Tajikistan is located smack-dab in the heart of Asia, surrounded by China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Being in the middle of Asia, Tajikistan exhibits a high degree of linguistic diversity, particularly in the Gorno-Badakhshan oblast, but the country only has two official languages at the national level: Tajik and Russian. Russian is, of course, a relic of the country’s Soviet past, and around 10% of the Tajik population is ethnically Russian. A whopping 90% of Tajiks also speak Russian. But the national language, and the biggest native language in the country, is Tajik.
Tajik boasts roughly 8 million speakers, 6.4 million of whom live in Tajikistan. Specifically, most Tajik speakers outside of Tajikistan reside in Afghanistan or Uzbekistan, although the variant of Tajik spoken in Afghanistan is notably different from the national Tajik version. In fact, Afghan Tajik is often considered a dialect of Dari, itself sometimes considered a dialect of Persian. Even with millions of speakers across multiple countries, Tajik is underrepresented in translation services, with few agencies willing to accommodate the language. Here at TranslationServices.com, we believe in the value of all languages—so we’re proud to translate to and from Tajik.
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So, let’s learn a little more about Tajik.
Is Tajik actually a language? Surprisingly, the very existence of Tajik proves controversial, with some arguing that it’s simply a dialect of Persian and others adamant that it’s a fully fledged language. Major differences between Tajik and Persian include the writing system—Tajik was written in the Arabic script historically but has used the Cyrillic alphabet since 1939. Other notable differences include vocabulary and grammar, with Tajik retaining words and structures that have long since died out in Persian and Dari.
Nonetheless, Tajik grammar is largely similar to Persian grammar, with minimal inflection and grammatical relationships generally indicated through particles and word order. The verb comes at the end of the sentence, after the object, and since verbs are marked for person, independent pronouns are often omitted, as in languages like Spanish. Just like in Persian, Tajik verbs feature separate participle forms for the past and present tense, which are used to form aspect and mood forms, such as the progressive, imperfect, and subjunctive.
We’re ready to help you with your Tajik translation needs—whatever they may be.
Though Tajik may be very similar to Persian, the stark differences in writing system and some of the vocabulary and grammar make Tajik deserving of its own dedicated translation team. That’s why we’ve scoured the country of Tajikistan to find the best Tajik translators and bring them to you. Our experts work with translation projects both to and from Tajik, for a wide range of content. Have a historical Tajik-language document written in the Arabic script? Let our translators have at it. Need a careful translation of intricate Tajik literature? We’ll preserve the unique writing style skillfully in English. Looking for a translation of your business materials into Tajik so you can expand into the Tajik market? We have you covered. Want to translate creative works, such as books, websites, apps, poetry, and games, into Tajik, opening you up to new fans and giving Tajik speakers more content to enjoy in their language? Our translators would be thrilled to help.
Today’s the day to get started with Tajik translation services—just message us to tell us what you need.