In Africa, multilingualism is the norm. Most people speak at least two languages, if not more, because there are so many languages spoken in the area that learning others is necessary to communicate with neighbors. Usually, people speak their local, indigenous language and then learn the national lingua franca, often a language like English, French, Arabic, or Portuguese, and possibly regional lingua francas or neighboring languages as well. Many of Africa’s languages are spoken vigorously by virtually all members of the ethnic group, which is the case with Zaghawa.
Zaghawa is spoken as a native language by around 450,000 people, according to data from 2019 to 2022. This figure is up significantly from 20 or 30 years ago, growing as the ethnic population grows. Zaghawa, also commonly called Beria, the native name for the language, is in good standing and not susceptible to immediate danger from other, bigger languages like Arabic or French, but of course, the threat always looms in the background. There’s a general lack of translation services for Zaghawa, but that’s where we at TranslationServices.com come in: we’re happy to provide translation services with our new Zaghawa translation team!
Getting a free quote for our Zaghawa translation services is easy—just request one now!
Let’s dive a little deeper into Zaghawa.
You’ll find most native speakers of Zaghawa in Chad, particularly the Ouaddaï (Wadai) Region, although Sudan’s West Darfur State also houses a large community of Zaghawa speakers. A few thousand can also be found in Libya. The Zaghawa ethnic group is divided into four main dialects, all of which have a native name and an Arabic name. The dialects are as follows:
Beria (Arabic: Zaghawa)
Tuba (Arabic: Bideyat; alternative names: Biria, Brogat)
Kube (Arabic: Zaghawa; alternative names: Dirong, Guruf, Kapka
Wegi (Arabic: Twer)
Needless to say, Arabic influence in the region, including on the Zaghawa language and culture, has been strong, but the language remains a proud member of the Nilo–Saharan family. Like most other Nilo–Saharan languages, it relies on tone to distinguish words or grammatical functions. Zaghawa is generally written in the Latin alphabet, but a specially created native script called Beria Giray Erfe was developed in 2000 and, in 2007, digitized into a font. It’s currently a proposed script, with uptake efforts underway. An Arabic-based script is also in development, based on the Tijani writing system used in the 13th century. Whatever script you use, Zaghawa is complex, but don’t worry—our native-speaking translators can seamlessly translate to and from it.
Let us serve you with flexible Zaghawa translation services.
Zaghawa comprises many dialects, but we’ve built our team with that in mind, hiring translators who are native speakers in each major dialect of the language. We’ve made sure to hire translators from both Chad and Sudan, as well as, to the best of our ability, Libya. This enables us to accommodate the needs of clients looking for specific varieties of the language. We provide translation services both to and from Zaghawa, adjusting our offer according to your needs.
For clients looking for more niche types of translation, we can help you, too. We’re committed to providing specialized translation services for academic, business, and literary needs, so don’t hesitate to ask about any special requests. We’ve done our best to recruit translators with experience working on academic documents, like research surveys or lesson materials; corporate documents, like business plans or financial reports; marketing documents, like press releases or ad copy; and literary works, like novels or poems. We also hire translators with knowledge in all sorts of supplementary domains, so if your text contains esoteric language, just ask us about matching you up with a translator familiar with your field.
We’re proud to provide top-notch Zaghawa translation services. Why not send us a message to get started today?