Article on other languages:
The number of languages of Indonesia is 742.[1] Of those, 737 are living languages, 2 are second language without mother-tongue speakers, and 3 are extinct.[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 modified version of Malay, which is used in commerce, administration, education and the media, but most Indonesians speak local languages, such as Javanese, as their first language.[2]
Like most writing systems in human history, Indonesia's are not rendered in invented systems, but devised by speakers of Sanskrit, Arabic, and Latin. Malay, for example, has a long history as a written language and has been rendered in Indic, Arabic, and Roman writing systems. Javanese has been written in the Nagarai and Pallava writing systems of India, in a modified Arabic system called pegon that incorporates Javanese sounds, and in the Roman alphabet. Chinese characters have never been used to express Indonesian languages, although Indonesian place-names, personal names, and names of trade goods appear in reports and histories written for China's imperial courts.[3]
Languages spoken in Indonesia
| Language | Number (millions) | Main areas where spoken |
|---|---|---|
| Javanese | 75 | Java especially Central and East Java |
| Sundanese | 27 | West Java |
| Madurese | 9 | Madura, East Java |
| Minangkabau | 6.5 | Central Sumatra |
| Buginese | 3.6 | South Sulawesi |
| Balinese | 3 | Bali and Lombok |
| Acehnese | 2.4 | Northern Sumatra |
| Banjarese | 2.1 | South Kalimantan |
| Sasak | 2.1 | Lombok |
| Toba Batak | 2 | Northern Sumatra |
| Makassarese | 1.6 | South Sulawesi |
| Lampung | 1.5 | Southern Sumatra |
| Torajan (Sa'dan,Luwu,etc) | 1.5 | South Sulawesi |
| Chinese (Khek/Hakka) | 5.9 | West Borneo, Bangka Belitung |
| Chinese (Teochew) | 7.8 | Mostly in Riau and Pontianak |
| Chinese (Hokkien) | 8.4 | Medan, Pekanbaru |
| Dairi Batak | 1.2 | Northern Sumatra |
| Rejang | 1 | Southwest Sumatra |
Image: Indonesian Ethnolinguistic
References
- ^ a b Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition.". SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com/. Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
- ^ "CIA - The World Factbook -- Indonesia". Central Intelligence Agency. 2006-10-17. https://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/id.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
- ^ Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-300-10518-5.
- ^ Sneddon, James (2003). The Indonesian Language: Its history and role in modern society. Sydney: University of South Wales Press Ltd.
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