Africa tends to get overlooked on the international linguistic stage. The continent is so diverse, so teeming with languages, that most countries need to designate a lingua franca or two so that citizens of different languages can communicate with one another. This results in Africans learning languages like English, French, Portuguese, or Swahili, which are used in the higher, more educated circles in their respective countries, and sidelines the thousands of indigenous languages found across the continent—languages like Western Krahn.
Western Krahn only has around 65,000 to 100,000 native speakers, so it pales in comparison to major global languages like English or French. However, this is the reality of most minority languages in Africa. Of course, most Western Krahn speakers have learned English or French out of societal necessity, but amongst themselves, they still speak their native language vigorously. Unfortunately, Western Krahn is poorly supported by translation companies, which is why we at TranslationServices.com want to make a change with our new Western Krahn translation services.
Send us a message to request a free quote for our Western Krahn translation services today!
Let’s dig a bit deeper into Western Krahn
Western Krahn is spoken mostly in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, tucked away in West Africa. It’s part of a dialect continuum along the coasts of these countries, featuring a number of languages spoken by the Krahn and Guere (or Wee) ethnic groups. This means that Western Krahn is closely related to Konobo (Eastern Krahn), Sapo (Southern Krahn), Wobé, Guéré (Wè), Nyabwa, Glaro, Twabo, Daho, and Doo, which exhibit differing levels of mutual intelligibility. This means that Western Krahn speakers can communicate with speakers of some of these other languages, but not all of them.
Western Krahn belongs to the biggest language family in the world by number of languages: Niger–Congo. Specifically, it’s a Kru language, a subfamily containing numerous languages in far-West Africa. Western Krahn’s grammar is quite a bit different from that of English—for example, the language doesn’t have adjectives as we know them in English. Rather, adjectives are expressed as verbs (e.g., a verb that means “is red” instead of an adjective meaning “red”). Also, in Western Krahn, demonstratives—words like “this” or “that”—come after the noun, not before, as in English. These are only a few examples of how different Western Krahn is from English, illustrating the necessity to rely on native-speaking translators for your Western Krahn translation needs.
We tailor our Western Krahn translation services to meet your specifications.
What are you looking for in terms of Western Krahn translation services? Whatever you need, we’re here to help. Our team consists of passionate native speakers from different parts of Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, which means we offer representation across different Western Krahn dialects. So, whether you need translation services from English to Western Krahn to capture a new audience in West Africa, or you’re looking for Western Krahn to English translation services to spread your message around the world, our team is happy to help.
Because the number of Western Krahn speakers isn’t overly high, we can’t always guarantee that we’ll have the right translator to meet niche needs—but we’ll always try to accommodate our clients’ needs. Some of our translators are well suited for academic translation, such as for research surveys or educational materials—in various disciplines! Other translators on our team can help you market your business to a new customer base in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. We also have literary translators on our team who know how to transmit the subtle nuances of prose and poetry to and from Western Krahn while leaving your individual tone and style intact. Any other requests for your Western Krahn translation? Just ask!
We’d love to help you with your Western Krahn translation project! Send us a message today to place an order!