Translation Services Cape Town

Translation services for the city of Cape Town typically centre on NGO, academic and medical documents translated to Afrikaans and isiXhosa.

Translation services in Cape Town 2022

We have spent more than a decade building up a team of highly qualified and experienced translators for South Africa’s national languages. With a long history of work for high-profile clients in the medical, academic and the non-governmental sectors, we have a reputation for complete reliability. To get a fomal quote, or to learn more about how we might help you for any of the SA's 11 languages, head to our home page.

The most requested languages for Cape Town are for Afrikaans and isiXhosa translation services. These languages usually involve documents are for clinical translations of ICFs and information leaflets, legal translations and community newsletters from English into the two major languages.

Translation Services Cape Town

Cape Town's languages

Cape Town has a near even split in language distribution. The three most spoken languages are Afrikaans (35%), isiXhosa (29%), and English (28%). The 2011 national census estimated the city's urban population at 3.7 million people.

Magnify your reach in Cape Town. The time a department spends on their English language editorial, design and promotion can easily reach more than twice as many Capetonians in their home language.

# Language Percent Population Cape Town
1 Afrikaans 34.9% 1 305 269
2  IsiXhosa 29.2% 1 092 088
3  English 27.8% 1 039 727
Data Statistics South Africa: City of Cape Town Municipality

Reach a national audience

When translating to isiXhosa, South Africa's second most spoken language, you reach 16% of the national population, approx. 8.2 million (2011). It is spoken by almost four-fifths (79%) of the Eastern Cape and a quarter (25%) of the Western Cape provinces.

When translating to Afrikaans, South Africa's third most spoken language, you reach 14% of the national population, approx. 6.9 million (2011).

# Language Percent Population South Africa
1  IsiXhosa 16.3% 8 154 258
2 Afrikaans 13.7% 6 855 082
3  English 9.8% 4 892 623
Data Statistics South Africa: Census in brief (2011) PDF

Afrikaans is spoken by half the Western Cape (50%), Eastern Cape (11%), Northern Cape (54%) and (Free State (13%) provinces. It is also the second most spoken language in the City of Tshwane.

English speakers account for less than a tenth of South Africans. When translating into Afrikaans and isiXhosa you will be reaching an additional 30% of the country in their home language. This is approximately three times more South Africans.

City of Cape Town in context

Cape Town is South Africa’s second-largest city and home to the country’s Parliament buildings. Beyond its role as the country’s legislative capital, it is a vital nexus of commercial, academic and cultural exchange. Given South Africa’s enormous economic and political influence throughout Africa as a whole, this makes it not only a major productive hub for the country, but also a regional stepping stone.

Clients