The world is home to more languages than you’re probably aware of, and one of the most linguistically diverse regions of our planet is South and Southeast Asia. Here, you can find numerous language families, many of which are large and consist of several dozens or even hundreds of different languages. Among the plethora of languages found in this region is Kuki-Chin, a collection of related Sino–Tibetan languages spoken in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
Since Kuki-Chin is better conceptualized as a language group rather than a single language, it’s difficult to surmise an exact speaker figure—but it’s probably a couple million at least. The biggest Kuki-Chin language is Mizo, boasting more than 800,000 speakers, with Chin (also known as Tedim or Zomi) and Kuki (also called Thadou) both clocking in at around 330,000 speakers. The Kuki-Chin languages account for a sizable population in the region stretching from northeastern India to northwestern Myanmar, but there aren’t a lot of services—including translation services—available for these languages. At TranslationServices.com, we want to change this—which is why we’ve launched our own Kuki-Chin translation services.
Looking for Kuki-Chin translation services? Start by requesting a free quote by sending us a message!
What are the Kuki-Chin languages like?
The Kuki-Chin languages belong to the Sino–Tibetan language family, more specifically hailing from the Tibetan side of the grouping. They’re spoken by various ethnic groups in Northeast India (primarily the states of Mizoram and Manipur), northwestern Myanmar (mostly Chin State but also Sagaing Division, Magway Region, and Rakhine State to some extent), and southeastern Bangladesh. Mizo, the largest Kuki-Chin language, is spoken in India’s Mizoram state, while Chin is native to Myanmar’s Chin State.
Kuki-Chin languages share similar grammar but may also exhibit significant differences. For example, the preferred word order in Chin is subject-object-verb (the most common word order among the world’s languages), whereas Mizo is one of only a handful of languages in the world to use an object-subject-verb word order by default. Kuki-Chin languages are generally isolating, with minimal inflection, like their distant relative Mandarin and other Chinese languages. Kuki-Chin languages also tend to be ergative–absolutive, which means that intransitive subjects (e.g., “I” in “I go”) and transitive objects (e.g., “you” in “I see you”) are treated grammatically the same.
No matter which Kuki-Chin language you’re working with, we promise to offer the same high quality of translation services.
We translate Kuki-Chin in both directions.
Whether you want to translate material into Kuki-Chin to interact with locals in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, or whether you want to translate local content to share with the world, our professional Kuki-Chin translators are eager to help you. Our diverse team allows us to cater to various specialized translation needs, including translations of historical Kuki-Chin documents or traditional Kuki-Chin folklore. We can also help companies or organizations wishing to connect with local Kuki-Chin speakers, educators who want to teach local youth in their native language, and language activists seeking to bring great content—such as books, websites, apps, poems, and games—to the Kuki-Chin people in their native tongue, promoting the use of their languages and encouraging more people to learn them.
Translating between Kuki-Chin and English is our passion. Simply reach out today to tell us what you’re looking for!