Introducing 13 New African Languages
Microsoft Translator increases number of supported languages to 124!
Today, we are excited to announce that we have added 13 new African languages to Microsoft Translator! Following last year’s release of Somali and Zulu, this release highlights our continued efforts of empowering African language communities to achieve more. Microsoft Translator now supports:
- chiShona (7 million speakers)
- Hausa (72 million speakers)
- Igbo (40 million speakers)
- Kinyarwanda (10 million speakers)
- Lingala (65 million speakers)
- Luganda (21 million speakers)
- Nyanja (1 million speakers)
- Rundi (12 million speakers)
- Sesotho (14 million speakers)
- Sesotho sa Leboa (15 million speakers)
- Setswana (13 million speakers)
- Xhosa (10 million speakers)
- Yoruba (55 million speakers)
This brings our total number of supported languages to 124 and adds language support for more than 335 million people in Africa and worldwide.
Text translation for the 13 new African languages is available now in the Microsoft Translator apps, Office, and Translator for Bing. Using Translator, a Microsoft Azure Cognitive Service, you can add African languages’ text translation to your apps, websites, workflows, and tools; or use Translator’s Document Translation feature to translate entire documents, or volumes of documents, in a variety of different file formats preserving their original formatting. You can also use Translator with Cognitive Services such as Speech or Computer Vision to add additional capabilities such as speech-to-text and image translation into your apps.
About the chiShona language
The chiShona language is spoken by 7 million people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The language is in the Bantu language family. Here are some useful phrases in chiShona:
| English | chiShona |
| Hello | Mhoro |
| My name is… | Zita randu ndi… |
| I’m from… | Ndinobva… |
Learn more about chiShona on Bing.
About the Hausa language
The Hausa language is spoken by 72 million people in Niger, Nigeria, and Benin, as well as throughout other West African countries. The language is in the Chadic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Here are some useful phrases in Hausa:
| English | Hausa |
| Hello | Sannu |
| My name is… | Sunana… |
| I’m from… | Ni dan… |
Learn more about Hausa on Bing.
About the Igbo language
The Igbo language is spoken by 40 million people in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon. The language is in the Niger-Congo language family. Here are some useful phrases in Igbo:
| English | Igbo |
| Hello | Ndewo |
| My name is… | Aha m bụ… |
| I’m from… | Abụ m onye… |
Learn more about Igbo on Bing.
About the Kinyarwanda language
The Kinyarwanda language is spoken by 10 million people in Rwanda, Uganda, DR Congo, and Tanzania. The language is in the Bantu language family. It is officially known as Ikinyarwanda. Here are some useful phrases in Kinyarwanda:
| English | Kinyarwanda |
| Hello | Muraho |
| My name is… | Nitwa… |
| I’m from… | Nturuka… |
Learn more about Kinyarwanda on Bing.
About the Lingala language
The Lingala language is spoken by 65 million people in DR Congo and the Republic of the Congo. The language is in the Bantu language family. Here are some useful phrases in Lingala:
| English | Lingala |
| Hello | Mbote |
| My name is… | Kombo nanga eza… |
| I’m from… | Naza mutu ya ekolo… |
Learn more about Lingala on Bing.
About the Luganda language
The Luganda language is spoken by 21 million people in Uganda. The language is in the Bantu language family. Here are some useful phrases in Luganda:
| English | Luganda |
| Hello | Nkulamusizza |
| My name is… | Erinnya lyange nze… |
| I’m from… | Nva… |
Learn more about Luganda on Bing.
About the Nyanja language
The Nyanja language is spoken by 1 million speakers in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. The language is in the Bantu language family. It is also known as Chewa. Here are some useful phrases in Nyanja:
| English | Nyanja |
| Hello | Moni |
| My name is… | Dzina langa ndi… |
| I’m from… | Ndimachokera ku… |
Learn more about Nyanja on Bing.
About the Rundi language
The Rundi language is spoken by 12 million speakers in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. The languages is in the Bantu family of languages. Here are some useful phrases in Rundi:
| English | Rundi |
| Hello | Ni gute |
| My name is… | Amazina yanje ni… |
| I’m from… | Aho navukiye… |
Learn more about Rundi on Bing.
About the Sesotho language
The Sesotho language is spoken by 14 million speakers in Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The language is in the Bantu family of languages. It is also known as Sotho or Souther Sotho. Here are some useful phrases in Sesotho:
| English | Sesotho |
| Hello | Dumela |
| My name is… | Lebitso la ka ke… |
| I’m from… | Ke tswa… |
Learn more about Sesotho on Bing.
About the Sesotho sa Leboa language
The Sesotho sa Leboa language is spoken by 15 million speakers in South Africa. The language is in the Bantu family of languages. It is also known as Northern Sotho or Sepedi. Here are some useful phrases in Sesotho sa Leboa:
| English | Sesotho sa Leboa |
| Hello | Dumela |
| My name is… | Leina laka ke… |
| I’m from… | Ketswa… |
Learn more about Sesotho sa Leboa on Bing.
About the Setswana language
The Setswana language is spoken by 13 million people in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Here are some useful phrases in Setswana:
| English | Setswana |
| Hello | Dumela |
| My name is… | Leina lame ke… |
| I’m from… | Ke tswa kwa… |
Learn more about Setswana on Bing.
About the Xhosa language
The Xhosa language is spoken by 10 million people in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. It is in the Bantu family of languages. Here are some useful phrases in Xhosa:
| English | Xhosa |
| Hello | Molo |
| My name is… | Igama lam ngu… |
| I’m from… | Ndisuka e… |
Learn more about Xhosa on Bing.
About the Yoruba language
The Yoruba language is spoken by 55 million people in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Here are some useful phrases in Yoruba:
| English | Yoruba |
| Hello | Ẹ pẹ̀lẹ́ o |
| My name is… | Orúkọ mi ni… |
| I’m from… | Mo wá láti… |
Learn more about Yoruba on Bing.
What you can do with Microsoft Translator
At home
Translate real-time conversations, menus and street signs, websites, documents, and more using the Microsoft Translator app for iOS and Android. Learn more
At work
Globalize your business and customer interactions with customizable text and document translation using Azure Cognitive Services Translator. Learn more
In the classroom
Create a more inclusive classroom for both students and parents with live captioning and cross-language understanding. Learn more
