African Languages Translation Services
Ellipse World translates Chichewa, Amharic, Somali, Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Tigrinya, Oromo, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Malagasy and other African languages into English, and English into these languages, for immigration and asylum files, court proceedings, employers, NGOs and companies doing business across the continent.
The languages of a continent, translated in South Africa
South Africa has twelve official languages, and Ellipse World translates all of them. But people from across the continent live, work, study, trade and seek protection in South Africa, and they bring documents, testimony and needs in many other African languages. Attorneys, courts, Home Affairs, refugee organisations, hospitals, employers and businesses regularly need to understand texts written in languages such as Amharic, Somali or Lingala, or to communicate in them.
Africa's languages belong to several distinct families. Most languages of Southern, Central and East Africa, including Chichewa, Lingala, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, are Bantu languages, related to isiZulu, Sesotho and Setswana. Amharic and Tigrinya are Semitic languages, related to Arabic and Hebrew. Somali and Oromo are Cushitic languages. Hausa is a Chadic language. Yoruba and Igbo belong to other branches of the Niger-Congo family. Malagasy, the language of Madagascar, is an Austronesian language whose closest relatives are spoken in South-East Asia. Each has its own grammar, writing conventions and pitfalls.
Ellipse World assigns every project to a native-speaking linguist for the specific language and, where it matters, the specific country or region. Every translation is revised by a second linguist before delivery.
African languages Ellipse World translates
A selection of the African languages most often requested in South Africa. For any language not listed, ask Ellipse World in writing.
Chichewa (Nyanja)
A Bantu language and the national language of Malawi, also known as Chinyanja and widely used in Zambia, where Nyanja is a major language of Lusaka, and in parts of Mozambique. Written in the Latin alphabet. Ellipse World translates Chichewa letters, affidavits and statements for permits, employment and family matters.
Amharic
A Semitic language and the working language of Ethiopia's federal government, written in the Ge'ez (Ethiopic) script. Ethiopian civil, court, school and business documents are often wholly or partly in Amharic. Ellipse World translates them into English with careful handling of names and dates.
Tigrinya
A Semitic language spoken in Eritrea and in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, also written in the Ge'ez script. Ellipse World translates Tigrinya documents and statements, especially for protection and family reunification matters.
Oromo (Afaan Oromoo)
A Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, particularly in the Oromia region, and in parts of northern Kenya. Today it is written in a Latin-based alphabet called Qubee. Ellipse World translates Oromo letters, statements and community material.
Somali
A Cushitic language spoken in Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, the Somali region of Ethiopia and north-eastern Kenya. Its Latin-based official alphabet was adopted in the 1970s. Ellipse World translates Somali documents for immigration, business and courts, and community information for Somali speakers in South Africa.
Lingala
A Bantu language and major lingua franca of Kinshasa, western DR Congo and the Republic of the Congo, also well known through Congolese music. Ellipse World translates Lingala statements, letters and messages, often alongside French documents from the same country.
Kinyarwanda
A Bantu language spoken by almost all Rwandans and an official language of Rwanda alongside English, French and Swahili. Ellipse World translates Kinyarwanda civil and court documents, letters and statements.
Kirundi
The national language of Burundi and one of its official languages. Kirundi and Kinyarwanda are closely related and largely mutually intelligible, but they are distinct languages with different spelling and vocabulary, and Ellipse World assigns each to the right linguist.
Yoruba
A tonal Niger-Congo language of south-western Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo. Written in the Latin alphabet with tone marks and dotted letters. Ellipse World translates Yoruba letters, affidavits, family documents and marketing content.
Igbo
A tonal Niger-Congo language of south-eastern Nigeria, written in the Latin alphabet with dotted vowels. Ellipse World translates Igbo family, customary and community documents into English.
Hausa
A Chadic language of northern Nigeria and Niger and a lingua franca across much of West Africa. Usually written in a Latin alphabet with special hooked letters, and historically also in Arabic script, known as Ajami. Ellipse World translates Hausa business, community and personal documents.
Malagasy
An Austronesian language and national language of Madagascar, official alongside French. Written in the Latin alphabet. Ellipse World translates Malagasy documents, often together with French versions, for business, family and official purposes.
Ellipse World also translates Swahili, Shona and Zimbabwean Ndebele, as well as the international languages most used in Africa: French, Portuguese and Arabic. Other languages, such as Tshiluba, Kikongo, Luganda, Bemba, Twi or Wolof, can be arranged on request, subject to confirmation of a qualified linguist.
Translation for refugee, asylum and immigration files
South Africa receives applications for refugee status from people of many African countries, and many more people apply for visas, permits and renewals. Documents and statements supporting these applications are frequently written in African languages. Ellipse World translates them for applicants, for the attorneys, paralegals and organisations that assist them, and for the bodies that decide their cases.
Documents commonly translated
- Identity and civil documents issued in Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi or Malagasy, such as identity cards, birth and marriage certificates, kebele documents from Ethiopia and family records.
- Supporting letters from family members, churches, mosques, community leaders and political or civil society organisations.
- Summonses, arrest warrants, police and court documents from the applicant's country of origin.
- Medical reports and death certificates relevant to the applicant's account.
- Newspaper articles, online posts and messages corroborating events.
- Written statements prepared by the applicant in their own language.
Faithful, complete and neutral
In an asylum file, the translation can carry great weight. Ellipse World translates every element of a document, including stamps, handwriting, letterheads and marginal notes, and does not summarise, improve or soften the wording. When something in the source is unclear, illegible or ambiguous, the translator says so in a note rather than guessing. Names, places and dates are reproduced exactly, with transliteration choices explained where a non-Latin script is involved, so that spellings can be reconciled with other documents in the file.
Confidentiality
Asylum and immigration documents are among the most sensitive a translator handles. Ellipse World shares them only with the linguists assigned to the project, does not use automated tools that send content to third parties, and handles every file with discretion.
African language translation for courts and attorneys
Criminal, civil, family and labour proceedings in South Africa increasingly involve evidence in languages other than South Africa's official languages. Ellipse World provides written translations for legal practitioners, prosecutors, and parties to proceedings.
- Evidence: WhatsApp and SMS messages, voice note transcripts, letters, notebooks, social media posts and documents seized or disclosed in Amharic, Somali, Lingala, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Chichewa and other languages.
- Foreign judgments and records: divorce orders, custody decisions, succession documents and court records from other African countries, for recognition or use in South African proceedings.
- Client communication: letters, summaries and explanations sent by attorneys to clients who read an African language better than English.
- Labour matters: statements, warnings and disciplinary documents involving employees from neighbouring countries.
Translations for evidence keep the structure of the original, with message timestamps, sender names and page references, so that both parties and the court can follow them. Ellipse World provides written translation; oral interpreting in court is arranged through the court itself.
Reaching customers and partners in their own language
South African companies are present across the continent, in retail, banking, insurance, telecommunications, mining, energy, construction, logistics and media. Contracts are often drafted in English, French or Portuguese, but customers, employees and communities are reached most effectively in their own languages. Ellipse World translates into African languages for:
- Retailers and consumer brands entering markets such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia or Madagascar.
- Banks, insurers and fintech companies explaining mobile money, savings, insurance and remittance products.
- Mining, energy and construction companies needing safety inductions, signage and community information.
- Development agencies and NGOs running health, agriculture and education programmes.
- Software and app publishers localising interfaces and support content.
- Employers in South Africa with staff from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Ethiopia and elsewhere.
Pitfalls in African language translation, and how Ellipse World avoids them
Translating less widely resourced languages takes more than a dictionary. Ellipse World's linguists are native speakers who know the following challenges well.
Ethiopian scripts and the Ethiopian calendar
Amharic and Tigrinya are written in the Ge'ez script, in which each character represents a consonant and vowel combination. Names must be transliterated into the Latin alphabet, and the same name can be spelled in several ways. Ethiopia also uses its own calendar, which is roughly seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar and has thirteen months, and Ethiopian documents often state dates in that calendar. Ellipse World's translators convert dates carefully, show the original date alongside the converted one, and flag any date that cannot be converted with certainty. Ethiopian clock time, counted from dawn, is handled with the same care.
Tone marks and special letters
Yoruba uses tone marks and dotted letters, Igbo uses dotted vowels, and Hausa has hooked consonants. These characters distinguish words with different meanings, and they are sometimes omitted in informal writing. Translators must read the context to recover the intended meaning, and must reproduce special characters correctly in names when translating into these languages.
Related languages are not interchangeable
Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, Amharic and Tigrinya, Chichewa and Nyanja varieties: closely related languages can look alike, but spelling, vocabulary and official terminology differ. A document from Burundi should be translated by a Kirundi linguist, not a Kinyarwanda one. Ellipse World always asks where a document comes from and matches the linguist accordingly.
Multilingual documents
Many African documents mix languages. A Rwandan record may combine Kinyarwanda and French, a Malagasy document may include French, a Congolese message may switch between Lingala, French and Swahili, and Somali documents may contain Arabic. Ellipse World translates every language present, coordinating linguists where necessary, so that nothing in the document is left untranslated.
Names, clans and naming conventions
Naming conventions vary widely. Ethiopians and Eritreans usually use a given name followed by the father's given name, with no family surname, and Somali names often follow a similar pattern, which can confuse South African forms. Ellipse World reproduces names exactly as written, never reorders or anglicises them, and points out differences in spelling between documents so that they can be explained before an authority raises them.
Why machine translation is not enough
Automated tools perform poorly for many African languages, especially with handwriting, regional usage, tone marks and mixed-language text. For documents that will be relied on by an authority or a court, Ellipse World works only with human linguists, with a second linguist revising each translation.
African language pairs
Most projects are to or from English, and Ellipse World also translates between African languages and French, Portuguese or Arabic.
See also: Swahili translation, Shona translation, French translation, Portuguese translation and Arabic translation.
African languages translation across South Africa
Ellipse World serves clients in every province. Requests for African languages come especially from Johannesburg, with its large and diverse communities from across the continent, from Pretoria, where many embassies, government departments and immigration practitioners are based, from Cape Town and from Durban.
Ellipse World works online. You send a scan or a clear photo of your document by email or upload, receive a fixed written quote, and get your translation by email. Signed originals, where required, are sent by courier anywhere in South Africa.
Ellipse World also translates for clients outside South Africa, including families abroad preparing documents for a relative's application in South Africa, and companies elsewhere in Africa that need their documents in English for South African partners.
Ordering an African language translation
Send your document
Upload or email a scan or photo, tell us the language if you know it, the country it comes from, and where the translation will be used.
Fixed quote
Ellipse World identifies the language, confirms a qualified linguist and the certification needed, and sends a fixed price and date in writing.
Translation and revision
A native linguist translates and a second linguist revises the whole text against the original.
Delivery
You receive the translation by email, with signed originals by courier when required.
Certified and sworn translations of African languages
Ellipse World provides sworn translations in the language pairs for which a sworn translator is admitted by the High Court of South Africa. For most of the languages on this page, few or no sworn translators are admitted, so Ellipse World confirms availability for your language before quoting. When the receiving authority accepts it, Ellipse World offers a certified translation instead: a complete translation with a signed statement of accuracy and the translator's and Ellipse World's details.
- Home Affairs, Refugee Reception Offices and review bodies: submit the translation with a copy of the original; Ellipse World follows the layout of the source so officials can compare them.
- Courts: your attorney may request a sworn translation where available, or a certified translation supported by an affidavit from the translator.
- Documents with a French, Portuguese or Arabic version: where a document already exists in French, Portuguese or Arabic, a sworn translation from that version may be available. Ellipse World advises which version to translate.
- Use abroad: Ellipse World checks whether an apostille through DIRCO or a High Court registrar is needed, and in which order.
When in doubt, ask the receiving office in writing what form of translation it accepts. Ellipse World helps you phrase the question and adapts the certification to the answer.
Why choose Ellipse World for African languages
The right linguist
Native speakers matched to the exact language, country and subject of your document.
Complete and faithful
Every stamp, note and handwritten line translated, with translator's notes where the source is unclear.
Scripts and calendars
Careful transliteration of Ge'ez script names and conversion of Ethiopian dates.
Two linguists per text
Every translation is revised in full by a second linguist before delivery.
Honest about certification
Clear written advice on sworn and certified options for each language.
Everything in writing
Fixed written quote, firm delivery date and all instructions documented by email.
African languages translation: frequently asked questions
Which African languages do you translate?
Ellipse World translates Chichewa, Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Somali, Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Malagasy, Swahili, Shona and Zimbabwean Ndebele, among others. Other languages can be arranged on request, subject to confirmation of a qualified linguist.
Can you provide sworn translations from Amharic or Somali?
Ellipse World provides sworn translations in the language pairs for which a sworn translator is admitted by the High Court. For less common languages, Ellipse World confirms availability and, when the authority accepts it, offers a certified translation with a signed statement of accuracy.
Can you translate documents for an asylum application?
Yes. Ellipse World translates identity documents, supporting letters, summonses, medical reports and statements into English, completely, faithfully and confidentially, for applicants and the practitioners assisting them.
How do you handle Ethiopian dates?
Ethiopian documents often use the Ethiopian calendar. Ellipse World shows the original date and the converted Gregorian date, and flags any date that cannot be converted with certainty.
I do not know which language my document is in. Can you help?
Yes. Send a scan or photo and tell Ellipse World where the document comes from. Ellipse World identifies the language and confirms a suitable linguist before quoting.
Can you translate WhatsApp messages in Lingala or Yoruba for court?
Yes. Ellipse World translates messages line by line, keeps names and timestamps, and translates every language used in the conversation, including French or English passages.
How long does an African language translation take?
A short document is usually translated within two to four working days, depending on the language and the availability of a qualified linguist. Ellipse World confirms the delivery date in writing.
How much does it cost?
The price depends on the language, length, legibility, subject, deadline and certification. Ellipse World sends a fixed written quote before starting.
Need an African language translation?
Send your document to Ellipse World and receive a fixed written quote with price and delivery date.