Africa, as the birthplace of modern humans, is a hotspot of ethnic diversity, with most contemporary countries on the continent housing dozens or even hundreds of separate ethno-linguistic groups. But classification isn’t necessarily as easy as it seems. Sometimes, an ethno-linguistic group may have more affinity with an unrelated group than other sub-ethnicities within their wider umbrella. An example of the latter is the Daju people, who are spread out in isolated pockets across northern Africa, speaking a collection of related languages.
The Daju languages number about six in total and collectively boast around 250,000 native speakers. Taking a closer look at the individual languages and the number of people who speak them, the biggest is Nyala, with around 110,000 speakers. Second is Sila with 70,000 speakers, followed by Daju Mongo with 60,000 speakers, and then Shatt with 30,000 speakers, Logorik with 2,000 speakers, and Nyolge with 900 speakers. It is worth noting, however, that the figures for Logorik and Nyolge were sourced in the 1970s, and the figures for both languages have likely grown significantly since then. No Daju language is well represented by translation companies, so we at TranslationServices.com are proud to introduce our new translation services for the Daju languages.
Contact us today if you’d like to request a free quote for our Daju translation services!
Daju: a unique collection of languages
The Daju languages are spoken in isolated pockets spanning across southern Chad and Sudan, with a few speakers also found in South Sudan. In Chad, Daju speakers are primarily found in the eastern Ouaddaï (Wadai) Region, and in Sudan, they mostly reside in the Kordofan and Darfur areas. The languages are not necessarily closely related, with the eastern and western branches estimated to have split apart more than 2,000 years ago. Still, they’re more closely related to each other than any other languages.
The Daju languages can differ quite a bit in their grammar—a good example is how Sila uses a default subject-object-verb word order, while Shatt uses a subject-verb-object word order. Sila is the odd one out, since all over Daju languages use a subject-verb-object order. They also place adjectives after the noun, which is the case in the vast majority of indigenous African languages. Daju languages also feature an additional type of number marker—they mark nouns not just for singular and plural but also “generic number,” when it’s unknown or irrelevant how many of the noun there are. We hire native speakers for each Daju language, though, so you don’t have to worry about these intricacies.
A Daju translation service full of nuance
We’re committed to providing reliable translation services for as many Daju languages as possible, although the smaller the language is, the harder it is for us to serve. We’ve hired Daju translators from across Chad and Sudan to translate their respective native languages, whether Nyala, Sila, Daju Mongo, Shatt, or something else. Our translators are passionate about their languages and love helping people communicate clearly and effectively, whether that means translating into or from Daju.
Maybe you’re looking for something more specialized—a research survey translated into Sila, an advertisement for your business translated into Nyala, a traditional folk tale translated to English from Daju Mongo, a short story translated into Shatt, or any number of other specialized examples. Of course, we can’t make any guarantees, but whatever you need, we’ll do our best to accommodate you. We’ve hired translators with skills in a variety of areas and knowledge in a variety of fields, so all you have to do is ask, and we’ll try to match you to the best Daju translator for you, taking into consideration the specific language you’re working with.
Our Daju translation team is eager to start working with you. Why not send us a message now to get started?