Despite accounting for less than one percent of the global population, Oceania is a hotspot of linguistic diversity, with Papua New Guinea boasting the most languages of any country in the world and hundreds of languages dispersed across the thousands of islands in the Pacific. Most Oceanic languages are small, with the relative isolation provided by the region’s many islands fostering the development of different vernaculars. The Federated States of Micronesia alone boast 18 indigenous languages among their population of just 100,000.
The biggest indigenous language in the Federated States of Micronesia is Chuukese, with around 45,000 speakers, with Pohnpeian and its 30,000 speakers coming in second. Third, with roughly 8,000 speakers, is Kosraean. The language is rated as severely endangered, even though it’s the primary language on the island of Kosrae, with English only used as a lingua franca or in official business contexts. Few materials and resources exist in Kosraean, with translation services hard to come by, and that’s where we at TranslationServices.com can help. We’re proud to introduce our new Kosraean translation services.
Interested in seeing a free quote for our Kosraean translation services? Just request one!
An exploration of the Kosraean language
Kosrae, the easternmost main island in the Federated States of Micronesia, is the linguistic homeland of the Kosraean language, with the majority of the island’s inhabitants speaking the language. It belongs to the Austronesian language family, as do virtually all other Oceanic languages, but Kosrae occupies its own branch of the Micronesian subfamily, making it distinct from other major Micronesian languages, like Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Mortlockese, and Yapese. It’s also related to Gilbertese, Marshallese, and Nauruan, spoken in neighboring Pacific Island nations.
Grammatically, Kosraean exhibits a basic word order of subject-verb-object, like English—but the word order can change depending on the context. The language also makes heavy use of a typical Austronesian feature: reduplication. Full reduplication of an adjective can intensify it (e.g., fact [“fat”] -> fact-fact [“very fat”]), while full reduplication of a noun can indicate a high number or volume (e.g., lahs [“coral”] -> lahs-lahs [“lots of coral”]). Partial reduplication (e.g., fosr [“smoke”] -> fo-fosr [“to emit smoke”]) is also possible. Kosraean has a word for “the” (ah), but unlike English, it places it after the noun—in fact, adjectives and numerals also come after the noun. Kosraean is a unique language that presents unique translation challenges, and that’s why you need a reliable team of native-speaking translators—like ours.
The best Kosraean translation services—for any purpose
We’re passionate about translating Kosraean—that’s why we’ve endeavored to build the most robust Kosraean translation team we can. Our translators are native speakers of this unique Micronesian language, hailing from every part of the island of Kosrae. They love their language and work hard to provide the highest-quality translations they can, working with both English-to-Kosraean and Kosraean-to-English translation projects—for all kinds of content.
With just 8,000 Kosraean speakers in the world, we can’t always guarantee that we can accommodate your special requests—but we’ll always do our best. So, if you’re looking for any specific types of translation services—such as academic translation, business translation, literary translation, or localization, just tell us. We may also be able to help if you’re seeking a Kosraean translator who knows your field or industry. Our team is diverse and wide-ranging, able to translate everything from research questionnaires and lesson plans for children to press releases, white papers, short story collections, apps, and more. The details of your Kosraean translation services are up to you—just let us know what you want!
Let’s get started with your Kosraean translation services today! Contact us with your files and the details of your project whenever you’re ready.