We are proud to announce that Amara has added a new language available for subtitling: Bondo!
Also known as Bonda or Remosam, the Bondo language, is a south Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken in Odisha, formerly known as Southern Odisha, in India
Now Amara.org users like you can add subtitles in Bondo by selecting it from the dropdown menu before you enter the Amara Subtitle Editor. We encourage native Bondo speakers to add subtitles to public videos in the Amara Public Workspace. Search “Bondo” or the language code “bfw” to find it quickly in the language dropdown menu:
Where is the Bondo language spoken?
The Bondo language belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family, a group that stretches across parts of India and Southeast Asia. The Bondo people, its primary speakers, number around 9,000 to 12,000 and are concentrated in the hilly regions of Odisha’s Malkangiri district. Classified as “vulnerable” by UNESCO, Bondo is an endangered language, crucial for preserving the cultural fabric of its community.
What are some key linguistic features of the Bondo language?
Bondo is an agglutinative language, where complex words are formed by combining root words with various affixes to express grammatical relationships. This characteristic makes it both intricate and fascinating. Key linguistic features include:
Phonetics: Bondo uses nasalized vowels and a distinctive set of consonants, creating a unique auditory signature.
Verb Conjugation: The language employs affixes to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and agreement with the subject.
Classifiers and Demonstratives: Specific terms exist for flora, fauna, and objects significant to the Bondo community, reflecting their environment and lifestyle.
Rich Vocabulary: Words and expressions often lack direct translations into dominant languages like Odia or Telugu, underscoring the cultural depth encoded in Bondo.
How is the Bondo language written?
Historically, Bondo has been an oral language with no native script. This reliance on oral traditions has resulted in a rich repository of folklore, songs, and proverbs. However, the absence of a standardized script has posed challenges for preservation and academic study.
In recent years, efforts to document the language have adopted scripts like Odia or Roman letters to transcribe its sounds and structure. These initiatives aim to preserve its linguistic essence while making it accessible to a broader audience. Despite these efforts, much of the language’s character—its tonal nuances and rhythmic cadences—remains tied to oral performance.
For the Bondo community, this language is a vital element of their identity. It serves as the medium for transmitting traditions, rituals, and everyday knowledge. Unique cultural artifacts, such as traditional clothing and jewelry, are often described using terms exclusive to Bondo, emphasizing its irreplaceable role in their cultural landscape.
What is Bondo’s language code?
Bondo has an ISO 639 language code of “bfw” which you can find in Amara’s available subtitling languages!
How can someone request a new language on Amara?
Anyone can request a new language on Amara. We want to make it as easy as possible to start subtitling. Check out our list of languages here: Languages Supported on Amara. If you don’t see a language in that list, email us at support@amara.org with the exact name of the language, its ISO 639 code, and its reading direction so we can pass it along to our production team!
We are proud to welcome Bondo to the Amara family. Adding new languages to our platform is part of Amara’s mission of global accessibility.
Happy subtitling!
