You’re probably aware that the dominant language in Egypt today is Arabic, with the Egyptian language of Ancient Egypt now lost to history. But while Arabic may be the native language of the vast majority of modern-day Egyptians, it’s certainly not the only one. Old Nubian was once a major and influential language along the Nile River in the southern regions of Egypt, and its descendants are still spoken today. Nobiin is the biggest Nubian language, but it’s not the only one—we’re looking at Kenzi today.
With roughly 35,000 native speakers, Kenzi is a small minority language—and, unfortunately, it’s also endangered. Kenzi-speaking parents are no longer passing the language on to their children, opting instead for the more prominent and prestigious Egyptian Arabic, which places the language in a precarious situation. At TranslationServices.com, we believe in the value of each individual language, which is why we’re proud to support Kenzi with our new Kenzi translation services.
How about checking out a free quote for our Kenzi translation services? Ask us today!
Taking a closer look at the Kenzi language
As a Nubian language, Kenzi (or Kenuzi, Kunuz, or Mattokki, as it’s alternatively known) has traditionally been spoken along the banks of the Nile River in southern Egypt, north of the traditional region of Nobiin speakers. Today, most Kenzi speakers live alongside Nobiin speakers in the city of Kom Ombo, in Egypt’s Aswan Governorate, with some speakers choosing to settle in Lower Egypt regions like Cairo following the population displacement caused by the Aswan Dam. Kenzi belongs to the Nubian family of languages, but it remains uncertain whether Nubian should be classified as an independent language family or a branch of the proposed Nilo–Saharan family.
Kenzi is related to Nobiin, but its closest relative is Dongolawi (also known as Andaandi), spoken in Sudan. Historically, Kenzi and Dongolawi were even considered the same language, until more recent research demonstrated significant enough discrepancies to warrant classifying them as separate tongues. Grammatically, Kenzi demonstrates a subject-object-verb word order—the most common word order among the world’s languages. It also places adjectives after nouns, as in languages like French or Spanish, but demonstratives (i.e., words like “this” and “that”) come before the noun. This is also mirrored in French and Spanish, but in Kenzi, nouns precede numerals, a pattern not found in European languages. It’s not easy to translate a language like Kenzi, which differs from English in many ways, but that’s what our native-speaking Kenzi translators are here to help you with.
Your number one answer when you need Kenzi translation services
Kenzi has developed in the Nubia region over thousands of years, but today, the dominance of Arabic poses a significant threat to the continued flourishment of the language. Most translation agencies don’t cover languages like Kenzi, but we do—we’ve traveled all around southern Egypt to find the best Kenzi translators to handle your projects. Our translators are passionate and experienced, having delivered quality work to various other clients, and they’re capable of translating both to and from Kenzi, making us the ideal solution for anyone seeking Kenzi translation services.
Do you have any special requests for your Kenzi translation services? We’d be happy to accommodate you in whatever way you need. Our flexible team of Kenzi translators can work with texts in academia, business, literature, digital media, and beyond, aiding clients in all sorts of domains and industries. And if you’re dealing with an esoteric topic and would like a translator who’s familiar with your field, just tell us—we’ll match you with the most suitable person on our Kenzi translation team.
Now’s a great time to get started with Kenzi translation services. If you’re ready, simply send us a message with the details of your project!