Minangkabau (Minangkabau: ,

Jawi script Jawi (; ; ; ) is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia, such as Acehnese, Banjarese, Betawi, Magindanao, Malay, Mëranaw, Minangkabau, Tausūg, Ternate and many other languages in Southeast Asia. Jawi ...

: ; ) is an

Austronesian language The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken b ...

spoken by the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the western part of Riau, South Aceh Regency, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi, also in several cities throughout Indonesia by migrated Minangkabau.Kajian Serba Linguistik : Untuk Anton Moeliono Pereksa Bahasa (2000) The language is also a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

along the western coastal region of the province of

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

, and is even used in parts of Aceh, where the language is called ''Aneuk Jamee''. Minangkabau is similar to Malay. The relationship between the languages is characterized in different ways. Some see Minangkabau as an early variety of Malay, while others think of Minangkabau as a distinct ( Malayic) language. Minangkabau is one of a few languages that generally lacks verb forms and grammatical subject-object distinctions. The Minangkabau language is still commonly spoken amongst the Minangkabau people, and it is used amongst the widespread Minangkabau diaspora. The Minangkabau language is deemed as "informal" in the urban regions of Padang, with the

Indonesian language Indonesian (; ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has ...

being preferred instead in formal institutions. Youth in the city frequently uses a mixture of conversational Minang and Indonesian slang. Minangkabau royal seal

Geographic distribution

Minangkabau is the native language of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. There are approximately 5.5 million speakers of the language. It is also spoken in the western part of Riau, South Aceh Regency, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi. Along the western coastal region of

, the language is also a

. The language is used and called ''Aneuk Jamee'' in parts of Aceh. Besides Indonesia, Minangkabau is also spoken in Malaysia, by some descendants of migrants from the Minang-speaking region in Sumatra (''Ranah Minang'', ''Tanah Minang'', or Land of the Minang). Significant numbers of the early migrants settled in what is now the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan; this '' Negeri Sembilan Malay'', known as ''Bahaso Nogori / Baso Nogoghi'', is now a distinct language, more closely related to Malay than to Minangkabau. More recent immigrants are known as ''Minang''.

Dialects

The Minangkabau language has several dialects, sometimes differing between nearby villages (e.g. separated by a river). The dialects are Rao Mapat Tunggul, Muaro Sungai Lolo, Payakumbuh, Pangkalan-Lubuk Alai, Agam-Tanah Datar, Pancungsoal, Kotobaru, Sungai Bendung Air, and Karanganyar. In everyday communication between Minangkabau people of different regions, the Agam-Tanah Datar dialect (''Baso Padang'' or ''Baso Urang Awak'' 'our eople'slanguage') is often used and has become a kind of standard. The Tapan language, spoken in the town of Tapan in southern West Sumatra province, is a recently discovered Malayan language which has been proposed as related to but not part of Minangkabau. Together, Tapan and Minangkabau would form a Greater Minangkabau subgroup.Kurniati, S., Putri, Y. P., Wichmann, S., & Gil, D. (2011). Tapan: An Exploration in Malayic Subgrouping. Paper presented at the ''15th International Symposium on Malay Indonesian Linguistics (ISMIL 15)''. The two languages Tapan and Muko-Muko form a '' Lunangic'' subgroup within the ''Minangic'' (Greater Minangkabau) language group.Gil, D. & McKinnon, T. (2015). Excrescent Nasals in Malayic Dialects of Western Sumatra. Paper presented at the ''13th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (13-ICAL)''. The Minangic subgroup is characterized by the following word-final sound changes. * *V i� > V i�ŋ * *us > uĭh * *at > eʔ * *as > eh * *is > ih

Phonology

The sound inventory of Minangkabau is listed below:

Consonants

Vowels

Example

Sentences

Numerals

References

External links

Rosetta Project: Minangkabau Swadesh List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minangkabau Language Agglutinative languages Languages of Indonesia Languages of Malaysia Languages of Singapore Minangkabau Malayic languages Languages of Sumatra Languages of Aceh