Did you know that Mexico is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world? “How can that be?” you might be wondering. “I thought nearly everyone in Mexico spoke Spanish.”
That’s true. Around 99% of the Mexican population speaks Spanish, the majority of whom speak it as their first language. But an estimated 8.3 million people in Mexico are also native speakers of the many indigenous languages still present in the country, especially in southern regions like Oaxaca. One of those languages is Cuicatec.
With 13,000 native speakers, Cuicatec pales in comparison to Spanish or even major indigenous languages of Mexico, such as Nahuatl or Yucatec Maya. But that doesn’t mean Cuicatec isn’t a proud and vibrant language among its speakers. Around 65% of ethnic Cuicatec people speak the language, and radio programs in Cuicatec are broadcast on the local indigenous radio station. However, even if Cuicatec is widely spoken within its locale, Spanish still places immense pressure on the indigenous tongue. Dedicated translation services can help support endangered languages, so we at TranslationServices.com are proud to present our new Cuicatec translation services.
Contact us today if you’d like a free quote for your Cuicatec translation project!
Cuicatec: the “People of Song”
Cuicatec is spoken in Mexico’s single-most linguistically diverse state: Oaxaca. Found in the south of the country, Oaxaca accounts for more than half of all indigenous people in Mexico, with around half of Oaxaca’s indigenous population unable to speak Spanish. Cuicatec speakers live in the north of the state, in the towns of Teutila and Tepeuxila, which each have their own dialect of the language. Cuicatec, a tonal language, derives its name from Nahuatl: [ˈkʷika] “song” plus [ˈteka] “inhabitant of place of.”
Cuicatec comes from the Oto–Manguean family, as do many other languages in Oaxaca. It’s closely related to Mixtec and Trique, two other relatively major indigenous languages in the region. The language exhibits a verb-subject-object word order, like Irish or Hawaiian, but some variants can also use a subject-verb-object order, like Spanish. There are multiple words for “we” in Cuicatec, with one explicitly including the listener and the other excluding them. This allows for a level of nuance not found in English, which can complicate translation efforts—but when you’re working with native Cuicatec speakers like our translators, you have nothing to worry about.
A flexible Cuicatec translation service that adapts to your needs
We’ve scoured the towns of Teutila and Tepeuxila, as well as elsewhere in Oaxaca, to find the best Cuicatec translators we possibly could and recruit them to our team. Our translators are proud to use their skills to help build connections between the Cuicatec community and the broader world, offering pinpoint translation services both to and from Cuicatec. We cover both Teutila Cuicatec and Tepeuxila Cuicatec, allowing you to home in on the precise variety of Cuicatec you want.
Our translators come from various backgrounds, having worked on different types of translation projects. So, we can offer a lot more than just general translation—we also have academic translators, business translators, literary translators, and more. Let us help you conduct research studies in northern Oaxaca or produce educational materials to foster a native-language education for Cuicatec children. Let us help you set up shop in Teutila or Tepeuxila with internal business documents and consumer-facing promotional materials translated into Cuicatec. Let us help you share great stories, whether that means spreading Cuicatec tales to people from around the world or bringing interesting books, poems, short stories, games, apps, and more to northern Oaxaca by translating them into Cuicatec. Whatever special requests you may have, just let us know!
We want to help you access the best Cuicatec translation services. Reach out to us to place your first order!