To say that Guatemala is a purely Spanish-speaking country is simply wrong. While Spanish is the majority language and lingua franca, a couple dozen indigenous languages are spoken throughout the country, and in fact, around 46% of the Guatemalan population speaks an indigenous language as their mother tongue. Nearly all of them are Maya languages, which is also true for Achi, spoken by around 120,000 people in the center of the country.
Even though many Guatemalans speak an indigenous language natively, these languages remain under threat of extinction due to Spanish, given its ubiquity and status as a lingua franca in the country. Achi, too, is endangered. Endangered languages like Achi receive limited access to the resources that bigger languages enjoy, including professional translation services. At TranslationSerivces.com, we’re endeavoring to change that—which is why we’ve put together a top-notch Achi translation team. We’re proud to provide high-quality translation services to and from Achi.
Those interested in an Achi translation are encouraged to reach out and request a quote free of charge.
Achi: a close cousin of K’iche’
Achi, which is spoken primarily in Guatemala’s department of Baja Verapaz, closely resembles K’iche’, Guatemala’s most widely spoken indigenous language. Both hail from the Mayan language family and share a complex grammatical structure—some linguists even consider Achi a dialect of K’iche’.
Achi, like other Mayan languages, is rife with nominal inflection, expressing possession through prefixes attached to the noun. The prefix itself changes depending on whether the word starts with a consonant or a vowel. The language features eight pronouns—the first, second, and third persons in singular and plural form, with additional formal versions of the singular and plural second person. However, Achi frequently omits pronouns because verbs must be inflected to express the subject and object, making explicit pronouns unnecessary in most cases.
Indeed, Achi verbs are complex. They’re marked for person, number, tense, aspect, and mood, resulting in a lot of inflection. Achi can also express sentences in the passive voice, which place emphasis on the patient, as well as antipassive sentences, which place emphasis on the agent—in some cases, the patient may even be omitted, in the same way that passive constructions can omit the agent.
Achi isn’t an easy language to learn, nor is it easy to translate. But don’t worry—our Achi translators are happy to take on the challenge.
Achi translations for anyone, anytime
Since we cover translation services both to and from Achi, we’re confident that we can address any Achi translation needs that you may have. We’re proud to translate Achi texts—be they historical documents, literature, or notes—so that Achi works, thoughts, and knowledge can be shared with people outside of Baja Verapaz and Guatemala. We’re delighted to translate English-language materials—from promotional business materials, to academic papers and surveys, to creative content such as books, poetry, websites, games, and apps—into Achi, creating more opportunities for speakers to use their language and encouraging the continued use of Achi well into the future. No matter what you’re looking for, we’re here for you.
Don’t wait—reach out now. We’re eager to discuss the details of your Achi translation needs with you.