Swahili voice-over agency
Swahili voice-over production made simple
We have a good selection of the very best Swahili voice-over talent available, and you’ll find our voice costs and studio rates to be less than many other agencies offering exactly the same service. And we’ll make sure the chosen Swahili voice artist gives you the very best rate for the job, and we’ll negotiate down on repeat fees and broadcast rates on your behalf.
We can record wild, or sync to picture, and deliver the audio back via FTP. When required, we can also re-mix your new Swahili voice-over recording with the existing music and effects track, and send you a fully mixed video soundtrack.
To check the availability of our Swahili voice-artists and to confirm costs, please contact us using the Quick Quote form below, and we’ll respond within the hour. Or you can email project@matinee.co.uk or call us on +44(0)118 958 4934.
To calculate Swahili voice-over fees and recording costs
Play and download Swahili voice demos, add them to your Quick Quote
Swahili voice-over recording for Medical Aid Films
Case Study
Matinée Multilingual were selected to produce the project because they were able to offer a higher quality of Swahili voice talent than other voice-over agencies. This project was challenging because the translations supplied by the client didn’t match exactly with the English voice-over timings. This meant we had to stretch the video in places to allow the Swahili voice-over to fit. The voice-over was then mixed with the original music and fx track, and the final video encoded in multiple formats.
We’ve worked with MAF on a number of projects and have also delivered French and Somali voice-over services.
Select a voice-over language
Choose English read in a foreign accent
Select a subtitle language
A short history of the Swahili language
The spread of the language along the Swahili Coast is believed to date back to at least the 6th century. The earliest written examples of Swahili are thought to be some letters sent from the Kilwa region to the Portuguese in Mozambique in 1711. The epic Swahili poem, ‘Utendi wa Tambuka’ (history of Tambuka), dates back to 1728 and is written using the Arabic script.
Swahili has been greatly influenced by Arabic from centuries of trade and settlement along the east coast of Africa. It is estimated that around 35% of Swahili vocabulary derives from Arabic. Colonisation by, and trade with, other countries has also had an impact on the development of Swahili, with words borrowed from English, German, French and Hindi.
When Germany colonised present-day Tanzania in 1886, Swahili was designated as the official administrative language, and this policy was later adopted by Britain throughout its East African colonies. The standard version of Swahili was established in 1928, based on the Zanzibar dialect.
Swahili is an official language in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda (along with English in all three countries). In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Swahili is one of four national languages (French is the official language).
Swahili is one of the official languages of the African Union.
How many people speak Swahili as their first language?
It is estimated that approximately five million people speak Swahili as their first language. However, it is commonly spoken as a second or third language (it is the second most widely used language in Africa, after Arabic), and the total number of speakers is around 140 million.
As well as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, other countries with large Swahili-speaking populations include Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Did you know…
- There are around 15 main Swahili dialects – the major ones are Kiunguia (spoken on Zanzibar and mainland areas of Tanzania, and the basis for standard Swahili), Kimvita (spoken in parts of Kenya) and Kiamu (spoken on the island of Lamu).
- The name Kiswahili comes from the Arabic word ‘sawāhili’ which, used as an adjective, means ‘coastal dwellers’. The ‘ki-’ at the beginning gives it the meaning ‘coastal language’.
- Swahili words that have been borrowed from English include baiskeli (bicycle), basi (bus), penseli (pencil), mashine (machine) and koti (coat).
Here is a summary of three of the main Swahili-speaking countries’ economies:
Tanzania – although Tanzania is one of the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income, tourism and gold production have contributed to high overall growth rates. The agriculture sector employs 80% of the workforce and accounts for 85% of exports.
Kenya – Kenya has East Africa’s largest economy, and is the region’s hub for finance, communication and transport. It has a comparatively well-developed social and physical infrastructure, and is a popular choice for businesses wishing to enter the African market.
Uganda – another one of the world’s poorest countries, Uganda does, however, have potential for rapid economic growth due to its wealth of natural resources (fertile land, oil and mineral deposits). Around 80% of the workforce is employed in agriculture.
Voice Over
- Two state-of-the-art recording studios
- Pro-Tools recording and editing
- BBC quality acoustics and sound proofing
- Talented and helpful sound engineers
Subtitling
- Affordable subtitling in over 80 languages
- Specialised transcription & translation
- Video & graphics editing
- Burnt-in or file format of your choice
Translation
- In-country translation in 80+ languages
- 30 years experience for peace of mind
- Thorough quality check before delivery
- Affordable pricing and on-time delivery
Helpful Videos
- An introduction to Matinée Multilingual
- Why you need a properly edited voiceover
- Translating the captions within a video
- How to create a superb voiceover recording
- Transcription and how to do it well
- Video translation and the potential pitfalls
- Automated phone messages - consider this
- Grow your business with subtitles
News from our blog
Testimonials
They were so professional
Brian and Philippe…love them!! What a great call to brighten up my day! They were so professional and so funny and I could tell the client was really happy 😊
Philippe is definitely the best VO artist I’ve heard since being at Sponge! Just wow!
Maria Trathen
Pleasure to work with
Pleasure to work with these guys. Hugh and the team couldn’t do enough to help and keep us informed throughout our customer journey. Highly recommended!
Alex Carr
Delivers great work, right on time
We’ve used Matinée for several projects, from video editing to translations of marketing materials, and they’re always a great pleasure to work with. Any requests are answered right away. We’ve had tight deadlines, but we’ve never worried as the team at Matinée delivers great work, right on time.
Lisa Potrawiak
Fantastic to work with
The team at Matinée are fantastic to work with. They are really communicative, helpful and turned around the work as quickly as possible. I have no complaints at all and we will definitely be getting back in contact when we next need subtitles.
Jon Mirley
Matinée is a company I can trust
I’ve worked with Matinee for well over 20 years, and continue to go back to them because of trust; a trust in their commitment to fulfilling the needs of my project, and a trust in the quality of their work.
Bruce Corby
I use Matinee a lot for subtitling projects
I use Matinee for a lot of subtitling projects and they never fail to meet the deadlines. Great customer service and fast responses. Well done to the entire team.
Jade Burnell
Friendly and efficient service
The speed of response, and friendly, efficient service from all staff was quite exceptional. Matinee particularly stands out by putting the customer’s needs first, even when the job is relatively small and a bit of a technical challenge. I would strongly recommend Matinee for any subtitling work.
Richard Taylor
A fantastic company to work with
A fantastic company to work with. Fast email responses, rapid delivery of audio files, and all with positive and warm personalities shining through! Thank you Matinée for a wonderful customer experience.
Anne Crawford
They are always well organised
Very pleased with a number of projects completed by Matinée. They are always well organised, providing clear expectations, organisation, efficiency and always deliver a quality product on time. Recommended.
Jon Watkins
Quick response to meet my deadline
I have to mention the quick response of Sally and Nicole to my last minute request. They both understood the urgency of my need, and helped me complete the recording to hit my deadline.
Joville Villanueva
Your dedicated Project Manager has everything covered
One of our dedicated and experienced Project Managers will work with you to guide you through each step in the delivery of your project. They will review your source materials at the outset, to ensure we have everything that’s needed to provide a well-planned solution. And if your project requires voicing, they will use their knowledge of our reliable voice artists to make sure you get the very best voice at an acceptable price.
Throughout the project, they will schedule the studio time, track the progress through production and pay attention to the details of your project to ensure your media is delivered in budget and on time.
We have some fabulous reviews which bear testimony to our friendly and professional voiceover and subtitling services.