Most Indonesians speak Indonesian, but that doesn’t mean it’s their native language. Indonesian is a lingua franca that ties this remarkably multiethnic country together, allowing the vastly different cultures and peoples of Indonesia communicate with one another. While some people do speak Indonesian as a native language, most Indonesians speak a regional indigenous language as their mother tongue. For example, on the island of Madura, most people speak Madurese as their first language.
Madurese is one of the most widely spoken languages in Indonesia, with an estimated 8 to 13 million speakers. Nonetheless, the ubiquity of not only Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, but also Javanese, the most widely spoken native language in Indonesia, indigenous to the island of Java, threatens the smaller language of Madurese. In some cases, Madurese children are learning Indonesian and Javanese instead of their native Madurese, causing concern for the language’s future. It’s also the case that translation companies typically don’t work with languages like Madurese, even though there are many speakers of the language. We at TranslationServices.com, however, are passionate about minority languages like Madurese, which is why we’re proud to present our Madurese translation team.
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Madurese: discovering the language of Madura
Madurese is, of course, native to the island of Madura, found just off the eastern coast of Java, the world’s most populated island. Speakers can also be found on the Sapudi Islands and the main Java island. The language can be written in three different scripts: the Latin alphabet, Pegon (a modified Arabic script), and Carakan (the Javanese script). Like the vast majority of languages in Indonesia, Madurese comes from the Malayo–Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.
Madurese has the same word order as English—subject-verb-object—and has no grammatical gender. But the similarities more or less end there. Madurese makes nouns plural through reduplication, a common tactic of Austronesian languages, and uses various prefixes and suffixes to achieve other grammatical purposes. The same suffix can produce different meanings depending on the word it’s appended to, which can lead to confusion—for example, the suffix -an can turn a verb into a noun, turn an adjective into an adverb, indicate a frequent or habitual action, or produce the comparative form of an adjective, among other uses.
We offer flexible Madurese translation services.
The above description of Madurese morphology provides insight into why translating between Madurese and English can be so tricky, but for our native-speaking Madurese translators, it’s no problem. They can provide seamless translations both to and from Madurese, which allows us to cover a wide variety of client needs. We can work with the Latin alphabet, the Javanese script, and Pegon, so even if you have a historical document written in a different script, our translators can help. We can also translate traditional and contemporary literature in Madurese to English. Regarding translation into Madurese, our team is equipped to translate everything from business content, to educational material, to surveys and questionnaires, to books, websites, games, apps, and more. As passionate Madurese translators, quality is always our highest priority.
What are the specifications of your Madurese translation project? Get in touch today to let us know.