Indonesia is the largest island nation in the world. It is located in Southeast Asia on 17.5 thousand islands, although people live on only a third of them. In terms of population, Indonesia occupies an honorable 4th place in the world: according to 2018 data, more than 266 million people are its citizens.
No wonder the state's linguistic diversity is staggering. But there is a language in Indonesia that unites the whole country - this is the state Indonesian.
Let's talk? Languages of Indonesia
Scientists have calculated this information. They recorded how many languages in Indonesia are alive, used for everyday communication. There were more than 700 of them, and the Austronesian family is the leader in the number of active native speakers. She is the most numerous.
The Austronesian family includes:
- nuclear Malayo-Polynesian languages (including one of the most common Javanese, Sundanese and Sulawesian languages);
- Kalimantan;
- Filipino.
Spoken in Indonesia and Papuan languages.
Number of native speakers
Finding out what language is spoken in Indonesia, it is worth considering that the official - Indonesian - is owned by all the inhabitants of the country, and this is no less than 266 million people.
What other languages do residents of this Asian power communicate in an informal setting:
- about 85 million people speak Javanese;
- Sundanese – 34 million;
- Madura almost 14 million people.
pers.). The languages of Levotobi, Tae, Bolaang-Mongondou, and Ambon have the fewest speakers (according to 2000 data, 200-300 thousand people each). All of them are used in the social sphere, in interethnic communication.
State language
In Indonesia, what is the official language? It is called Indonesian, but its correct name is Bahasa Indonesia - translated as "the language of Indonesia." It is native mainly to the inhabitants of Jakarta, and this is 8% of the total population of the country. However, it is this language that plays a unifying role with a large number of different dialects.
History
The main language in Indonesia belongs to the Indonesian branch of the Austronesian language family. It was formed at the beginning of the XX century. based on widely spoken Malay. For this, colloquial andliterary forms of Malay as well as European languages spoken in the former colony, primarily Dutch.
Indonesian was declared the language of national unity in October 1928. The decision was made at the Youth Congress (pictured). After that, for a long time he had two names - Indonesian / Malay.
Several circumstances contributed to the adoption of the official language:
- activation of the nationalist movement for the independence of the country;
- necessity to unite all language groups.
Why did you choose Malay?
- The Dutch colonial government used Malay in official business.
- The Bible was translated into this language, with the help of which the missionaries converted the local population to Christianity.
- The Malay language was actively used in trade between the tribes, it was known in different ports. In addition, its simple grammar and easy-to-remember vocabulary made it possible to quickly learn this language.
- And another important reason - the nationalists from the Youth Congress sought to choose as an official language a language that would not be associated with the largest population group in the country, and these were the inhabitants of the island of Java. To prevent the Javanese from gaining political and economic advantages in the new state, the choice fell on the Malay language.
The Japanese occupation of the islands during World War II, when all languages anddialects other than Indonesian were banned.
The final official status of the Indonesian language was received in 1945, when the state gained independence, turning from a colony into the Republic of Indonesia.
Historical features of the state language
Scientists have discovered ancient monuments of writing adopted on the islands of Indonesia, which date back to the 7th century
Over the centuries, the alphabet used has repeatedly changed: first it was Devanagari, then from the XIII century. Arabic characters were used, and only at the end of the XIX century they began to use the Latin alphabet, using the Dutch rules for writing words.
Language norms, lexical and grammatical, finally took shape only by the 60s of the XX century. The Latin transcription, adopted during the reform of 1972, finally united the variants of the Malay language into a single state language of Indonesia, while the spelling was simplified.
A few rules of the Indonesian language
In Indonesian, there are 30 sounds, which are denoted by 26 letters of the alphabet.
Some language features:
- Phonetic. Stress in words is practically not expressed, vowels are not reduced. The word is usually read as it is written.
- Derivational. Words are formed by adding suffixes, prefixes and infixes, as well as by repeating a word or its first syllable. Few difficult words. The plural is formed by repeating the word.
- Grammar. Nouns have no declensions, verbs do notconjugation, time is short. The grammatical gender is not used, instead it is marked by age. Adjectives are formed from nouns by adding suffixes.
- Sequence of words in sentences. Usually the subject, expressed by a noun or pronoun, comes before the predicate. The meaning of a sentence is often contained in word order. Sentences can be simple or complex.
Vocabulary
The Indonesian language is full of borrowings. Approximately 3 thousand words have been adopted from Arabic, and the vocabulary is also replenished with words and expressions from the following languages:
- Sanskrit;
- dutch;
- English;
- French;
- even Greek and Italian;
- from Sundanese and Jakarta.
Modern usage
The official language of Indonesia is used not only for international communication. It is not taught in schools and universities.
It is used in print, television and radio. Official office work, trade, jurisprudence, cultural sphere - the official language of Indonesia is used everywhere.
The number of fiction written on it is increasing, although there are no famous writers yet.
Where in Russia do they study the state Indonesian language
The language of Indonesia is not complicated. Its basics can be quickly learned by taking a few lessons from tutors.
You can master all the intricacies of the national language of Indonesia in Moscow universities:
- Institute of Oriental Studies RAS.
- Institute for Practical Oriental Studies.
- MGIMO.
- Asia African Institute.
In St. Petersburg, the language is taught at the Oriental Institute of Far Eastern Federal University, Russian State Humanitarian University, at the Oriental Faculty of St. Petersburg State University.
A few courtesy phrases in Indonesian
When going on vacation or business to Indonesia, you can count on the knowledge of English, which is taught in schools in Indonesia, and many residents speak it perfectly. But a few phrases of courtesy spoken by a tourist in the language of Indonesia will be greeted with joy.
Phrases for a friendly tourist:
- yes – ya;
- no – tidak;
- hello – halo;
- sorry – permisi;
- thank you - terima kasih;
- please – kembali;
- do you speak English? - apakah anda berbicara dalam bahasa?
- help me - tolong saya.
Local residents are pleased if, when referring to women, the word “mistress” is added to the name - bu, and to men “master” - pak.
Fun Facts
- The name of the main island in Indonesia and the name of the programming language are the same. A model of Czech motorcycles and cigarettes are also named after the island of Java.
- But the word "Indonesia" has nothing to do with local languages, it is translated from Greek as "Insular India".
- The word “orangutan” in Indonesian means “man of the forest”, and “matahari” means “eye of the day, sun”. These words are known even to those who have not heard ofwhat is the official language in Indonesia.
Other popular Indonesian languages
Javanese is extremely popular, with 85 million speakers, primarily on the island of Java. This language is spoken in schools and on television, books and newspapers are printed in it.
