Did you know that Indonesia is home to over 700 native languages, making it the second-most linguistically diverse country in the world? Even though Indonesian is the official language, used widely across the entire country in government, education, and other formal situations, most Indonesians only speak it as a second language, using an indigenous minority language at home and in the local community. Accordingly, some of Indonesia’s minority languages are really quite major, with large numbers of speakers using them—such as Ma’anyan.
With 150,000 native speakers as of Ethnologue’s estimates in 2003, Ma’anyan is far from the biggest language in Indonesia, but it’s also far from the smallest. Most Ma’anyan speakers learn Indonesian, as it’s necessary for daily life in the country, and some may also speak other important regional languages, such as Banjarese. Ethnologue classifies Ma’anyan as a threatened language, so while the language remains strong for now, the overwhelming influence of Indonesian is contributing to a gradual decline in Ma’anyan speakers. Translation services play an important role in language preservation, so we at TranslationServices.com are thrilled to support this indigenous language by rolling out our new Ma’anyan translation services.
How about checking out a free quote for our Ma’anyan translation services? Just send a message requesting one.
Ma’anyan: the minority language that links Indonesia to Madagascar
Ma’anyan, also known as Maanjan or Maanyak Dayak, is spoken in the Indonesian provinces of Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, located on the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. Although the language hails from the same Austronesian language family as Indonesian, it’s highly distinct from the country’s official language—rather, it’s closely related to Malagasy, spoken all the way over in Madagascar. The two languages, although not mutually intelligible today, share the same roots, with Ma’anyan people having been brought to the island as laborers and slaves between 50 AD and 500 AD.
Ma’anyan uses a default word order of subject-verb-object, like Indonesian. Also like Indonesian, it places the noun before all modifiers, including adjectives, numerals, and demonstratives (i.e., words like “this” and “that”). It features both definite (i.e., “the”) and indefinite (i.e., “a”) articles, but it uses a demonstrative for its definite article and the word for “one” for its indefinite article—both of which are common tactics among languages globally. Like many other Austronesian languages, Ma’anyan also makes use of reduplication for certain types of plurals. Translating to and from Ma’anyan can be tricky, which is why we’ve made sure to hire native speakers for our team.
Our team is here for all your Ma’anyan translation needs (even special requests!).
We’re passionate about helping people around the world communicate, breaking down the barriers of language to facilitate global connectedness. So are our native-speaking Ma’anyan translators, who hail from all over Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. Our translators speak various dialects of Ma’anyan, so if you’re looking for any particular one, all you have to do is request it. We’re here to help people translate from English to Ma’anyan as well as from Ma’anyan to English—we work on both sides of the language barrier.
What if you need more specialized translation services for your Ma’anyan translation project—say, academic translation, business translation, or literary translation? No problem. Our team is big and diverse, so we can usually cater to the varied needs of our clients. Our academic translators are familiar with a wide range of academic disciplines, just as our business translators are proficient in business customs and numerous industries. Of course, our literary translators can also work with a diverse array of genres and subject matters, carefully maintaining all the same nuances and stylistic touches of the original text. Whatever kind of Ma’anyan translation services you need, we’re here.
Start working with our team today for high-quality Ma’anyan translation services! Contact us today to place an order.