Africa is bursting at the seams with linguistic diversity. It’s different from the linguistic diversity in a country like the United States, where most non-English languages are spoken by immigrant families and where the many indigenous languages of the land are, unfortunately, severely endangered. In Africa, indigenous languages reign supreme, even if most African countries have designated imported languages—often English, French, or Arabic—as their official language and national lingua franca. Locally, people still grow up speaking the indigenous language of their region, using it at home and in their community and relying on the lingua franca for school, media, and interaction with compatriots from other ethnic groups.
In the middle of the mosaic of linguistic diversity that is Western Africa, we find Tem, a proud Gur language spoken as a native language by around 390,000 people. Like so many other languages in Africa, Tem speakers are split across the borders of multiple countries, as the colonial powers that drew up the modern-day borders failed to account for the already established territories of the hundreds of indigenous peoples who make up the land. Unfortunately, Tem is a poorly served language with hardly any reliable translation sources, but we at TranslationServices.com wanted to make a difference—so we put together our own Tem translation team.
You can see a quote for our Tem translation services—all you need to do is get in touch and ask!
A quick lesson on the Tem language
Tem may also be called Kotokoli or Cotocoli, an alternative name for the Tem (Tém, alternatively Temba or Kotokoliare) people who speak the language. While Tem speakers are found within the borders of four West African nations, Togo by far accounts for the most Tem speakers, with more than 339,000 ethnically Tem people residing in the nation. Around 60,000 more Tem people live in Ghana and another 18,000 or so in Benin, with even smaller numbers in Burkina Faso.
Tem is a member of the Gur branch of Niger–Congo languages, a subfamily of several dozen languages native to Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and surrounding countries. Gur languages tend to exhibit a more simplified grammar than many other Niger–Congo languages—for example, the simple gender system found in many Gur languages is in stark contrast to the elaborate maze of noun classes, sometimes north of 20, found in Bantu languages. Tem, along with almost all its Gur cousins, is a tonal language, although most other languages in the Niger–Congo macrofamily do share this characteristic.
We’re ready to cater to your Tem translation needs.
Here at TranslationServices.com, we take translation seriously. That’s why we cover even minority African languages like Tem with pride, scouting out the best Tem translators to ensure you’re getting the best service possible. We’ve hired native-speaking Tem translators from all across Togo, Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso to make sure we’re giving every dialect the coverage it deserves and ensuring that clients from West Africa and the rest of the world have access to the Tem translation services they need.
Are you looking for translation services into Tem or from Tem? Whichever one you need, our team accommodates both, helping foreign clients connect with local Tem speakers while simultaneously assisting native Tem speakers as they branch out to other corners of the world. Boasting experience in different forms of translation, our Tem translators can help you translate documents from various domains—whether it’s the corporate world, the academic world, the literary world, or even the digital world. We’re flexible, so whether you need a research questionnaire meticulously converted to Tem so you can survey the local populace or you’re looking for a translation of Tem-language tales into English so you can share knowledge and admiration of Tem culture with the rest of the world, our team is eager to help.
Let’s work together to make your Tem translation project the best it can be. Message us today to let us know about your vision.