When you think about the languages spoken in Egypt, you probably think of Arabic, the country’s predominant language in modern times, and Egyptian, the extinct language that was spoken in Ancient Egypt. But there’s more to the linguistic landscape of Egypt: there’s also the Nubian languages, historically influential and still spoken collectively by more than a million people. There are a handful of Nubian languages today, and we’re looking at Nobiin today.
Nobiin—which some people may call Halfawi or Mahas—is by far the largest Nubian language today, constituting the native language of some 610,000 people. Despite the relatively high number of speakers and the historical importance of the language, however, today it’s under threat from Arabic, the dominant language in the region. In fact, nearly all Nobiin speakers also speak one of the local varieties of Arabic, namely Egyptian Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, or Sa’idi Arabic. This plunges Nobiin in an uncertain situation, and translation services for the language can be hard to come by—but we at TranslationServices.com are proud to offer translation services for Nobiin.
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Nobiin: the language of the Nubians
Nobiin, the proud descendant of Old Nubian, with the name literally translating to “(language) of the Nubians,” is spoken along the banks of the Nile River in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, traditionally in the region known as Nubia. However, many Nubians were forcibly relocated for the construction of the Aswan Dam, and today, the largest settlements of Nobiin speakers are in Kom Ombo, Egypt, as well as Sudan’s Northern state and New Halfa. The Nubian languages are unique, with linguists unsure how to classify them—some argue that they should be classified as a primary language family, while others file them away under the Nilo–Saharan family.
Regardless of how Nobiin is classified, it remains a complex language that can be difficult for English speakers to learn and translate. It uses a default word order of subject-object-verb, and it’s a tonal language, with the tone changing for grammatical purposes, such as to form plural or compound nouns. The object of a sentence is marked with the specific suffix -gá, but it can change form to assimilate to the consonant in the noun it’s modifying—for example, the word kìtááb (“book”) becomes kìtááppá in the object form. Nobiin is a tricky language, but our translators are native speakers who are skilled at translating to and from the language—so don’t worry!
Nobiin translation services for anyone who needs them
Nobiin is a proud language that’s still spoken today by more than half a million people despite the threat the language faces from Arabic. Since most Nobiin speakers also speak Arabic, the language is typically overlooked, with translation agencies glossing over it—but at TranslationServices.com, we’re proud to work with Nobiin translators from all over Egypt and Sudan to bring you the highest-quality Nobiin translations we can. We translate both to and from Nobiin, helping you access the precise translation needs you require for your project.
Flexibility is one of our key offerings, with translators experienced in different areas of Nobiin translation. We have academic specialists who can help translate research surveys into Nobiin or interview transcripts from Nobiin, and we have business specialists who can help local organizations and businesses translate their internal and external documents to or from Nobiin. We’re also available to translate historical documents from Nobiin, as well as contemporary media, such as books, websites, apps, games, stories, and more, into Nobiin. Ultimately, our Nobiin translators are here for whatever you need.
If you’d like to take the first step of your Nobiin translation journey today, all you have to do is send us a message!