Across most of West Africa, countries use English or French as their official languages, mandating their use in government, media, and education. But that doesn’t mean that most people in West Africa speak English or French as their first language—in fact, most don’t. West Africa boasts considerable linguistic diversity, with most countries in the region home to dozens or even hundreds of languages. One of the many minority languages spoken in West Africa is Loma.
With an estimated 560,000 native speakers, more than half a million people speak Loma. While that may seem like a small number, it makes Loma a pretty big minority language in West Africa. Of course, like most other people in Africa, Loma speakers typically learn English or French out of necessity, but at home, the Loma language reigns supreme. However, translation services for Loma are rare—but we at TranslationServices.com want to change that with our new Loma translation services.
A free quote for our Loma translation services is available if you simply make a request!
Taking a closer look at Loma and its background
So, where will you find the world’s Loma-speaking communities? Loma—which you may also see called Loghoma, Looma, or Lorma, is native to Liberia and Guinea, with speakers relatively evenly split between the two nations. The Guinean dialect is called Toma (alternatively Toa, Toale, Toali, or Tooma) and is enshrined as an official regional language in the country. In Liberia, the language may sometimes be called Bouze (or Busy, Buzi), but this is considered offensive, with Loma emerging as the preferred moniker for the language. Loma speakers in Liberia are divided into various dialects, including Gizima, Wubomei, Ziema, Bunde, and Buluyiema.
Loma is classified as a Mande language, which is a subfamily of the larger Niger–Congo language family. However, given that Mande languages differ significantly from other Niger–Congo languages, linguists increasingly treat Mande as an independent family. Loma is a Southwest Mande language, related to Mende, Kpelle (the biggest native language in Liberia), Loko, Gbandi, and particularly Zialo, which used to be considered a Loma dialect. Loma is written in the Latin alphabet, but in the 1930s and 1940s, speakers briefly used a native script. The grammar is completely different from English, so you’ll need to rely on skilled native speakers of Loma for high-quality translation—and we can help you with that.
Our team is passionate about providing flexible Loma translation services.
Our goal is to provide clients across West Africa and beyond with the best Loma translation services we can. To this end, we’ve sought out the best Loma and Toma translators we could find across Liberia and Guinea, building up a robust team of passionate translators eager to help with various types of translation projects. You can request a translator from Liberia or Guinea, and even specify which individual dialect you want, whether your translation project is to or from Loma (we do both!).
We’re pleased to announce that we also offer specialized Loma translation services for a wide array of domains. If you need academic translation services, just tell us what discipline you’re working with—our academic Loma translators cover a broad range! If you’re looking for business translation services, let us know what industry you’re active in—we’ll try to match you with a Loma translator who knows your field. If you’re seeking literary translation services to or from Loma, specify the genre and subject matter of your story—that way, we can help you find the Loma translator who’s best suited to faithfully and meticulously translate your story while keeping the message and writing style intact.
Whatever kind of Loma translation services you need, our team is here to help. You can place your first order now by sending us a message!