Several hundred years ago, the Americas constituted a thriving tapestry of linguistic diversity, with myriad ethnolinguistic groups speaking a variety of incredibly diverse languages from many different families. When Europeans landed on the shores of modern-day Brazil, they were met with languages further removed from their native Portuguese than anything they’d ever encountered before, and they adopted one coastal language, called Tupi, as a lingua franca for both European settlers and different indigenous tribes. Sadly, the colonizers later heavily suppressed Tupi, and today, the only surviving relic of the once prominent tongue is Nheengatu.
With more than 19,000 native speakers—and some estimates reaching as high as 30,000—Nheengatu is one of the biggest indigenous languages in Brazil today. Following decades of repression, Nheengatu speakers have been increasingly reclaiming their native language, embracing revitalization efforts to grow the indigenous tongue’s status and influence. Nheengatu is in healthier standing than most other indigenous languages of the Americas, but it remains under threat, with Portuguese dominating most areas of life in Brazil—and that also leads to a severe lack of reliable translation services. Here at TranslationServices.com, we’re doing what we can to help, by offering high-quality translation services with our new Nheengatu translation team.
How about checking out a free quote for our Nheengatu translation services? It’s as simple as sending us a message requesting one!
Nheengatu: a unique indigenous language with a rich history
The majority of modern-day Nheengatu speakers live in Brazil, specifically in the Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Territory in the northwestern state of Amazonas, situated in the heart of the dense Amazon Rainforest. In the community of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, it’s the dominant language, used by nearly three-quarters of the population. Smaller communities of speakers can also be found in neighboring areas of Colombia and Venezuela. Nheengatu is known by several names, including Nhengatu, Tupi Costeiro, Geral, Yeral (in Venezuela), Tupi Moderno, Nyengato, Nyengatú, Waengatu, Neegatú, Is'engatu, Língua Brasílica, Tupi Amazônico, Ñe'engatú, Nhangatu, Inhangatu, Nenhengatu, Yẽgatú, Nyenngatú, Tupi, Lingua Geral, and Língua Geral Amazônica (LGA).
Grammatically, Nheengatu is far more simplified than the historical Tupi language from which it’s descended, having lost the latter’s complex verbal mood system. However, despite the simplification and the heavy influence from Portuguese, Nheengatu has retained certain patterns of inflection in nouns and verbs. The language uses prefixes to mark the person on verbs, but different forms are used depending on the context. Nheengatu also makes use of reduplication, doubling a word to indicate a repetitive action or to intensify an adjective.
We’re ready to tackle all your Nheengatu translation projects.
As Nheengatu speakers and activists continue to grow the language’s presence and influence, we here at TranslationServices.com are proud to provide reliable translation services to people from all across Brazil, South America, and the wider world. Our Nheengatu translators mostly hail from Brazil, but we’ve also hired native-speaking Nheengatu speakers from Colombia and Venezuela, and what binds them together is their shared passion for their unique indigenous language. They’re proud to translate texts both to and from Nheengatu, covering a wide variety of projects of various types and topics.
So, what exactly can you send to our team for professional Nheengatu translation? Essentially, anything you want! Whether it’s a business document or marketing material, a research questionnaire or academic paper, a novel or poem, or an app or game, our passionate translators are eager to offer their Nheengatu translation expertise. Whether you’re a Nheengatu speaker looking to spread a message in English or a foreign national seeking to connect with local Nheengatu speakers, our team has you covered. Of course, we’re limited by the relatively small number of Nheengatu speakers, but we may even be able to help with technical documents, since some of our translators are experts in additional domains!
So, what are you waiting for? Send us a message today to get started with your Nheengatu translation project!