The Amazon is one of the most unique places on Earth. It’s brimming with colorful flora and fauna, with the region’s unparalleled biodiversity making it home to millions of unique species not found elsewhere. But the diversity in the Amazon doesn’t just stop at animals and plants. In fact, the humans who indigenously inhabit the vibrant rainforest also exhibit remarkable diversity, with the Amazon housing more than 350 ethnolinguistic groups spread across more than 3,300 formally recognized indigenous territories. Amidst this diverse landscape, we find the Baniwa people and their Karu language.
Most indigenous languages in the Amazon have few speakers, so Karu, boasting more than 12,000 native speakers, stands as one of the largest autochthonous languages in the area. With the total number of Baniwa people registered at more than 17,000 people, this means the majority of Baniwa speak their ancestral language, but many have already abandoned it. Indeed, Karu and the other hundreds of languages native to the Amazon are threatened by Portuguese and Spanish, the lingua francas of the countries that govern over the rainforest. It’s unfortunate that most translation companies won’t offer services for these precious tongues—but we at TranslationServices.com are thrilled to step in with our Karu translation team.
If you’re looking for high-quality Karu translation services, we’d be happy to provide a free quote—just ask!
Discovering the intricacies of the Karu language
Despite having only 12,000 native speakers, Karu is a transnational language spanning three countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Brazil and Colombia account for a roughly equal number of Baniwa people, with the figure falling in Venezuela, but only Brazil has formally recognized the language, giving it official status in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a municipality in the country’s northwestern Amazonas state. Karu, which can also be called Baniwa or, previously, Itayaine, comes from the Arawakan language family, a prominent family across South America.
Karu is what’s known as a stative–active language, which means the way it grammatically treats subjects in an intransitive sentence depends on the verb. In transitive sentences, subjects and objects are marked consistently, but in intransitive sentences, the subject may be marked as an object if the verb is deemed stative. For example, the ri- prefix in riemhani (“he walks”) represents the subject (“he”), but the -ni suffix in hapekani (“he is cold”) also represents the subject, but as an object. For native Karu speakers, this system comes naturally, but for native English speakers, it’s a tricky concept to grasp.
Bringing you the best Karu translations on the web
Professional Karu translation services are hard to come by—but we’re proud to be breaking new ground with our dedicated Karu translation team. The Baniwa people are proud of their language, so we found passionate, native-speaking translators from Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela alike eager to help clients translate into and out of their language. That’s right—whether you’re looking for translation services to Karu or from Karu, we’re here to help.
As an endangered language with only 12,000 native speakers, Karu has limited resources, and despite our best efforts, if you have highly specific needs, it may not always be possible to find a Karu translator who fits your particular niche. However, we have worked hard to make our Karu translation team as flexible as possible, scouting out translators with knowledge in various disciplines and experience in different types of translation. If you want to translate traditional Baniwa folktales into English so the rest of the world can appreciate this unique culture, our translators would love to help. If you’re looking to translate educational content into Karu to allow local children to learn—and gain literacy—in their native language, we’ll be your guides. And if you want any other sort of Karu translation services, we’ll do our best to provide that, too!
Let us guide you through the exciting world of Karu translation services. All you need to do is message us and tell us what you’re looking for!