The Philippines has two official languages: English and Filipino, a standardized variety of the Tagalog language. But that hardly paints an accurate picture of the linguistic landscape of this Southeast Asian nation. The country recognizes 19 different regional languages, but that, too, is a far cry from the number of indigenous languages that span the country’s thousands of islands. According to Ethnologue, there are more than 180 languages spoken in the Philippines today, many of which by relatively large communities. That’s what brings us to Sarangani, a small but still relatively large minority language in the Philippines.
Sarangani was spoken as a native language by around 58,000 people in 2000, and although precise information on the contemporary number of speakers is unavailable, Ethnologue classifies the language as stable and likely used as a first language by most in the ethnic community. However, it’s not taught at schools, and as with most other minority languages in the Philippines, it’s often overshadowed by bigger languages, like English, Filipino, and Cebuano, spoken by most people in the region. It’s important to protect minority languages like Sarangani, so we at TranslationServices.com have put together our own Sarangani translation team that we’re presenting today.
For a free quote for our Sarangani translation services, simply reach out to us today!
Let’s take a closer look at the Sarangani language.
You’ll find most Sarangani speakers in the Davao Region of southern Mindanao, the southernmost main island of the Philippine archipelago. More specifically, the language is found in the municipality of Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental, the municipality of Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental, and the municipality of Glan in Sarangani. The primary languages in these areas are Cebuano and Davaoeño, so most Sarangani speakers also speak these languages.
Sarangani belongs to the Austronesian language family, like nearly all other languages spoken in the Philippines. Zooming in a bit more, it’s specifically a member of the Manobo language branch, a collection of more than a dozen related languages spoken primarily in northern and central Mindanao. Sarangani, at the southernmost tip of the island, is an outlier, although not the only one. Grammatically, the language differs significantly from English, placing the verb as the first element of a sentence. It also features three different words for “we”—one meaning “me and you,” one meaning “me, you, and others,” and one meaning “me and others but not you.” Naturally, these differences can make Sarangani difficult to translate, but that’s why we hire experienced native speakers.
Here to help you with all your Sarangani translation needs.
Our translation team is dedicated to helping you with your Sarangani translation project, no matter what you may need. If you’re looking for a specific dialect of the language, just let us know—we hire translators from all across Sarangani, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental, so we’ll match you up with the best fit. We cater both to clients looking to translate from English to Sarangani as well as from Sarangani to English, so we’re confident that we can help you with your translation needs, regardless of which side of the language barrier you stand on.
For clients seeking more niche translation services—such as academic translation, business translation, literary translation, or localization services—we’re always happy to help. We’ve built the most robust team we can, featuring Sarangani translators with vast experience in different types of projects and backgrounds in a wide range of fields. We can help you if you want to translate a research questionnaire or educational materials, no matter the field, and we can assist you if you’re looking to translate business documents or promotional copy, regardless of the industry. We also work with literary materials—everything from novels and short stories to poems and songs—as well as digital content like apps, websites, and games. Whatever you need translated to or from Sarangani, we’re here for you.
How about getting started with Sarangani translation services? Contact us today!