Indonesia has more indigenous languages than almost any country on Earth—the only country with more languages spoken natively within its borders is neighboring Papua New Guinea. Of course, most Indonesians learn the national language and lingua franca, Indonesian, which allows them to communicate with their fellow compatriots, but locally, people are apt to speak the language native to their region. One of the many indigenous languages in Indonesia is called Alas.
Alas—which may also be called Alas-Kluet or Batak Alas—is the native language of roughly 200,000 people in Indonesia. The language is spoken by three different ethnic groups—the Alas, Kluet, and Singkil peoples—and although Indonesian is the primary language in the country, most members of the ethnic groups speak Alas as their first language. Like other regional languages in Indonesia, however, the language is under threat, facing pressures from the dominant Indonesian. That also makes translation services hard to come by—but that’s what we at TranslationServices.com are striving to change with our new Alas translation services.
Can we interest you in a free quote for our Alas translation services? Request one today!
Alas: an outlier in the Batak group of languages
Alas is spoken in northern Sumatra, the westernmost main island in Indonesia. More specifically, the Alas, Kluet, and Singkil peoples live in the southern regions of Aceh, a province nestled at the northern tip of Sumatra. The language is divided into three dialects based on the ethnic groups, with the Alas variant spoken in Southeast Aceh Regency, the Kluet dialect in South Aceh Regency, and the Singkil variety in Aceh Singkil Regency and Subulussalam. The variants of Batak Alas can vary quite considerably and are sometimes even considered different languages.
Even if Alas, Kluet, and Singkil are classified as different languages, what remains certain is that they’re closely related as members of the Batak language group, which itself is part of the massive Austronesian language family. In particular, Alas, which resembles the neighboring language of Karo, differentiates itself from Kluet and Singkil, which are closer to Batak Dairi (Pakpak). Batak Alas also resembles Indonesian in many ways, even if the languages are entirely mutually unintelligible. They share the same complicated verbal morphology, where verbs are not conjugated for person or tense but do take prefixes to indicate a focus on the agent (performer) or patient (undergoer) of the action. This system can be tricky to translate—and the lack of tense conjugation can also present challenges. Luckily, our native-speaking Alas translators know how to tackle these issues.
Alas translation services: available to anyone who needs them
If you’re looking for Alas translation services, allow us to help. Not many companies offer translation services for minority languages like Alas, but we’ve proudly built a robust team of passionate translators eager to help bridge the communication gap between their people and the global community. Since we’ve hired translators for each of the major dialects—Alas, Kluet, and Singkil—we can tailor our services to fit your specific needs. That applies whether you want translation services into Alas or translation services from Alas.
What kind of Alas translation services are you interested in? Our translators are skilled in many different areas, so if you’re looking for translators specialized in academic, business, or literary translation, we can help. This makes us the ideal solution for researchers interested in working with local Alas-speaking people, business leaders eying southern Aceh for a new branch of their business, Alas storytellers who have a story to share with the world, and language activists seeking to bring new Alas-language content to native speakers and learners alike. Wherever your Alas translation needs take you, we’ll be there to support you.
If you’re ready to get started with Alas translation services, contact our team today and place your first order!