Languages of Indonesia

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More than 700 living languages are spoken in Indonesia.^[1] Most belong to the Austronesian language family, with a few Papuan languages also spoken. The official language is Indonesian (locally known as Bahasa Indonesia), a variant of Malay,^[2] which was used in the archipelago, borrowing heavily from local languages of Indonesia such as Javanese, Sundanese and Minangkabu. The Indonesian language is primarily used in commerce, administration, education and the media, but most Indonesians speak other languages, such as Javanese, as their first language.^[1] Most books printed in Indonesia are written in the Indonesian language.

Since Indonesia recognises only a single official language, other languages are not recognised either at the national level or the regional level, thus making Javanese the most widely spoken language without official status, with Sundanese the second in the list (excluding Chinese dialects).

Languages by speakers

Several major ethno-linguistic groups of Indonesia

Comparison chart

Indonesian languages

Below is a chart of several Indonesian languages. Most of them belong to Austronesian languages family. While there has been misunderstandings on which ones should be classified as language and which ones should be classified as dialect, the chart confirms that most have similarities, yet are not mutually comprehensible. These languages are arranged according to the numbers of native speakers.

Challenge

There are 726 languages spoken across the Indonesian archipelago in 2009 (dropped from 742 languages in 2007), the largest multilingual population in the world only after Papua New Guinea. Indonesian Papua, which is adjacent to Papua New Guinea, has the most languages in Indonesia.^[6] Based on the EGIDS classification used by Ethnologue (formerly the Summer Institute of Linguistics), 63 languages are dying (shown in red on the bar chart, subdivided into Moribund and Nearly Extinct, or Dormant), which is defined as "The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home."^[7]

Language education policy

Indonesia's Minister of Education and Culture Muhammad Nuh affirmed in January 2013 that the teaching of local languages as school subjects will be part of the national education curriculum. Nuh stated that much of the public worry about the teaching of local languages being left out of the curriculum is misplaced and that the new curriculum will be conveyed to them. ^[8]

Languages by family

Several prominent languages spoken in Indonesia sorted by language family are:

• Austronesian languages – (Malayo-Polynesian branch). Most languages spoken in Indonesia belong to this family, which in return are related to languages spoken in Madagascar, Philippines, New Zealand, Hawaii and various Polynesian countries.
  • Javanese language, spoken in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java. Also found throughout Indonesia and by migrants in Suriname. Most populous Austronesian language by number of first language speaker.
  • Lampung language, two distinct but closely related languages spoken in Lampung, South Sumatra and Banten.
  • Rejang language, spoken in Bengkulu province.
  • Malayo-Sumbawan languages:
    • Malay/Indonesian languages, spoken throughout Indonesia. Also used as national language.
    • Acehnese language, spoken in Aceh, especially coastal part of Sumatra island.
    • Minangkabau language, spoken in West Sumatra.
    • Banjar language, spoken in South, East, and Central Kalimantan.
    • Sundanese language, spoken in West Java, Banten and Jakarta.
    • Balinese language, spoken in Bali.
    • Madurese language, spoken in Madura, Bawean and surrounding islands off the coast of Java.
    • Sasak language, spoken in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
  • Barito languages:
    • Ma'anyan language, related to Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar.
  • Northwest Sumatran languages:
    • Batak languages, seven closely related languages spoken by the Batak people in the highlands of North Sumatra.
    • Nias language, in Nias island off the western coast of North Sumatra.
    • Simeulue language, in Simeulue island off the western coast of Aceh.
    • Gayo language, in Gayo highlands in central Aceh.
  • South Sulawesi languages:
    • Bugis language, spoken by Bugis in central South Sulawesi and neighbouring provinces.
    • Makassarese language, spoken by Makassarese in southern end of South Sulawesi.
    • Toraja language, spoken by Toraja people in northern highland of South Sulawesi.
    • Mandar language, spoken in West Sulawesi.
  • Philippine languages:
    • Gorontalo language, spoken in Gorontalo province.
    • Mongondow language, spoken in western part of North Sulawesi.
    • Minahasan languages, spoken in eastern part of North Sulawesi.
    • Sangihe languages, spoken in northern islands part of North Sulawesi.
  • Enggano language of Sumatra is unclassified
• West Papuan languages, indigenous languages family found only in eastern Indonesia (northern Maluku and western Papua). Not closely related with other language families. Distinct from surrounding Austronesian languages.
  • Ternate language, spoken in Ternate and northern Halmahera.
  • Tidore language, spoken in Tidore and western Halmahera, closely related with above Ternate language.
• Trans–New Guinea languages, indigenous languages family found in eastern Indonesia (Papua, Flores, Timor islands) and New Guinea. Consisting hundreds of languages, including languages of the Asmat and Dani people.
• Mairasi languages (4)
• East Cenderawasih (Geelvink Bay) languages (10)
• Lakes Plain languages (19; upper Mamberamo River)
• Tor–Kwerba languages (17)
• Nimboran languages (5)
• Skou languages (Skou)
• Border languages (15)
• Senagi languages (2)
• Pauwasi languages

There are many additional small families and isolates among the Papuan languages.

Sign languages

• Indonesian Sign Language
  • Yogyakarta Sign Language
  • Jakarta Sign Language
• Kata Kolok

Writing system

Like most writing systems in human history, Indonesia's are not rendered in native-invented systems, but devised by speakers of Tamil, Arabic, and Latin. Malay, for example, has a long history as a written language and has been rendered in Brahmic, Arabic, and Latin scripts. Javanese has been written in the Pallava script of South India, as well as their derivative (known as Kawi and Javanese), in an Arabic alphabet called pegon that incorporates Javanese sounds, and in the Latin script.

Chinese characters have never been used to write Indonesian languages, although Indonesian place-names, personal names, and names of trade goods appear in reports and histories written for China's imperial courts.^[9]

List of writing systems

• Latin – The official writing system of Indonesian; most Indonesian languages now adopt Latin script.
• Kaganga – Historically used to write Rejangese, an Austronesian language from Bengkulu.
• Rencong – A Brahmic-based script, formerly used by Malays before the arrival of Islam, which introduced the Jawi script.
• Sundanese – A Brahmic-based script, use by Sundanese to write Sundanese language, although Sundanese also have a standard Latin orthography.
• Jawi/Pegon – An Arabic-based script, once widely used throughout Indonesia, now in decline but still use by Malays, Minangkabau, Banjarese, Acehnese and Javanese (which has its own form of Arabic known as Pegon.)
• Javanese – A Brahmic-based script use by the Javanese and related peoples, today the script is in rapid decline and largely supplanted by Latin.
• Kawi script – The oldest known Brahmic writing system in Indonesia and the ancestor to all Brahmic based writing systems in Insular Southeast Asia.
• Balinese – A Brahmic-based script use by the Balinese people to write Balinese, it is closely related to Javanese script.
• Rejang – A Brahmic-based script use by the Rejang people of Bengkulu, Sumatra. It is closely related to Kerinci, Lampung and Rencong script.
• Kerinci (Kaganga) – A Brahmic-based script use by the Kerincis to write their language.
• Batak – A Brahmic-based script, use by the Batak people of North Sumatra.
• Lontara – A Brahmic-based script, use by the Buginese in Sulawesi.
• Lampungese – A Brahmic-based script, still use by Lampung people to write Lampung language, although they are in rapid decline. Lampung script is closely related to Rencong, Kerinci and Rejang script.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1) in Languages of Indonesia

English translation:

(All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.)

• Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)

• Javanese (Basa Jawa)

• Malay (Bahasa Melayu)

• Minangkabau (Baso Minangkabau)

• Buginese (Basa Ugi)

• Balinese (Basa Bali)

• Sundanese (Basa Sunda)

• Madurese (Basa Madura)

• Musi (Baso Pelembang)

• Acehnese (Bahsa Acèh)

• Tetum (Lia-Tetun)

• Dawan (Uab Metô)

• Banjar (Bahasa Banjar)

• Lampung (Bahasa Lampung)

• Rejangese (Baso Jang)

• Bengkulu Malay (Bahaso Melayu Bengkulu)

References

External links

• Graph of Indonesian ethnolinguistics
• Linguistic maps of Indonesia
• How many people speak Indonesian?