A language guide for clients
Technically, there are over 4,000 languages spoken in the world. We have found that it can be very helpful for clients to know just a few basics about some languages to make translation projects more understandable. Translation requests are mostly broken down into three kind:
- translations out of the language of the client
- translations into the language of the client
- Between two foreign languages
At BURG, the third kind of request is extremely rare. Part of what makes translation requests a bit challenging is that there are different variations of the most common languages. For example, a request for a translation into Spanish is not specific enough. Spanish for Mexico or Spain or somewhere else? In this article, we aim to provide basic knowledge of language in hopes to improve communication and clarity around project scope.
Source language is not region specific
A “source” language is a language found in the source file that is to be translated into another language. The language that the source file is to be translated into is called the “target” language. Translators tend to be native to the target language, not the source. The only exception should be for languages where finding translators that are native to the target language is extremely difficult. In all cases, translators should be fluent in the source language.
Source files have inherent information not found in target files because they are already written. This means that any uncertainty or ambiguity about the source language can be researched using the information from the source file. For example, if a translation is from English to Spanish, the region of the source language (US, UK, Australian, etc.) is not relevant because, to a translator who is trained to be fluent in both the source and target language, anything that is uncertain in the source language can be researched. It does not require a native source-language translator to translate content into a foreign language, but being a native to the target language certainly helps to ensure that the translation is rendered fluently at a native level.
Target language can be region specific
While the region of the source language does not need to be specified, the target language region should be. For a translation from English to Spanish, knowing “which” Spanish is critical to conveying fluency and potentially connecting with the audience. Regional differences in a language affect several dimensions of quality:
- Terminology
- Convention
- Fluency
- Cultural references
The differences in regional versions of a language can vary. Between English (UK) an English (Australia), the differences between some text can be minimal and only amount to convention. Between English (UK) and English (US) the difference can be greater to include terminology, fluency and some cultural references. In fact, it’s not uncommon for some Americans to not understand some British text. Finally, between Spanish (Mexico) and Spanish (Spain) the Spanish can be so different that the text takes on different meaning. The internet is abound with entertaining anecdotes highlighting the difference between the same language from different regions.
Writing Systems
When discussing source and target language, specificity can also refer to writing systems. For example, some languages, like Bosnian, can be written in both the latin and cyrillic alphabet. Another example is Chinese. Chinese has both a “traditional” and “simplified” form. The form of Chinese a target language should be depends on where the audience is from within China.
Table of common languages, their variations and associated Countries
We are providing a table of countries and their associated common languages, including writing system where applicable. Feel free to reference this table at any time:
| Country name (Region) | Language (Variation) |
| Afghanistan | Dari/Pashto |
| Albania | Albanian |
| Algeria | Arabic |
| Andorra/Caucuses | Catalan |
| Angola | Portuguese |
| Anguilla | English (UK) |
| Antigua | English (UK) |
| Argentina | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Armenia | Armenian |
| Aruba | Dutch, Papiamento |
| Australia | English (UK) |
| Austria | German |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani |
| Bahamas | English (UK), Bahamian English |
| Bahrain | Arabic |
| Bangladesh | Bengali |
| Barbados | English (UK) |
| Barbuda | English (UK), Antiguan Creole |
| Belarus | Russian, Belarusian |
| Belgium | French (France)/Dutch, Flemish |
| Belize | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Benin | French (France), Yoruba |
| Bermuda | English (Bermudian) |
| Bhutan | Dzongkha |
| Bolivia | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Bonaire | Dutch, Spanish |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian (Latin for every day use or Cyrillic) |
| Botswana | English (UK), Tswana |
| Brazil | Portuguese (Brazil) |
| British Virgin Islands | English (UK) |
| Brunei | Malay (Bruney Malay) |
| Bulgaria | Bulgarian |
| Burkina Faso | French (France) |
| Burundi | French (France) |
| Cambodia | Khmer |
| Cameroon | French (France), English (UK) |
| Canada | English (UK)/French (Canadian) |
| Cape Verde | Portuguese (Portugal) |
| Caribe | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Cayman Islands | English (UK) |
| Central African Republic | French (France), Sangho |
| Chad | French (France), Arabic |
| Chile | Spanish (Latin America) |
| China (Mainland) | Chinese (Simplified) |
| Colombia | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Comoros | French (France), Arabic |
| Congo | French (France) |
| Costa Rica | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Croatia | Croatian |
| Cuba | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Curacao | Papiamento/Dutch, English (UK) |
| Cyprus | Greek/Turkish |
| Czech Republic | Czech |
| Dem. Rep. Of the Congo | French (France) |
| Denmark | Danish |
| Djibouti | Arabic, French (France) |
| Dominica | English (UK), Dominican Creole |
| Dominican Republic | Spanish (Latin America) |
| East timor | Portuguese (Portugal), Tetum |
| Ecuador | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Egypt | Arabic |
| El Salvador | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Equatorial Guinea | Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish |
| Eritrea | Tigrinya, Arabic |
| Estonia | Estonian, Russian |
| Ethiopia | Amharic |
| Fiji | English (UK)/Fijian, Hindi |
| Finland | Finnish |
| France | French (France) |
| Gabon | French (France) |
| Gaza and Jericho | Arabic, English (US) |
| Georgia | Georgian, English (UK), Russian |
| Germany | German |
| Ghana | English (UK), Akan |
| Gibraltar | English (UK) |
| Greece | Greek |
| Greenland | Greenlandic, Danish, English (UK) |
| Grenada | Creole English, Creole French |
| Guatemala | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Guinea | French (France) |
| Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese, Creole |
| Guyana | English (UK), Creole |
| Haiti | Haitian Creole |
| Holy see | Italian, English (UK), Latin |
| Honduras | Spanish (Latin America) |
| China (Hong Kong) | Chinese (Traditional) |
| Hungary | Hungarian |
| Iceland | Icelandic |
| India | Hindi, English (UK) |
| Indonesia | Indonesian, Malay |
| Inverness | English (UK), Scottish Gaelic |
| Iran | Farsi |
| Iraq | Arabic |
| Ireland | English (UK), Irish Gaelic |
| Israel | Hebrew |
| Italy | Italian |
| Ivory Coast | French (France) |
| Jamaica | English (UK), Jamaican Creole |
| Japan | Japanese |
| Jordan | Arabic |
| Kazakhstan | Kazakh (Cyrillic until 2025 then Latin) /Russian |
| Kenya | English (UK)/Swahili |
| Kiribati | English (UK), Gilbertese |
| Kosovo | Albanian/Serbian |
| Kuwait | Arabic |
| Kyrgyzstan | Russian, Kyrgyz |
| Laos | Lao, French (France) |
| Latvia | Latvian |
| Lebanon | Arabic |
| Lesotho | Sesotho/English (UK) |
| Liberia | English (UK) |
| Libya | Arabic, Italian |
| Liechtenstein | German |
| Lithuania | Lithuanian |
| Luxembourg | German/French (France), Luxembourgish |
| Macedonia | Macedonian |
| Madagascar | Malagasy, French (France) |
| Malawi | English (UK), Chichewa |
| Malaysia | Malay, Chinese (Traditional) |
| Maldives | Dhivehi, Arabic |
| Mali | French (France) Arabic |
| Malta | Maltese, English (US) |
| Marshall Islands | Marshallese/English (UK) |
| Mauritania | Arabic, French (France) |
| Mauritius | English (UK), French (France) |
| Mexico | Spanish (Mexico) |
| Micronesia | English (UK), Yapese |
| Moldova | Romanian |
| Monaco | French (France) |
| Mongolia | Mongolian, Kazakh (Cyrillic) |
| Montenegro | Montenegrin |
| Montserrat | English (UK) |
| Morocco | Arabic |
| Mozambique | Portuguese |
| Myanmar | Burmese |
| Namibia | English (UK), Oshiwambo |
| Nauru | Nauruan, English (UK) |
| Nepal | Nepali |
| Netherlands | Dutch |
| New Caledonia | French (France) |
| New Zealand | English (UK) |
| Nicaragua | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Niger | French (France) |
| Nigeria | Hausa, Yoruba, English (UK) |
| North Korea | Korean |
| North Yemen | Arabic |
| Norway | Norwegian |
| Oman | Arabic |
| Pakistan | Urdu |
| Palau | English (UK), Palauan |
| Panama | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Papua New Guinea | English (UK), Tok Pisin |
| Paraguay | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Peru | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Philippines | Tagalog, English (UK) |
| Poland | Polish |
| Portugal | Portuguese (Portugal) |
| Puerto Rico | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Qatar | Arabic |
| Romania | Romanian |
| Russia | Russian |
| Rwanda | Kinyarwanda, English (UK) |
| Saba | Dutch |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | English (UK) |
| Samoa | Samoan, English (UK) |
| San Marino | Italian |
| Santa Clara | English (UK) |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Portuguese |
| Saudi Arabia | Arabic |
| Senegal | French (France), Arabic |
| Serbia | Serbian |
| Seychelles | English (UK), French (France) |
| Sierra Leone | English (UK) |
| Sikkim | Nepali, English (UK) |
| Singapore | English (US)/Chinese (Simplified)/Malay/Tamil |
| Sligo | Irish Gaelic, English (UK) |
| Slovakia | Slovak |
| Slovenia | Slovene |
| Solomon Islands | Pijin/English (UK) |
| Somalia | Somali |
| South Africa | Afrikaans/English (UK) |
| South Korea | Korean |
| Spain | Spanish (Spain) |
| Sri Lanka | Sinhala, English (UK), Tamil |
| St. Christopher | English (UK) |
| St. Lucia | English (UK) |
| St. Martin | Dutch, English (UK) |
| St. Vincent | English (UK), Vincentian Creole |
| Sudan | Arabic, English (UK) |
| Suriname | Dutch, Sranan |
| Swaziland | English (UK), Swati |
| Sweden | Swedish |
| Switzerland | French (France)/German/Italian |
| Syria | Arabic |
| Taiwan | Chinese Taiwan (Traditional) |
| Tajikistan | Tajik/Russian |
| Tanzania | Swahili, English (UK) |
| Thailand | Thai |
| The Gambia | English (UK), Mandingo |
| Togo | French (France), Ewe |
| Tonga | Tongan, English (UK) |
| Trinidad and Tobago | English (UK), Trinidadian Creole |
| Tunisia | Arabic |
| Turkey | Turkish |
| Turkmenistan | Turkmen, Russian |
| Turks and Caicos | English (UK), Bahamian English |
| Tuvalu | English (UK), Tuvaluan |
| Uae | Arabic |
| Uganda | English (UK), Swahili |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian |
| United Kingdom | English (UK) |
| Uruguay | Spanish (Latin America) |
| United States | English (US) |
| Uzbekistan | Uzbek |
| Vanuatu | English (UK), French (France), Bislama, Russian |
| Venezuela | Spanish (Latin America) |
| Vietnam | Vietnamese |
| West Bank/Gaza Strip | Arabic |
| Yugoslavia | Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian |
| Zambia | English (UK), Tonga |
| Zimbabwe | English (UK), Shona |
If you’d like to learn more about how BURG Translations helps you ensure high-quality translations, contact us today.
