposes, so if you have anything specific in mind, let us know! For example, if you want academic translation services, our team is filled with experts in various academic disciplines. If you’re looking for business translation services, our specialized business translators can help you—with both internal company documents and promotional materials. If you need literary translation services, our literary translation experts can meticulously translate your creative works to or from Kituba, no matter the genre or subject matter. The same applies if you need localization services. And if you’re dealing with esoteric language, just tell us—we’ll match you to a translator who understands your field.
It's time to take advantage of our Kituba translation services. If you’d like to get started, simply reach out and place an order!