Though 2020 was marked by a slowdown in business as, there were some trends in translation worth noting. In this post, I am going to talk about the languages into which Cameroonians requested translations in twenty 2020. My opinions are based on the trends that we observed at Juryman translations, a Cameroon-based translation agency which you can contact here for all translation needs TRANSLATION SERVICES
French into English Translation
Cameroon is a bilingual country with a predominantly French speaking population. As such, most documents are initially drafted in French before being translated into English. This has kept the demand for French into English translation generally high. This has been the case in recent years, especially as government seeks to appease its English speaking population that has exponentially increased their complain about marginalization along linguistic lines.
A lot of Cameroonians have attempted to reach out for greener pasture in countries like Cyprus, Britain and USA. As such, they have had to translate their documents for the needs of the embassies and consulates of these nations.
English into French Translation
France, Belgium and Canada have remained among the major destinations for Cameroonians seeking to acquire further education and greener pasture abroad. As such, those whose official documents are in English have had to request French certified translations. Further, business and administrative documents drafted in English have often been translated into French to meet the wider audience, the French speaking population, which represents the bulk of the country’s readership.
German into English or French
The demand for translation from and into German has also been on the rise. But the general impression has been that documents translated from and into the German language have mostly been for business purposes, as opposed to the search for educational opportunities. Documents translated in these languages have mostly included CVs, employment testimonials, business creation documents etc.
English and French into Russian translation
Surprising as it may seem. Several Cameroonians have chosen to study in Russia, Belarus etc. To that end, they have often had to translate their educational credentials into the Russian language in order to use them for school application purposes and for embassy interview purposes. It should also be noted that Cameroonians returning from Russia have also asked to translate the certificates that they earned in Russia into English in order to use them in Cameroon.
This article was written by Lundeghe Terence, Senior Translator and language service provider.