You might think that Tagalog—or even English—is the dominant language in the Philippines. After all, these are the official languages and lingua francas, spoken widely particularly in Manila, the bustling capital of the Southeast Asian country. But in fact, the Philippines is remarkably linguistically diverse, with various regional languages enjoying vigorous use in their respective regions. The biggest native language in the Philippines is Tagalog, followed by Cebuano as a close second. Next on the list are Ilocano, Hiligaynon, and Waray, with nearly 180 other languages constituting the linguistic makeup of the Philippines.
Waray, as the fifth-biggest native language in the Philippines, is spoken by roughly 3.6 million people, mostly ethnic Waray people. The Abaknon people also commonly speak Waray as a second language. As a major regional Philippine language, Waray is commonly used by local governments and in television and radio broadcasts, and Waray-speaking children are taught in their native language from kindergarten to third grade. However, at the international level, Waray is often upstaged by Tagalog, resulting in a dearth of Waray translation services. We here at TranslationServices.com, with our Waray translation team, are here to change this.
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A major regional Philippine language: Waray
Waray (sometimes called Waray-Waray) is mostly spoken in the Eastern Visayas, situated around the center of the Philippines. Waray speakers can also be found in Masbate, Sorsogon, and Gibusong. In addition to the standard dialect, known as Tacloban, Waray is divided into several dialects, including Catbalogan, or “pure Waray.” Some dialects have sustained heavy influence from Cebuano. No matter the dialect, however, Waray is always written in the Latin alphabet, although historically it was written in the indigenous Baybayin script.
Waray, like most of its fellow Philippine languages, come from the Austronesian family, specifically the Philippine branch. The language places the verb at the beginning of a sentence in a verb-subject-object order, common in Austronesian languages. Most notable about Waray, however, is its complex voice system, a quintessential aspect of Philippine languages. Verbs are adorned with affixes—including infixes and circumfixes—to shift the focus to different constituents in the sentence, such as the agent, the patient, the location, or the beneficiary. This allows for a wealth of nuance that may be difficult to express in English.
What kind of translation services are you interested in for Waray?
Despite the massive differences between Waray and English, our native-speaking Waray translators are passionate about translating between the languages, proudly offering their Waray translation services both to and from the language. With a diverse team of experts boasting various skill sets, we can accommodate all sorts of translation needs, even if you’re looking to translate a historical document written in the Baybayin script! We’d also be happy to translate business documents, promotional materials, academic papers, or literature from Waray to English. In the opposite direction, we’d love to help you translate corporate content, pedagogical materials, literary texts like books or poems, and digital content like websites, games, and apps into Waray. Whatever you need in terms of Waray translation, we’re here to provide it!
Anyone interested in Waray translation services is invited to contact us today to discuss the details of their Waray translation project.