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Voice actor at the microphone during a Lingala recording session

Voice Over · Lingala

Lingala voice over services

Native Lingala voice actors for Kinshasa, western DR Congo and Brazzaville — for NGO and public-health campaigns, radio, music and consumer content. Swahili covers the east of the country; we record both.

4

National languages in DR Congo

2

Countries Lingala serves

48h

Delivery

Native Lingala speakers only
Broadcast-quality studios
Directed to your brief
Dedicated project manager
Trusted by global brands
Native Lingala speakers only
Broadcast-quality studios
Directed to your brief
Dedicated project manager
Trusted by global brands

Calling Lingala voice talent

We're expanding our Lingala roster

Lingala is a language we're actively growing. If you're a Lingala voice actor, we'd love to hear your demos and put you forward for paid work.

Join our roster

About the language

Lingala is the west. Swahili is the east.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has French as its official language and four national languages: Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo and Tshiluba. The split that matters for most campaigns is geographic and it is clean. Lingala carries Kinshasa and the whole west of the country, and crosses the river into the Republic of the Congo. Swahili carries the east — Goma, Bukavu, the Lubumbashi region.

So a national brief in the DRC is not one language, it is two. That is not a subtle cultural point, it is coverage: a Lingala-only campaign does not reach the eastern provinces in their own language, and the reverse is equally true. We record Swahili on its own roster, so the pair can be scheduled together and the terminology kept aligned.

The second thing to plan for is register, and it comes from how Lingala spread. It grew as a language of trade, of the army and above all of music — Congolese rumba and soukous carried it across central Africa. That has made it the language of the street, of radio and of popular culture, while French occupies administration and anything formal.

Which gives a practical rule for directing: Lingala's natural register is close and spoken. A script translated with the syntax of an administrative circular sounds imported, because that is not what the language is used for. If what you actually need is institutional authority, the honest answer is often that you need French — and we would rather tell you that than deliver a Lingala read that lands wrong.

Typical work is NGO and humanitarian communication, public-health and vaccination campaigns, radio and broadcast, consumer advertising, music and entertainment, and community information across Kinshasa, the western provinces and Brazzaville.

Request a Lingala voice
Control room and recording booth in our London studio, seen from the mixing desk during a Lingala session

Getting Lingala right

What to know before you record

One coverage decision and one register decision cover most Lingala briefs.

Half the country, not all of it

Lingala serves Kinshasa and the west. The east speaks Swahili. For a national campaign, budget for both from the start.

Keep the register spoken

Lingala is the language of radio, music and daily life. Formal administrative phrasing sounds translated, because that register belongs to French.

It crosses the river

Lingala also serves the Republic of the Congo. One recording can address Kinshasa and Brazzaville, which is a genuine budget advantage.

French is the institutional voice

If the content needs official weight rather than reach, French may be the right language. We will say so rather than sell you the wrong one.

How we can help

One partner for the whole Congo job

1

Voice over & narration

Native Lingala for NGO and public-health campaigns, radio and broadcast, consumer advertising and community information — with Swahili for the east when the campaign is national.

2

Translation & script adaptation

Lingala adaptation by native linguists, written in a spoken register rather than translated word for word from a French circular.

3

Subtitling & captions

Lingala subtitles and captions to go with the recording, so the on-screen text matches the read.

100+ languages under one roof

London studios + global talent network

4.9★ from 149 reviews

Content types

Lingala voice over for every kind of content

Whatever you're making, we cast the right voice in Lingala. Explore by use case.

Most common questions

Will a Lingala recording reach the whole of DR Congo?

No. Lingala carries Kinshasa and the western provinces; Swahili carries the east, including Goma, Bukavu and the Lubumbashi region. There are also Kikongo and Tshiluba as national languages, alongside French as the official one. For a national campaign, Lingala and Swahili together cover the great majority — we cast each with its own native talent and can schedule the sessions together.

Does one Lingala recording cover both Congos?

Usually, yes. Lingala serves Kinshasa and the western DRC and crosses the river into the Republic of the Congo, so a single session can address both capitals. That is a real budget advantage and it is worth telling us if both markets are in scope, because it can affect the references we keep in the adaptation.

Can we use French instead of Lingala?

It depends what you need. French is the official language and carries administration, law and formal business, so it has institutional weight. Lingala has reach: it is the language of radio, music and daily life across Kinshasa and the west. If your content has to be understood and trusted by a broad audience, Lingala. If it has to carry official authority, French. Many campaigns end up needing both, in different pieces.

What register should a Lingala script use?

Close and spoken. Lingala grew as a language of trade, the army and above all music, and it lives on radio and in everyday conversation rather than in official documents. A script carrying the syntax of a French administrative text sounds imported no matter how accurate the translation is. We adapt for the spoken register rather than translating line by line, and we will flag it if the source copy is fighting the language.

Will our English or French timings still work in Lingala?

Expect some expansion. Lingala is a Bantu language that builds words with prefixes and carries noun-class agreement through the sentence, so the same content generally takes more syllables. We flag the timing at adaptation stage and can either adjust the copy or tell you where the edit has room, rather than asking the voice actor to rush.

Can I direct the session remotely?

Yes, and for Lingala that is the arrangement — our talent records through our global network rather than in our London studios. You can direct live over Source-Connect, Zoom or Teams, so you hear takes as they happen and can adjust on the spot.

Can you translate our script into Lingala?

Yes, with native Lingala linguists. For public-health and humanitarian material we would also suggest agreeing key terminology up front, since the wording has to stay consistent across a campaign and, in health messaging, has to be unambiguous.

What do you use Lingala voice over for?

NGO and humanitarian communication, public-health and vaccination campaigns, radio and broadcast, consumer advertising, music and entertainment, community and civic information, and corporate material for organisations working in Kinshasa, western DR Congo and Brazzaville.

What audio formats and specs do you deliver?

Whatever your project needs — broadcast-standard WAV, MP3 or split stems, at the sample rate, bit depth and loudness (LUFS) you specify. Share your delivery spec and we'll match it.

The Congo takes two languages, split down the middle

Tell us the provinces you need and we'll advise on the pair — with a free, no-obligation quote.

Professional voice over services for your audio and video productions

Voice over

  • State-of-the-art studios
  • Neumann microphones
  • On-hand sound engineers
  • 1,000+ voice actors
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Translation

  • 100+ languages covered
  • Tailored to your needs
  • Stringent quality control
  • Dedicated project managers
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Subtitling

  • Experienced subtitlers
  • Industry-standard software
  • Burn-in and graphic editing
  • Open and closed captions
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Transcription

  • Improve accessibility
  • Reach a wider audience
  • Boost SEO and video views
  • Maximise video engagement
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★★★★★4.9 · from 149 reviews · 24–48h