Mexico boasts a long, rich history that stretches far beyond the arrival of Europeans to the Central American country. For most of its history, the land we know today as Mexico was inhabited by hundreds of different ethnolinguistic groups that spoke just as many different languages. Today, Mexico is mostly Spanish-speaking, and while many of the indigenous languages of the country are struggling, hundreds are still spoken today—some by quite a few people. Sierra Otomi is one of those languages.
The number of speakers of Sierra Otomi is estimated at 70,000. Like many other indigenous languages in Mexico, it’s part of a larger cluster of closely related languages spoken in the same vicinity. Sierra Otomi is one of the biggest varieties of the Otomi language cluster, which altogether have around 300,000 speakers. Sierra Otomi is further broken down into three subvarieties, spoken in different settlements across three states. Translation services for Sierra Otomi are rare—and that’s why we at TranslationServices.com are proud to present our Sierra Otomi translation services today.
Free quotes for our Sierra Otomi translation services available upon request!
Sierra Otomi: One of the biggest Otomi languages
The Otomi languages are found scattered across numerous states in Central Mexico, and even the variety of Sierra Otomi, also known as Highland Otomi, is split across three states, spoken in parts of northern Puebla, western Veracruz, and eastern Hidalgo. Within Sierra Otomi, you’ll find three distinct variants of the language, namely Eastern Highland, Texcatepec, and Tenango. The varieties share a lexical similarity of more than 70%, with the rate for Eastern Highland dialects rising to 80%. In aggregate, Sierra Otomi comes from the Oto–Manguean language family, like many other indigenous languages of southern Mexico.
Grammar in Sierra Otomi can be difficult for native English speakers to grasp, with a great deal of inflection and other complications present. Even pronouns in Sierra Otomi are complicated, as they come in three numbers (singular and plural, as in English, as well as dual, referring to two people). In addition, Sierra Otomi pronouns make a distinction between “you and I” versus “I and other people,” adding nuance not present in English. Speakers add prefixes to nouns to indicate possession, with an additional suffix for dual or plural persons. Verbal inflection is complex, incorporating not only tense, aspect, and mood but also markers for both the subject and object. It’s hard to translate to or from Sierra Otomi, so you want to make sure you’re working with a professional—such as our native-speaking translators.
Sierra Otomi translators for your every translation need
Whether you’re in Mexico or another country in the world, you can count on our team of passionate Sierra Otomi translators to deliver the best translation quality in the industry. Hailing from around Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, and elsewhere, our translators are native speakers of Sierra Otomi, representing the varieties of Eastern Highland, Texcatepec, and Tenango. They’re capable of translating both to and from Sierra Otomi, helping you make the most of your translation project, no matter what you need.
If you’re looking for a specific type of Sierra Otomi translation services, simply let us know! We have specialists who work with everything from academic translation, to business translation, to literary translation, giving us a well-rounded translation force ready to tackle your every project. You can specify different aspects of our work together, including the translation direction, Sierra Otomi dialect, delivery turnaround, translation specialty, and more, so if you have any special requests, just reach out and ask. We’ll always do our best to accommodate your needs and deliver the best Sierra Otomi translation we can.
Let’s work together to make your Sierra Otomi translation project a success. Why not place your first order today?