Most people have likely heard of Ghana, as it’s one of the best-known countries in West Africa. The country uses English as its lingua franca, but being surrounded by Francophone countries, it’s slowly been making efforts toward more French usage. What you may not know, however, is that the majority of Ghanaians don’t speak English as a native language—rather, they speak one of the country’s 80-odd indigenous languages. Indeed, Ghana recognizes 11 regional, government-sponsored languages, which account for most of the population, though many smaller minority languages persist. One of the government-sponsored languages, a particularly prominent one, is Asante.
Asante may also be known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, and there’s debate as to whether it’s a standalone language or a dialect of the Akan language, which dominates much of Ghana. Around 3.8 million people speak Asante as their native language, representing roughly 10% of the Ghanaian population. Asante stands alongside other Twi dialects, itself a dialect group of Akan, and commands a good deal of influence throughout Ghana. Unfortunately, though, most translation agencies still don’t bother with Asante—many don’t even touch African languages. At TranslationServices.com, however, we’re proud to give Asante the attention it deserves with our very own Asante translation team.
Anyone who would like to see a free quote for our Asante translation services is welcome to reach out and request one!
Understanding the background and makeup of Asante
Ghana’s Ashanti region, located in the southern-central part of the country, is home to most Asante speakers, though the speaker community does spill over westward into southeastern portions of neighboring Côte d’Ivoire. It’s the primary dialect of the Twi dialect continuum, with Bono and Akuapem rounding off the grouping. More broadly, the Twi dialects partner with Fante to form the Akan language, which is spoken by 80% of the Ghanaian population.
Asante is a Niger–Congo language, specifically occupying the Kwa branch of the family.
Akan is the biggest member of the family, though other languages spoken in Ghana, such as Ga and Dangme, also hail from the Kwa family. A notable feature of Asante and its fellow Akan dialects is that it uses the Adinkra Nykea writing system, a syllabic writing system derived from the traditional Adinkra symbols used extensively in Ghana in pottery, fabrics, and logos. The language may also be written in the Latin alphabet, but use of the unique Adinkra Nykea script make the Akan languages stand out in the vibrant sea of West African languages.
We provide translation services both to and from Asante.
We understand that a diverse range of clients may have need for Asante translation services. Native-speaking Ashanti people might want a professional Asante translation service to help them broadcast their message to the rest of the world, while clients from abroad may be looking for a reliable Asante translation service to help them connect with people in Ghana. Since we’ve built our team with flexibility in mind, we’ve selected the best Asante translators from across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire who specialize in translation both to and from the proud West African language.
If your document is filled with esoteric terminology that would confuse a layperson, don’t worry. We’ve also hired a ton of Asante translators familiar with different disciplines, so even if your text is highly technical, we can easily match you with a translator who’s a subject-matter expert. We carefully looked for Asante translators specializing in business translation, academic translation, literary translation, localization, and more, ensuring that you can access Asante translation services expertly tailored to your particular needs. So, wherever you may be, we invite you, whether you’re a CEO, researcher, marketing professional, novelist, software developer, language activist, or anyone else, to work with our seasoned Asante translation team for your translation project.
We want to help you make the most of your Asante translation project. Shoot us a message to let us know your vision!