In recent years, South Africa’s economic growth has soared significantly, making it the go-getter of the African continent with the most advanced economy and the highest-developed infrastructure. According to the World Bank, South Africa ranks 84th among the countries with high ease of doing business. This has inspired international businesses to expand to the fruitful South African markets and establish a solid presence there. However, penetrating this complex multilingual environment comes with a lot of challenges, among which is overcoming the language barrier.
Thus, to communicate effectively with local audiences in South Africa and build trusting relationships with them, you have to speak their indigenous languages. Although English is one of the most widely spoken languages in South Africa, most of the South African population prefers to communicate in their mother tongues. Your marketing information is the first interaction your target South African audiences will have with your brand. So, translating your business content into the languages of your target South African markets will hugely leave a lasting impact and influence the buying decisions of your potential customers.
One language that holds a special place in South African society is Sotho or Sesotho. As one of the 11 official languages of South Africa with over 5 million native speakers spreading in Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zambia, it has become necessary to invest in quality Southern Sotho translation services when expanding to South African markets with a prevalence of Southern Sotho speakers.
In this blog series, we will walk you through the importance of Southern Sotho translation for your business expansion and highlight some key strategies for making the most out of the Southern Sotho translation. Now, we will start with the significance of Southern Sotho translation for your robust business growth. Scroll down to find out!
A Journey through the Southern Sotho Language
Southern Sotho, also called Sesotho, Suto, Souto, and Sisutho, is a Bantu language that emerged during the Bantu-Nguni era. It belongs to the Sotho sub-group of languages along with Setswana and Sepedi. In Lesotho, Northern Sotho is the language of the Basotho, and it has become the second official language after English with more than 85% of the population speaking the language. Moreover, Southern Sotho is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa and has about 5 million native speakers in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
The Language
Southern Sotho is a complex language owing to its usage of various affixes and derivational and inflexional rules just to form complete words. It has nine vowels and 35 consonants, and these are huge numbers if compared to other languages.
Varieties
Primarily, Sesotho does not have any dialectical varieties. However, the following two varieties have appeared recently:
- Setlokwa: This variety is widespread in Northern Lesotho and Southern Gauteng.
- Sekgolokwe: It is spoken in the North-Eastern Free State and Southern Gauteng.
Written Sesotho
Southern Sotho is considered one of the first written African languages. It has a rich written literature that is translated into multiple languages. Furthermore, the language has grammar books and many school books are translated into Sesotho to help the Sesotho learners understand the educational materials.
The Southern Sotho Culture
The Southern Sotho people are known for their unique religious, musical, and clothing traditions that are full of cycle-of-life rituals. Regarding religion, they worship the supreme being called Modimo, whom they believed to be the spirit of Sotho ancestors. In the music realm, you can find the Sotho people singing in a group and clapping. Their preferred musical instrument is the “lesiba” which they make from a pole, string, and feather.
The Basotho people are popular for their breeding of animals and grain cultivation. They master ivory and wood carving, and many of them work in the metal and leather industries.
Why Southern Sotho Translation Is Essential for Your Business?
Translation services in South Africa are becoming increasingly important more than ever due to the country’s multiculturalism and multilingualism. An enormous number of international businesses are competing to bring their products or services to the South African society. Hence, if you strive to venture into South African markets with a great number of Southern Sotho-speaking populations, you have to translate your business content into Southern Sotho to grab the attention of your target customers and encourage them to make a purchase. The following are some of the key benefits of using English to Southern Sotho translation services:
Improved Customer Experience and Satisfaction
Since research has shown that more than 75% of online shoppers prefer to buy products with information in their native languages, it has become inevitable to translate all your business materials into the native languages of your intended customers. Yet, remember that high-quality translation services should take into account all the cultural nuances of the language so that translations will look natural and resonate with the preferences of your target Southern Sotho audiences. This will enable you to achieve a great customer experience and win a competitive edge in the Southern Sotho-speaking markets.
Increasing Market Reach
Expanding your business into Southern Sotho-speaking regions gives you access to a new market with significant growth potential. By translating your business materials such as sales brochures, websites, leaflets, product descriptions, and eBooks, you can effectively target this market and tap into new opportunities. It allows you to reach a wider audience, increase brand awareness, and ultimately drive business growth.
Engaging with the Southern Sotho Audiences
The only way to entice your target customers is through strong and efficient marketing content. But, what if your target customers speak different languages? Here comes the importance of translation and localization services. Using only machine translations to convert your marketing materials into other languages will come up with unwanted consequences such as misunderstanding, and vagueness, and may even lead to losing your brand image and reputation in your target regions. Therefore, do not hesitate to invest in rigorous translation services as professional translators are able to adapt your original content to meet the expectations of your Southern Sotho-speaking customers and increase their loyalty to your brand.
Gaining a Competitive Advantage
Many businesses may miss out on the importance of using reliable Southern Sotho translation services when breaking into the Sesotho-speaking markets. So, hiring a reputable translation agency to translate your business content will make you stand head and shoulders among others. High-quality translation services help you to connect effectively with local audiences and maintain your brand consistency. They keep the original tone, voice, and brand message across all translated content while addressing all the cultural nuances of the language.
The Bottom Line
Communicating your brand message successfully to your Southern Sotho-speaking populations is your golden key to cementing your presence in the Sesotho-speaking markets. By hiring professional English to Southern Sotho translators, you will manage to navigate the linguistic and cultural landscape of Southern Sotho-speaking markets and drive business expansion.
If you are looking for a trustworthy translation agency to get English to Southern Sesotho translation services, Afrolingo will be your go-to! Being one of the world’s most reliable language service providers with highly trained and in-country translators, Afrolingo offers top-notch language solutions for almost all South African languages with the fastest turnarounds and at the most competitive rates. Contact us right now!
