Online Kyrgyz Translation: Resources and Caveats

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So you need something translated from or into Kyrgyz, and you are wondering how to go about it. If the text originates from Kyrgyzstan and is written in Cyrillic, many people automatically assume it is in Kyrgyz. While logical, this is not necessarily so. I have often been contacted with requests for Kyrgyz translation only to discover that the text in question was actually in Russian, the other official language of Kyrgyzstan. Your first step, then, would be to identify the language. As a general rule of thumb, if it has the following letters, it is most definitely NOT Russian:

Ң, Ү, Ө

If, on the other hand, you want your English text (letter, email, etc.) to be understood by readers in Kyrgyzstan, a translation into Russian (usually cheaper and easier to obtain) can often suffice. For quick turnaround and good results, I recommend that you use myGengo, an online translation service that charges a reasonable fee for Russian translations that are hugely better than machine translation. For longer or more specialized Russian texts, your best bet is to place an announcement on ProZ.com, world’s largest translator community.   Don’t be fooled by offers of cheap translation—real professionals charge between $0.10 and $0.15 per word and rarely lower than $0.08. Finally, if your text is indeed in Kyrgyz, or you believe your audience would appreciate your attempt to reach out to it in their native language, I suggest you contact Kyrgyz translators directly via ProZ.com. Good English-Kyrgyz translators are relatively hard to come by, especially if you don’t live in Kyrgyzstan, but there are several professionals registered with ProZ.com and they may be able to help you out. Their service commands an appropriate fee, but it’s well worth it. If all else fails, try posting a comment with your details below. Don’t expect a free translation, though, unless it’s one or two words. It may also take a few weeks (sometimes months) to receive a response to your comment, so please use it as your last resort only.