How to Translate Texts with John Monyjok Maluth

Learn How to Translate Texts with John Monyjok Maluth in Minutes

In this article, you will learn how to translate texts and what it means to translate English into the Dinka and Nuer languages of South Sudan, why you may need your documents to be translated into these national languages, the benefits of translation, and how you can practically hire John Monyjok Maluth, a professional translator to help you with this task.

What Does It Mean to Translate Text?

Translating text means giving it its equivalent meaning of the source language in the target language. This means the translation is not simply writing the same words in the source language into the target language. In other words, we don’t simply transfer words, but their current meanings depending on the context in which they are being used.

For example, the word, “run” changes its meaning depending on the context. Think about it. Can I give you an example of a wrong direct translation? Okay, let me do it. Someone wrote:

“We are running short of food,” and the translator translated this into Dinka and wrote, “Wok kɔt ke wo cek ne biääk de këcam,” and this is completely something different in the target language than it was intended in the source language.

I guess you can now see how important it is to first learn how to translate texts from English to other South Sudanese languages such as the Dinka and the Nuer, the Nilotic languages.

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This is because the word, “running,” has nothing to do with the present continuous tense of running around or running away from something or someone, yet the translator did just that. If you translate this back into English, it will read something like this: “We are running away short because of food,” and I guess you can see the problem here, right?

Direct translation is not bad in all cases. In fact, in some cases, you need it. But, we have to be very careful when we use direct translation, especially if this is going to change the meaning of the original text as we have seen above. This is why machine translation is still not perfect because it doesn’t know the context of those words in the source language in a certain context.

When you give me your work to be translated into either Dinka or Nuer, I have to first read it through so that I know what the document is all about before I translate a single word. This makes me contextualize the content. Then, after knowing the context, the translation begins.

But because the Dinka and Nuer languages are not international, and they are not recognized yet in modern systems, I try to transliterate some technical words because they don’t have their equivalents in either the Dinka or Nuer languages of South Sudan.

If you can’t learn how to translate texts from English into Dinka, then you can get helped by the experts who have been doing just that for years.

Why Translate English Into Dinka and Nuer Languages?

I guess you need to do this because you want your message to be read and understood better in a language your target audiences know best. If this is your goal, then you are in the rightful place, especially if your text is in English, and you want the Dinkas and the Nuers to understand it in their respective languages.

At the time of this writing, the Dinka people were said to be around 3 million, while the Nuer were believed to be 2.8 million people, both in and outside South Sudan. So, we are talking of millions of people even though not all of them know how to read and write in their languages.

About 20% of both Dinka and Nuer people were known to be literate at the time of this writing. This means your message will go to them regardless of where they live. Both Dinka and Nuer people live in South Sudan and in many neighboring countries, and others live far away from home since the 1990s when the war in Sudan escalated.

Depending on the medium in use, people will read your text in the language they best understand whenever you do the translations with us. It doesn’t matter where we live, technology reaches us everywhere at any time. There are many other benefits of translating your text into both the Dinka and Nuer languages of South Sudan. It’s easy to learn how to translate texts from any language into the other.

How to Translate with John Monyjok Maluth

First, you may need to know how much we charge. We charge just $0.25/word for translation. The lowest rate from smaller documents is $0.12/word for translation. This is because after translations we also do editing and proofreading before sending you the translated files. We make sure we do our best, not only transferring words but translating them based on the context in which they are used.

I also do reviewing, editing and proofreading ($0.10/word each) for the translated Dinka and Nuer texts by other translators. I have been doing this since 2002 to date. You can see my profile here for more information about my previous translation experiences. Also, apart from translations, I do interpretations, either offline or online. I have started translating meetings between Dinka and Nuer communities in August 2002.

Apart from translating and interpreting live events, I also do transcriptions for English, Dinka, and Nuer. This is because I have learned how to read and write in Nuer and Dinka from 1991 to 2000, respectively. I have been reading a lot of Dinka and Nuer literature, and I learned translations, interpretations, and transcriptions through practice.

HERE IS THE PROCESS:

• Know the number of words in your document(s)
• Make sure the document is in English
• Send me the document(s) to be translated through info@johnshalom.com
• I’ll then confirm receipt and if we are working on it or not
• I will send back the document after the translation, editing, and proofreading
• You can then pay me through any accepted payment methods (m-Pesa, m-Gurush, Wire transfer, and WorldRemit.)
• We close the project
• You send for corrections in case of any (same payment)

Final Words and Conclusion

At last, we are about to start working. But before you send me your documents, I would suggest you know that I am going to do the best job I can. This is my career. This is my life. I do translations because it’s part of my abilities. But, at the same time, it pays my bills.

For this reason, I am giving you the best and lowest rates possible. Your message is important. You need it to go out in the right way. You need your message to be heard. For people to hear it, they must read it in a language they best understand and love.

What are you waiting for? Let’s become partners and start working on this today! You can follow the procedures above and your document will be in safer hands, and we will start working on it as soon as possible. Share your message today in both the Dinka and Nuer languages.

Further Readings

• The Dinka People – Encyclopedia.
• The Nuer people – Wikipedia.
• Dinka Language – Wikipedia.
• Nuer Language – Wikipedia.