When considering the linguistic landscape of Central America, most people think solely of Spanish. Indeed, with the exception of English-speaking Belize, all mainland Central American countries use Spanish as their dominant language. But various people groups have inhabited the land for millennia, speaking a wide variety of indigenous languages that still persist today. Mexico and Guatemala account for many of Central America’s indigenous languages today, but others further south are still spoken today, too—such as Sumo.
Sumo, alternatively known as Sumu, is entirely unrelated to the famous Japanese traditional wrestling sport—it’s the collective moniker for a group of indigenous languages in Nicaragua and Honduras. Collectively, around 9,000 people speak Sumo languages as their mother tongue, but naturally, most also speak Spanish in order to participate in broader society in their Central American countries. The Sumo languages are also threatened by Miskito, the biggest indigenous language in Nicaragua. No wonder it’s hard to locate Sumo translation services—but here at TranslationServices.com, we’re proud to debut our Sumo translation team.
For a free quote that delves into our rates for Sumo translation services, contact us now!
Sumo: a culturally important language of Central America
The best-known indigenous Central American languages are Nahuatl and the Mayan languages, spoken in Mexico and Guatemala. The Sumo languages and their close cousin, Miskito, are entirely unrelated to these big names, instead tracing their lineage back to the Misumalpan language family. With around 150,000 native speakers, Miskito dominates as the primary indigenous language, often overshadowing the Sumo languages. The northern variant, Mayangna, is spoken around Rosita and Bonanza in Nicaragua’s North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region and is divided into the Twahka and Panamahka dialects, while the southern variant, Ulwa, is spoken in Karawala in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region.
Though they’re both classified as “Sumo languages,” Mayangna and Ulwa differ so much in their vocabulary and morphology that some linguists think of them as separate languages. Nonetheless, the two Sumo varieties are closely related, and we’re proud to offer translation services for both, to the best of our ability. The Sumo languages are grammatically complex, with the verb generally coming at the end of a sentence. They feature articles, like “a” and “the” in English, except that they come after the noun rather than before. In the Sumo pronominal system, the languages differentiate between a word for “we” that includes the listener and another one that excludes them. No matter how complicated the Sumo languages may sound, however, you can always rely on the expertise of our native-speaking translators.
Customizing your Sumo translations to your specifications
We proudly offer translation services for both Mayangna and Ulwa, providing coverage as broadly as we can. We’ve hired native-speaking translators from across Nicaragua and Honduras, bringing you translation expertise for a range of Sumo dialects. Our translators are passionate about helping make connections between their people and the rest of the world, which is why they diligently and carefully on all translation projects, whether to or from Sumo.
If you’re looking for a specialized type of translation, such as academic translation, business translation, or literary translation, simply let us know. While we’re limited by the relatively small number of Sumo speakers, we’ve done our best to foster a well-rounded and robust team of Sumo translators with diverse skills. Researchers or educators looking for translation of their scholarly materials into Sumo can trust our academic translators, regardless of the field. Business owners can turn to our business translators to tailor their corporate documents and marketing materials to the Sumo-speaking people of Nicaragua and Honduras. Those passionate about preserving Sumo language and culture can work with our translators to share Sumo literature worldwide or bring new, high-quality content like books or apps to the Sumo languages. We’re here for all your Sumo translation needs.
Reach out today to get started with your first Sumo translation project!