If you were asked to name an African language, you’d probably say Swahili or Somali, or possibly Zulu, Yoruba, Hausa, or Amharic. Beyond that, most people would struggle to name any languages from the continent. But that’s not because they’re not there—Africa accounts for more than 2,000 of the world’s 7,000+ languages. Even larger African languages like Bamanankan rarely grace the international stage, and that’s a shame—which is why we at TranslationServices.com decided to put together our own Bamanankan translation team.
Bamanankan, also known as Bambara, is designated as a national language in Mali and is, in fact, the most widely spoken language in the West African nation. Around 4.1 million people speak Bamanankan as a first language, with an additional 10 million or so learning it as a second language. In total, roughly 80% of the Malian population speaks Bamanankan in some capacity, and it’s used as a lingua franca (alongside French) to unite the diverse ethnolinguistic groups of the country. Unfortunately, Bamanankan is poorly represented on the global level, with translation services for the language rare—and that’s where our Bamanankan translation team comes in.
To see a free quote for our Bamanankan translation services, simply message us!
Bamanankan: the biggest language of Mali
Even though French is the official language of Mali, only around 20% of the population actually speaks it. Bamanankan, or Bambara, is much more widely spoken, particularly concentrated in and around the capital of Bamako. Bamananko is officially written in the Latin alphabet, but it may also be written in a modified version of the Arabic script or an indigenous script called N’Ko, invented in 1949 for Manding languages. N’Ko, written from right to left, is gaining traction in Bamanankan-speaking communities.
Bamanankan hails from the Mandé branch of the Niger–Congo language family, which comprises a significant number of languages in West Africa. It glues affixes to words to express grammatical meaning and places the verb at the end of the sentence in a subject-object-verb order, although the tense and aspect marker comes before the object. Adverbs may also come after the verb. Bamanankan additionally features an interrogative particle that marks the given sentence as a question. Given the influential role of French in Malian society, the language has also absorbed a number of French loanwords, which may be used interchangeably with native Bamananko words.
Our translation services are both to and from Bamananko.
If you want reliable translation services to and from Bamananko, which you may also know as Bambara, our team is right for you. We’ve carefully selected the top Bamananko translators from across Mali—native speakers who are passionate about their language and easing communication with the rest of the world. No matter which script you’re working in, we can translate seamlessly between English and Bamananko.
Need translation from Bamananko? Our translation services cover everything from promotional business materials and academic papers to traditional Bamananko literature and historical documents in the language. We can help businesses go international, scholars gain global recognition, or Bamananko enthusiasts share local culture with outsiders. If, on the other hand, you want translation into Bamananko—whether you’re a company looking to expand operations to Mali, an academic who wants to connect with Bamananko-speaking peers, or a content creator who wants your book, poem, game, website, or app available in Bamananko, we’d be thrilled to provide our assistance.
Don’t wait to get started with your Bamananko (Bambara) translation project. It’s as easy as reaching out to us!