Did you know that Papua New Guinea—a nation that comprises around 11 million people living on half an island shared with Indonesia—contains the most languages of any country, clocking in at more than 820? Indonesia, with more than 700 languages, is a close second, but most of Indonesia’s minority languages are indigenous not to the western half of the island it shares with Papua New Guinea but to the thousands of other islands that make up the archipelago. Basemah Malay is but one of the many languages that Indonesians speak.
The number of Basemah Malay native speakers is uncertain, with some sources suggesting 400,000, others 1.2 million, and yet others going as high as 2.3 million. But regardless of the number of speakers, it’s clear that Basemah Malay is a sizable regional language in Indonesia. However, most Basemah Malay speakers also learn Indonesian, the national lingua franca, and Palembang Malay, the regional lingua franca, to talk to the many other ethnic groups that live around them, relegating Basemah Malay to the home and local Basemah community. Most translation companies overlook Basemah Malay, but not us at TranslationServices.com—we’re proud to introduce our Basemah Malay translation team today.
We can show you how much your Basemah Malay translation project will cost if you request a free quote!
Let’s discover the language of the Basemah Malay people
So, where in Indonesia is Basemah Malay spoken? It’s one of many languages native to the western island of Sumatra, situated in the southwestern highlands of the landmass—specifically, in the provinces of Bengkulu and South Sumatra. Here, where many ethnic groups—including Malay, Javanese, Minangkabau, Batak, and Chinese-Indonesian peoples—mix, Palembang Malay is often used as the lingua franca. Basemah Malay is closely related, but it’s definitely a distinct language.
Like most minority Indonesian languages outside of New Guinea, Basemah Malay belongs to the Austronesian language family, which makes it related to Indonesian, Palembang Malay, Javanese, Minangkabau, and just about every other language spoken in Sumatra. At first glance, Basemah may look simple to an English speaker, given the lack of grammatical gender, case, and person markers on verbs—but the language is a far cry from English, full of nuance that can’t always be easily translated. For the best Basemah Malay translation results, you need to work with a native speaker—and that’s exactly who we hire.
Our Basemah Malay translation team is flexible and capable.
Some of our Basemah Malay translators hail from Bengkulu, while others call South Sumatra home—and yet others are from other parts of Sumatra or Indonesia. Wherever their origins, however, all our Basemah Malay translators are proud native speakers of this minority Indonesian language, and they can’t wait to help you translate your texts to or from Basemah Malay. The details of your project are up to you—our translators will diligently tailor their services to best suit your needs.
Perhaps you’re a researcher looking to gather some valuable information by administering a survey to Basemah Malay speakers, or maybe you’re an educator who wants lesson materials in Basemah Malay for local children. It could be that you’re a business leader hoping to engage the Basemah Malay community with native-language communications and marketing materials. Or maybe you’re a writer, weaving together exquisite stories and poems, and you want to share your work with the Basemah Malay people—or you produce original work in Basemah Malay and want to expand your audience abroad. Whatever your reason for seeking Basemah Malay translation services, our team of passionate native speakers is here to help, ready to tackle any project regarding any subject matter.
Let us help you with your Basemah Malay translation project! Send us your files and the details of your translation job, and we’ll get right to work!