What’s the difference between a language and a dialect? You may think it sounds obvious, but the classification is much more difficult than you might think. Some vernaculars classified as distinct languages—say, for example, Czech and Slovak, or Swedish and Norwegian—are so similar that speakers can understand the other language easily. On the other hand, some languages, like Arabic, feature “dialects” so distinct from one another that they’re unintelligible to native speakers from other regions. The classification of dialects and languages is sometimes based more on politics than linguistics, leading to languages that different groups categorize differently, such as Sambalpuri.
So, is Sambalpuri an independent language or a dialect of Odia? Ask a native speaker, and they’ll likely proudly tell you that Sambalpuri is a proper language, but if you ask an outsider from elsewhere in India, they’ll probably posit that it’s a dialect of Odia. Indeed, Sambalpuri shares as much as 75% of its vocabulary with Odia, and native speakers even use Standard Odia for formal communication—but they still want Sambalpuri recognized as a proper language. That’s why we at TranslationServices.com have proudly put together our very own Sambalpuri translation team, offering recognition to this woefully overlooked tongue.
The other question you might have is how much our Sambalpuri translation services cost—and you can discover the answer for free when you request a free quote!
Digging deeper into the identity of Sambalpuri
Nearly all of Sambalpuri’s 2.6 million native speakers are residents of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, tucked away inland in Western Odisha. In the districts of Bargarh, Subarnapur, and Sambalpur, more than half of the population speak Sambalpuri as their first language, and it also constitutes the biggest language in Jharsuguda, although fewer than half of residents speak it. A significant minority of Sambalpuri speakers also live in Balangir, Nuapada, Baudh, and Sundargarh, but Odia is the dominant language in these districts.
Despite outsiders generally seeing Sambalpuri as a dialect of Odia, proud Sambalpuri speakers have been pushing for their language’s inclusion in India’s Eighth Schedule, which would make it a nationally recognized official language. Various literary works penned in Sambalpuri have helped boost the language’s status, but its overwhelming similarities to Odia continue to put pressure on the relatively smaller tongue. Like other minority languages in Odisha, Sambalpuri has adopted the Odia writing system for its literature, although in the past, it was briefly written in the Devanagari script, which is used to write Hindi and various other languages in north-central India.
Reliable, flexible, high-quality Sambalpuri translation services for anyone
If you need Sambalpuri translation services for your project, you surely want to invest in quality. We built our Sambalpuri translation team with quality in mind, gathering together the best minds in the Sambalpuri translation world. Indeed, our native-speaking Sambalpuri translators come from all across Western Odisha, and they’re proud of their native tongue, which they staunchly declare is a language, not an Odia dialect. They’re well versed in both directions of translation—from Sambalpuri to English and from English to Sambalpuri—so they’re equipped to take on a wide range of projects.
What kind of document are you looking to translate to or from Sambalpuri? Perhaps a business document that will help you take your local business to the international stage or ad copy that will help you capture the attention of local Sambalpuri speakers? Maybe you’re undertaking a study in Western Odisha and need your questionnaire translated into Sambalpuri for locals to fill out? Or could it be that you want to translate traditional Sambalpuri literature into English to promote the status and standing of this unique language, or translate contemporary books and digital media into Sambalpuri to allow speakers more ways to enjoy their language? Good news—our Sambalpuri translators can handle all these cases and more.
We don’t compromise on quality when it comes to Sambalpuri translations. Why not see for yourself by ordering a Sambalpuri translation today?