Think Hindi is the only language used in India? Not by a long shot! With more than 450 languages, India is one of the most linguistically diverse countries on the planet, dominated by two main language families: Indo–European (specifically Indo–Aryan) and Dravidian. One of India’s hundreds of languages is Kumaoni, an Indo–Aryan language nestled in the north of the country next to Nepal. Even though it’s the primary language of the Kumaon region, it’s difficult to find translation services for this Indic language.
The issue is that Kumaoni lacks the number of speakers that other Indian languages, like Hindi, possess. This causes most translation companies to overlook the language in favor of more profitable ones. But at TranslationServices.com, we don’t believe in ignoring smaller languages. In fact, we love working with endangered and minority languages by providing high-quality translation services. So, we’re proud to offer our professional Kumaoni translation team for all your translation needs.
Reach out today if you’d like to know more about our Kumaoni translation services or want to request a free quote.
Introducing the language of Kumaon
Even though the administrative and educational language is Hindi, Kumaoni is the dominant native language of the Kumaon region of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It’s also the biggest language in the Doti region in neighboring Nepal. In total, Kumaoni has an estimated 2.2 million speakers, and though it’s not classified as endangered, it’s considered “unsafe,” with conservation efforts necessary.
Kumaoni developed with significant influence from the now extinct Khasas language, spoken by the original inhabitants of the Kumaon region. Khasas influence was particularly strong on Kumaoni’s pronunciation. In terms of grammar, Kumaoni uses the word order subject-object-verb and uses cases, including the ergative case, used to mark the agent of transitive sentences. Regarding tenses, Kumaoni expresses the past tense by changing the personal pronoun, not the verb, and other tenses may be indicated in part by changes to the pronoun or particles following the verb.
Kumaoni’s grammatical differences from English make it a difficult language to translate—and a difficult language to find translation services for. That’s where TranslationServices.com comes in. Our team of professional Kumaoni translators can seamlessly translate between Kumaoni and English, regardless of the dialect.
What’s your Kumaoni translation project?
Our diverse team of Kumaoni translators is ready to assist with any number of translation projects. They work with many different Kumaoni dialects and can translate in both directions, accommodating as many translation needs as possible. For example, we’re available for translation from Kumaoni for historical documents and literary works, helping spread Kumaoni culture abroad. We’re also here to translate English-language material, such as research surveys, books, websites, and media, into Kumaon, helping to preserve this important Indian language and allowing you to reach an audience in Kumaon and Doti.
If you need Kumaoni translation services, don’t hesitate to reach out for more information today.