When you look at countries like Vietnam, China, and Laos from afar, it’s easy to classify them into monolingual language groups: Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin), and Lao. But the reality is far more complicated than that. Southeast Asia is one of the most linguistically diverse regions on the planet, and each of these countries houses a wide array of indigenous minority languages. In some cases, all three countries share the same minority language, as is the case with Nùng.
In 2009, Nùng was recorded to have an estimated 968,000 native speakers, although that figure is likely a bit higher today, as the number of ethnic Nùng people has grown to over 1 million. Most ethnic Nùng people speak their native language, leaving it strong and vigorous, but of course, it remains threatened by the dominant languages of the countries it’s spoken in. In Vietnam, Nùng is one of the most prominent minority languages, but nonetheless, resources and translation services for Nùng are rare, which is why we at TranslationServices.com are so proud to step in with our new Nùng translation team.
Anyone who would like to see a free quote for our Nùng translation services can contact us today.
Taking a closer look at Nùng, an important indigenous language in Vietnam
You’ll find most speakers of Nùng in northern Vietnam, spanning nearly all provinces in Vietnam’s Northeast Region, namely Bắc Giang, Bắc Kạn, Cao Bằng, Hà Giang, Lạng Sơn, Quảng Ninh, Thái Nguyên, and Tuyên Quang. Additional speakers can also be found in the South Central Region, specifically the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, and Lâm Đồng. In China, Nùng speakers live in Yunnan and Guangxi, although the Chinese government classifies them as Zhuang. In Laos, where they’re known as the Yang people, Nùng speakers live in Luang Prabang Province. Although most Nùng speakers live in Vietnam, the language is unrelated to Vietnamese—rather, it’s related to Thai, Lao, Zhuang, and Tày.
The Nùng language originated when Zhuang people migrated south to Vietnam in the 16th and 18th centuries, their language slowly blossoming into its own entity. Today, Nùng is divided into several linguistic varieties, including Nùng Phạn Slinh (Nohng Fạn Slihng), Nùng Cháo, Nùng Inh, Nùng An, and Nùng Giang. Like Vietnamese, it’s written in a highly modified version of the Latin alphabet, but historically, Nùng speakers used modified Chinese characters to write their language. Given how different Nùng is from English, it’s a challenge to translate to and from, but for our native-speaking team, it’s a breeze.
Our Nùng translators are dedicated to quality and flexibility.
Our native-speaking Nùng translators are passionate about their language and helping clients from Vietnam, China, Laos, and the rest of the world break down language barriers. To ensure a broad coverage of Nùng dialects, we’ve recruited representatives from all over the Northeast and South Central Regions, as well as the Nùng-speaking areas of China and Laos. We translate both to and from Nùng, and whichever direction you’re interested in, don’t hesitate to request your preferred dialect or region—we’ll try to match you to the best Nùng translator on our team for your project.
Maybe your translation project isn’t suitable for general translators—that’s okay too, since many of our translators are skilled in specialized translation domains. We have academic translators who can work with everything from research surveys to educational materials for kids, as well as business translators who excel in translations of internal corporate documents and promotional materials. We also have a team of Nùng literary translators who can translate stories, poems, and other literary works to or from Nùng, making sure to preserve the original tone and nuance of the text. And then there’s our localization team, perfect for developers of websites, apps, games, and more.
Ready to take advantage of our Nùng translation services? Contact us today to discuss your translation project!