Here at TranslationServices.com, we believe all languages are inherently valuable and deserving of high-quality translation services. That’s why you’ll find all sorts of rare or obscure languages here with us that you won’t find at most other translation companies. We take our quest to provide reliable translation services all over the world, proudly working with minority and even endangered languages to deliver flexible and all-encompassing translation services. Africa is a particularly underserved area of the world, and though the continent is teeming with diverse languages spoken by large populations, few translation firms are willing to dive in. We’re different.
One of the languages we proudly translate is Meru, a Bantu language spoken by roughly 2 million people in Kenya. Meru certainly isn’t the biggest language in this prominent East African nation, but it’s one of the most widely spoken, ranking higher than most of the other 70+ languages in the country. This gives the language prestige and influence in its immediate area, though the presence of national lingua francas like English and Swahili undermine Meru and relegate it to the homeland of the Meru people. Regardless, Meru is a strong and proud language that we’re delighted to work with.
If you need Meru translation services, we’re ready to help. Contact us today to ask about a free quote.
Let us tell you all about Meru.
Meru (or Kimeru) is spoken right in the heart of Kenya, specifically in Meru County and Tharaka Nithi County (sometimes known as “Greater Meru”), which straddle Mount Kenya. The Meru people are divided into several subgroups, each with their own dialect of the language: Igembe, Tigania (Tiania), Imenti, Tharaka (Saraka), Igoji, Mwimbi–Muthambi, and Chuka (Gicuka). While the Meru dialects differ in various ways, they all maintain a good level of mutual intelligibility, easing communications.
With Meru hailing from the Bantu subfamily, which is part of the broader Niger–Congo language family that subsumes most of sub-Saharan Africa, the language exhibits a subject-verb-object word order, just like English. Meru’s agglutinative structure, wherein prefixes are glued to a root word to add nuance and grammatical meaning, can make for dizzyingly long words, particularly verbs, but this is par for the course for a Bantu language. Most notably, however, is Meru’s noun class system, another hallmark of Bantu languages—it’s like the gender system in French or Spanish but with more than a dozen genders, and each one is associated with a concord prefix that must be added to verbs, adjectives, and other modifying words to show agreement with the noun.
Delivering high-quality Meru translations every time
There are lots of different reasons you may require Meru translation services, and we’re committed to catering to your diverse translation needs. Our Meru translators have grown up in Kenya and are native speakers of this precious Bantu language, so they know how to translate smoothly between English and Meru. We offer translation both to and from Meru, making our services ideal for both Meru-speaking locals who want to transmit a message to the world and international clients looking to tailor their message to the Meru people.
What kind of documents can we translate? Just about anything! That’s because our translators come from a wide range of backgrounds, boasting experience in a diverse array of translation domains. If you run a business or organization, we can help you expand your operations, whether you need employment contracts translated into Meru so you can move into Kenya or marketing collateral translated from Meru so you can grow your customer base internationally. If you’re a researcher and want to connect with local Meru people in their own language, we can translate your questionnaire and other material into the local language. Our team is also skilled in translating literary materials, whether that’s traditional Meru-language stories that you believe deserve to shared around the world or contemporary foreign works—everything from novels to mobile apps—that you want to bring to the Meru people.
We strive to make our Meru translation services as reliable and accessible as possible. Reach out today to discuss your needs!