Indonesia Language

Indonesia is home to over 700 living languages spoken across its extensive archipelago. This significant linguistic variety constitutes approximately 10% of the world’s total languages, positioning Indonesia as the second most linguistically diverse nation globally, following Papua New Guinea. The majority of these languages belong to the Austronesian language family, prevalent in the western and central regions of Indonesia, including languages such as Acehnese, Sundanese, and Buginese. In contrast, the eastern regions, particularly Papua and the Maluku Islands, are home to over 270 Papuan languages, which are distinct from the Austronesian family and represent a unique linguistic heritage. The language most widely spoken as a native language is Javanese, primarily by the Javanese people in the central and eastern parts of Java Island, as well as across many other islands due to migration.

Languages in Indonesia are classified into nine categories: national language, locally used indigenous languages, regional lingua francas, foreign and additional languages, heritage languages, languages in the religious domain, English as a lingua franca, and sign languages.

National language

The official language of Indonesia is Indonesian (locally known as ''bahasa Indonesia''), a standardised form of Malay, which serves as the lingua franca of the archipelago. According to the 2020 census, over 97% of Indonesians are fluent in Indonesian. The vocabulary of Indonesian borrows heavily from regional languages of Indonesia, such as Javanese, Sundanese and Minangkabau, as well as from Dutch, Sanskrit, Portuguese, Arabic and more recently English. The Indonesian language is primarily used in commerce, administration, education and the media, and thus nearly every Indonesian speaks the language to varying degrees of proficiency. Most Indonesians speak other languages, such as Javanese, as their first language. This makes plurilingualism a norm in Indonesia.

Indigenous languages and regional lingua francas

Indonesia recognizes only a single national language, and indigenous languages are recognized at the regional level, although policies vary from one region to another. For example, in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, the Javanese language is the region's official language along with Indonesian. Javanese is the most spoken indigenous language, with native speakers constituting 31.8% of the total population of Indonesia (as of 2010). Javanese speakers are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of Java, and there are also sizable numbers in most provinces. The next most widely spoken regional languages in the country are Sundanese, local Malay, Madurese and Minangkabau. A sense of Indonesian nationhood exists alongside strong regional identities.

There are hundreds of indigenous languages spoken in Indonesia. Most of them are locally used indigenous languages, a category of languages referring to those spoken at the local, regional level, spoken by a small number of people, ranging from a few to a few thousands of people. These include small languages such as Benggoi, Mombum and Towei. Other languages are spoken at the regional level to connect various ethnicities. For this reason, these languages are known as regional lingua francas (RLFs). According to Subhan Zein, there are at least 43 RLFs in Indonesia, categorized into two types: Malayic RLFs and Non-Malayic RLFs. The former refers to a group of regional lingua francas that are thought of as indigenised varieties of Malay or Indonesian. These include such languages as Ambon Malay, Banjarese and Papuan Malay. The latter refers to regional lingua francas that are not associated with Malay or Indonesian, including Biak, Iban and Onin.

Foreign languages

As early as the seventh century AD, the natives of the archipelago began an intense period of trade with people from China, India and other countries. This was followed by a long period of colonization by the Dutch and Portugal colonials. The outcome of these processes has been the development of a group of heritage languages spoken by Arab, Chinese, Eurasian and Dutch descendants, among others. Chinese linguistic varieties such as Hokkien, Hakka, and Mandarin are the most common heritage languages. Tamil is also spoken among majority of Indians in the country. A small number of heritage language speakers speak Arabic and Dutch.

Dutch

Despite the Dutch presence in Indonesia for almost 350 years (parts of Indonesia were ruled by the Dutch East India Company and the whole of modern Indonesia was in the Dutch East Indies) the Dutch language has no official status in Indonesia. The small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch.

English

English has historically been categorized as the first foreign language in Indonesia. However, increasing exposure to English, the decreasing influence of native-speaker norms in the country and the prevalent use of English as a lingua franca in the broader context such as ASEAN means that the categorization has been put into question. Scholars such as Lowenberg argue that English is best seen as an additional language. Meanwhile, Zein argues that English in Indonesia is best categorized as a lingua franca, an argument parallel with Kirkpatrick's contention on the use of English as a lingua franca in the broader ASEAN context.

Other languages

Other languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish, are non-native to Indonesia. These languages are included in the educational curriculum and may be categorized as either foreign or additional languages, depending on the instrumental function of the languages, length and types of exposure, as well as the wide-ranging motivations of the speakers or learners who use and or learn them.

Endangered languages

There are 726 languages spoken across the Indonesian archipelago in 2009 (dropped from 742 languages in 2007), the second largest multilingual population in the world after Papua New Guinea. Indonesian Papua, which is adjacent to Papua New Guinea, has the most languages in Indonesia. Based on the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale 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."

Language policy

Indonesia's national language policy is governed by various legal frameworks. Article 36C of the 1945 Constitution mandates that matters related to the national flag, language, emblem, and anthem must be regulated by law. This mandate led to the enactment of Law No. 24 of 2009 on the National Flag, Language, Emblem, and Anthem, which dedicates Chapter III (Articles 25–45) to the regulation of the Indonesian language.

In addition to regulating the national language, the government has implemented a Regional Language Revitalization Program (''Revitalisasi Bahasa Daerah (RBD)''), which aims to preserve and promote local languages by ensuring their transmission to younger generations. To support this initiative, the ministry has published Guidelines for Regional Language Revitalization (''Pedoman Model Revitalisasi Bahasa Daerah''), providing a structured approach for implementation across different regions.

Indonesia is home to 718 regional languages, many of which are classified as endangered or critically endangered. The revitalization efforts are part of a broader strategy to maintain linguistic diversity while reinforcing the role of Indonesian as the national language.

Languages by speakers

The population numbers given below are of native speakers, excepting the figure for Indonesian, which counts its total speakers. The total population of the country was 237.6 million in 2010.

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, Malaysia, Philippines, New Zealand, Hawaii and various Oceanian countries.
**Javanese language, spoken in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java. Speakers are also found in Lampung since Javanese migrants make up more than half of the province's population. Also found throughout Indonesia and by migrants in Suriname. Most populous Austronesian language by number of first language speakers.
**Lampung language, two distinct but closely related languages spoken in Lampung, South Sumatra and Banten.
*** Komering, spoken in South Sumatera province.
**Rejang language, spoken in Bengkulu province.
**Malayo-Sumbawan languages:
***Malay language, spoken throughout Indonesia. Also used as the national language (officially regulated and designated as Indonesian). Officially recognized in Malaysia (as Bahasa Melayu Malaysia), Singapore, and Brunei.
***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, closely related to the Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar.
** Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands 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.
*** Suluk or Tausug language, spoken in northeastern part, of North Kalimantan.
*** Sangiric languages, spoken in northern islands part of North Sulawesi.
**Oceanic languages
*** Sarmi-Jayapura languages, spoken in the northern part of Papua.
** Enggano language of Sumatra, unclassified
* West Papuan languages, an indigenous language family found only in eastern Indonesia (northern Maluku and western Papua). No discernible relationship 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 to the above Ternate language.
*Trans–New Guinea languages, an indigenous language family found in eastern Indonesia (New Guinea, Alor, Timor islands). Consisting of hundreds of languages, including the vernaculars 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.

Below is a full list of Papuan language families spoken in Indonesia, following Palmer, et al. (2018):

# Trans-New Guinea
## Ok-Oksapmin (also in Papua New Guinea)
## Dani
## Asmat-Kamoro
## Mek
## Paniai Lakes
## West Bomberai
## Somahai
## Anim (also in Papua New Guinea)
## Greater Awyu
## Kayagaric
## Kolopom
##'' Marori''
# Timor-Alor-Pantar
# North Halmahera
#'' Tambora''†
# Nuclear South Bird's Head
# Inanwatan–Duriankere
# Konda–Yahadian
# Nuclear East Bird's Head
# Hatam–Mansim
# West Bird's Head
#'' Abun''
#'' Mpur''
#'' Maybrat''
#'' Mor''
#'' Tanah Merah''
# Tor-Kwerba
# Lakes Plain
#Border (also in Papua New Guinea)
# Sko (also in Papua New Guinea)
# East Cenderawasih Bay
# Yam (also in Papua New Guinea)
# Komolom
# Yelmek-Maklew
# Eastern Pauwasi (also in Papua New Guinea)
# Western Pauwasi
# Nimboran
# Sentani
# Mairasi
# Kaure
# Lepki-Murkim
# Senagi ( Angor- Dera) (also in Papua New Guinea)
# Tofanma-Namla
#Yapen
#'' Abinomn''
#'' Burmeso''
#'' Elseng''
#'' Kapauri''
#'' Kembra''
#'' Keuw''
#'' Kimki''
#'' Massep''
#'' Mawes''
#'' Molof''
#'' Usku''
#'' Yetfa''
# Bayono-Awbono
#'' Dem''
#'' Uhunduni''

Sign languages

There are at least 2.5 million sign language users across the country, although official report only shows less than 50,000. Sign language users are often ridiculed and stigmatized.

* Indonesian Sign Language
** Yogyakarta Sign Language
** Jakarta Sign Language
* Kata Kolok

Writing system

Indonesian languages are generally not rendered in native-invented systems, but in scripts devised by speakers of other languages, that is, 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.

List of writing systems

* Latin – The national and official writing system of Indonesia. Indonesian, along with all of the country’s vernacular languages, adopts Latin script. It is used in every branch of government and widely across all aspects of life in Indonesia, including education, entertainment, media, and more. Latin script ensures uniformity in communication across Indonesia’s many ethnic groups and languages.
* Traditional writing systems – Traditional writing systems or Nusantara scripts are used for cultural preservation. Nusantara scripts are taught in schools in some regions as a "Muatan Lokal" or local curriculum. Some local governments, like, Aceh, Yogyakarta, Bali, and others, promote their use in signage and education. Currently, Nusantara scripts that still in use are:
*# Balinese – A Brahmic-based script, used to write Balinese and Sasak. It is closely related to Javanese script. Balinese script is taught in some schools in Bali and Lombok. Variants of Balinese script are:
*#* Balinese script
*#* Sasak script
*# Javanese – A Brahmic-based script, used mainly to write Javanese and sometimes for Madurese, Sundanese, Cirebonese, and Osing. Javanese script is taught in some schools in Yogyakarta, East, and Central Java.
*# Sundanese – A Brahmic-based script, used by Sundanese to write the Sundanese language. Sundanese script is taught in some schools in Banten and West Java.
*# Batak – A Brahmic-based script, used by the Batak people to write Batak languages. Batak script is taught in some schools in North Sumatra. Variants of Batak scripts are:
*#* Batak Karo script
*#* Batak Mandailing script
*#* Batak Pakpak script
*#* Batak Simalungun script
*#* Batak Toba script
*# Ulu – A Brahmic-based script, used by southern Sumatran people to write Lampung, Bengkulu, Ogan, Rejang, Malay, Serawai, Kerinci, and other Malayic languages. Ulu script is taught in some schools in Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, and Lampung. Variants of Ulu scripts are:
*#* Ulu/Rencong script
*#* Rejang script (used by the Rejang people of Bengkulu)
*#* Incung script (used by the Kerinci people to write their language)
*#* Ogan script (used by the Ogan people people to write their language)
*#* Lampung script (used to write Lampung and Komering)
*#* Lembak script
*#* Lintang script
*#* Lebong script
*#* Serawai script
*#* Pasemah script
*# Lontara – A Brahmic-based script, used in southern Sulawesi mainly to write Buginese and Makassarese, and sometimes for Mandar and Luwu. Lontara is also used to write Sumbawa, Bima, and Ende languages. Lontara script is taught in some schools in Sumbawa, Flores, West, and South Sulawesi. Variants of Lontara scripts are:
*#* Lontara script
*#* Satera Jontal script (used to write Sumbawa)
*#* Mbojo script (used to write Bima)
*#* Lota Ende script (used to write Ende)
*# Jawi – An Arabic-based script, once widely used throughout Indonesia, now in decline but still used by Malays, Betawi, Minangkabau, Banjarese, Acehnese, Javanese, Osing, Sundanese, and Madurese. Jawi script is taught in some schools in various regions, particularly in Aceh, West sumatra, South Kalimantan, Madura, etc. Variants of Jawi scripts are:
*#* Jawi script
*#* Pegon script (used mainly to write Madurese, sometimes also for Sundanese, Javanese, and Osing languages)
*#* Buri Wolio script (used to write Wolio)
*#* Serang script (used to write Buginese and Makassarese)
*# Cia-Cia script – A Hangul-based script, used to write Cia-Cia. Cia-Cia is taught in some schools in Buton.
* Foreign writing systems – Various foreign scripts that mainly used by the descendants of the respective ethnicities or by foreigners residing in Indonesia. These foreign scripts are not managed by the government of Indonesia; thus, the regulations, rules, syntax, grammar, etc., follow the writing systems of their countries of origin. Several foreign scripts in Indonesia are:
*# Hanzi (used to write Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Mandarin, and Japanese)
*# Kana (used to write Japanese)
*# Arabic (used to write Arabic and Persian)
*# Devanagari (used to write Hindi and Sanskrit)
*# Tamil (used to write Tamil)
*# Cyrillic (used to write Russian and Ukrainian)
* Other writing systems:
*# Extinct or no longer used regularly:
*#* Kawi – The oldest known Brahmic writing system in Indonesia and the ancestor to all Brahmic based writing systems in Insular Southeast Asia.
*#* Buda/Gunung – Historically used to write Old Javanese and Old Sundanese.
*#* Old Sundanese – Historically used to write Sundanese before being replaced by Latin, Pegon, and Sundanese scripts.
*#* Kaganga – Historically used to write Rejang, an Austronesian language from Bengkulu.
*#* Jangang-Jangang – Historically used to write Makassarese before being replaced by Latin, Jawi, and Lontara scripts.
*#* Bilang-Bilang – Only used for poetry in Buginese language.
*#* Toba Incung – Historically used to write Batak Toba language before being replaced by Latin and Batak scripts.
*#* Bada/Badaic – Historically used to write Badaic languages.
*# Controversial scripts:
*#* Malesung – Historically used to write Minahasan languages.
*#* Nggahi Mbojo – Historically used to write Bima before being replaced by Latin and Lontara scripts.
*#* Minang/Tamboalam – Historically used to write Minangkabau before being replaced by Latin and Jawi scripts.
*#* Mongondow/Basahan – Historically used to write Mongondow before being replaced by Latin script.
*#* Bonda, Tidung, and Mentawai (scripts that have little evidence and need more research).
*#* Gayo, Palembang, Kanung, Sangir, Cirebon, Alifuru, and Iban/Dunging (scripts that have very little to no evidence that these scripts ever used historically).

Sample text

The following texts are translations of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the languages of Indonesia.
* English

* Indonesian (''Bahasa Indonesia'')

* Javanese (''Basa Jawa or ꦧꦱꦗꦮ'')

* Sundanese (''Basa Sunda or ᮘᮃᮞᮃ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓᮃ'')

* Minangkabau (''Baso Minangkabau or باسو مينڠكاباو'')

* Buginese (''Basa Ugi or ᨅᨔ ᨕᨘᨁᨗ'')

* Balinese (''Basa Bali or ᬩᬲᬩᬮᬶ'')

* Malay (''Bahasa Melayu or بهاس مل يو'')

* Batak Toba (''ᯅᯖᯄ᯦᯲ ᯖᯬᯅ'')

* Madurese (''Basa Madura or باس مادورا'')

* Makassarese (''Basa Makassar or ᨅᨔ ᨆᨀᨔᨛᨔᨑᨛ'')

* Musi (''Baso Pelembang'')

* Batak Simalungun (''ᯅᯖᯃ᯳ ᯙᯫᯕᯟᯮᯝᯯᯉ᯳'')

* Acehnese (''Bahsa Acèh or بهسا اچèه'')

* Tetum (''Lia-Tetun'')

* Dawan (''Uab Metô'')

* Batak Karo (''Batak Karo'')

* Banjar (''Bahasa Banjar or بهاس بنجر'')

* Lampung (''Bahasa Lampung'')

* Komering (''Basa Kumoring'')

* Rejang (''Baso Jang'')

* Bengkulu Malay (''Bahaso Melayu Bengkulu'')

Comparison chart

Below is a chart of several Indonesian languages. All of them except for Galela belong to the Austronesian language family. While there have been misunderstandings on which ones should be classified as ''languages'' and which ones should be classified as ''dialects'', the chart confirms that many have similarities, yet are not mutually comprehensible. The languages are arranged geographically.

See also

* Languages of Sulawesi
* Languages of Kalimantan
* List of languages in Indonesia

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Graph of Indonesian ethnolinguistics
at Muturzikin.com
How many people speak Indonesian?

{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of Indonesia

Indonesia culture-related lists
Indonesia

bn:ইন্দোনেশিয়া#ভাষা