Understanding the Arakanese Language & Providing Professional Arakanese Interpreters and Translators
Global Interpreting understands the importance of working in the Arakanese language. For over 10 years, Global Interpreting has worked with the Arakanese language as well as hundreds of other from around the word. We are a one stop full language service provider. Offering Over the Phone, Video Remote, Face to Face, Transcription, Document and Website Translation in 175 languages including American Sign Language (ASL) nation and worldwide.
The Rakhine language also known as Arakanese is a tonal language spoken primarily in the Rakhine State of Burma (Myanmar) and in neighboring Bangladesh and India. The language can be divided into three varieties: Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe. The Sittwe dialect represents about two-thirds of the speakers. The total number of Rakhine speakers is estimated to be about 3 million in Myanmar, about 200,000 in Bangladesh, and 32,000 in India.
Rakhine is especially prominent in its usage of the /r/ sound, which has merged to the /j/ sound in standard Burmese. Also, Rakhine has merged various vowel sounds like ([e]) vowel to ([i]). Hence, a word like "blood" is ([θwé]) in standard Burmese while it pronounced [θwí] in Rakhine.
According to speakers of standard Burmese, Rakhine only has an intelligibility of seventy-five percent with Burmese. Moreover, there is less voicing in Rakhine than in Standard Burmese, occurring only when the consonant is unaspirated. Unlike in Burmese, voicing never shifts from /θ/ to /ð/.
There are also significant vocabulary differences from Standard Burmese. Some are native words with no cognates in Standard Burmese, like "sarong" (in Standard Burmese, in Rakhine). Others are loan words from Bengali, English, and Hindi, not found in standard Burmese. An example is "hospital," which is called in Standard Burmese, but is called (pronounced [θeiʔ l̥àiɴ]/[ʃeiʔ l̥àiɴ]) in Rakhine, from English "sick lines." Other words simply have different meanings (e.g., "afternoon", in Rakhine and in Standard Burmese). Moreover, some archaic words in Standard Burmese are preferred in Rakhine. An example is the first person pronoun, which is in Rakhine (not, as in Standard Burmese).
The Rakhine language has a higher frequency of open vowels weakening to /ə/. An example is the word for "salary," which is [la̰ɡa̰] in standard Burmese, but [ləkha̰] in Rakhine.
The Rakhine language also known as Arakanese is a tonal language spoken primarily in the Rakhine State of Burma (Myanmar) and in neighboring Bangladesh and India. The language can be divided into three varieties: Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe. The Sittwe dialect represents about two-thirds of the speakers. The total number of Rakhine speakers is estimated to be about 3 million in Myanmar, about 200,000 in Bangladesh, and 32,000 in India.
Rakhine is especially prominent in its usage of the /r/ sound, which has merged to the /j/ sound in standard Burmese. Also, Rakhine has merged various vowel sounds like ([e]) vowel to ([i]). Hence, a word like "blood" is ([θwé]) in standard Burmese while it pronounced [θwí] in Rakhine.
According to speakers of standard Burmese, Rakhine only has an intelligibility of seventy-five percent with Burmese. Moreover, there is less voicing in Rakhine than in Standard Burmese, occurring only when the consonant is unaspirated. Unlike in Burmese, voicing never shifts from /θ/ to /ð/.
There are also significant vocabulary differences from Standard Burmese. Some are native words with no cognates in Standard Burmese, like "sarong" (in Standard Burmese, in Rakhine). Others are loan words from Bengali, English, and Hindi, not found in standard Burmese. An example is "hospital," which is called in Standard Burmese, but is called (pronounced [θeiʔ l̥àiɴ]/[ʃeiʔ l̥àiɴ]) in Rakhine, from English "sick lines." Other words simply have different meanings (e.g., "afternoon", in Rakhine and in Standard Burmese). Moreover, some archaic words in Standard Burmese are preferred in Rakhine. An example is the first person pronoun, which is in Rakhine (not, as in Standard Burmese).
The Rakhine language has a higher frequency of open vowels weakening to /ə/. An example is the word for "salary," which is [la̰ɡa̰] in standard Burmese, but [ləkha̰] in Rakhine.
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The Arakanese Language is an important language worldwide. It is vital to understand the general nature and specific idiosyncrasies of Arakanese. For over 10 years Global Interpreting has provided outstanding Arakanese translators, face to face and conference interpreters nation and worldwide.