Wikipedia

Acehnese language

Acehnese or Achinese (Jawi: بهسا اچيه) is an Austronesian language natively spoken by the Acehnese people in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. This language is also spoken by Acehnese descendants in some parts of Malaysia like Yan, in Kedah. Acehnese is used as the co-official language in the province of Aceh, alongside Indonesian.[2]

Acehnese
Achinese
Bahsa/Basa Acèh
بهسا اچيه
'Basa Acèh' written in the Jawi script
Pronunciation[bahsa at͡ʃɛh]
Native toIndonesia
RegionAceh, Sumatra
Ethnicity3.37 million Acehnese (2010 census)[1]
Native speakers
2.8 million (2010 census)[1]
Latin script
Jawi script
Official status
Official language in
Indonesia
Language codes
ISO 639-2ace
ISO 639-3ace
Glottologachi1257
  Areas where Acehnese is a majority
  Areas where Acehnese is a significant minority
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Speakers of Acehnese

Name

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As of 1988, Acehnese is the modern English name spelling and the bibliographical standard, and Acehnese people use the spelling Acehnese when writing in English. Achinese is an antiquated spelling of the English language tradition. Atjehnese is the Dutch spelling and an outdated Indonesian one. The spelling Achehnese originates from a 1906 English translation of the Dutch-language Studien over atjesche klank- en schriftleer. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 35.346-442 by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, 1892. In Acehnese the language is called Basa/Bahsa Acèh. In Indonesian it is called Bahasa Aceh.[3]

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Acehnese (green) is an outlier of the Chamic branch.

Acehnese belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian. Acehnese's closest relatives are the other Chamic languages, which are principally spoken in Vietnam and Cambodia. The distant relative of the Chamic family is the Malayic language family, which includes languages also spoken in Sumatra such as Minangkabau as well as the national language, Indonesian.

Paul Sidwell notes that Acehnese likely has an Austroasiatic substratum.[4]

Linguist Paul Sidwell wrote that "Sometime during this early phase of language shift, perhaps before the beginning of Common Era, the Chamic speakers who were to become the Acehnese left the mainland on a journey that would ultimately end in northern Sumatra." Basing on Graham Thurgood's thesis, Sidwell argues that Acehnese likely had been long separated from Chamic around the first to second century BCE.[5]

Distribution

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Acehnese language is spoken primarily in coastal region of Aceh. This language is spoken in thirteen regencies and four cities in Aceh, which are:

City

  1. Sabang
  2. Banda Aceh
  3. Lhokseumawe
  4. Langsa

North-East Coast

  1. Aceh Besar
  2. Pidie
  3. Pidie Jaya
  4. Bireuen
  5. North Aceh
  6. East Aceh (except in three districts, Serba Jadi, Peunaron and Simpang Jernih, where the Gayo language is spoken)
  7. Aceh Tamiang (mostly Manyak Payet and Kuala Simpang District; the rest of the Regency speaks a variety of the Malay language)

West-South Coast

  1. Aceh Jaya
  2. West Aceh
  3. Nagan Raya
  4. Southwest Aceh (except in Susoh District where the Aneuk Jamee language is spoken)
  5. South Aceh (mixed with Kluet language and Aneuk Jamee)

Phonology

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Main article: Acehnese phonology
 
Bilingual tsunami warning sign in Indonesian and Acehnese

Oral monophthong vowels in Acehnese are shown in the table below.[6]

Acehnese vowels
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ ~ ɯ u
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɛ ʌ ɔ
Open a

In addition to the modern 26 letter basic Latin alphabet, Acehnese uses the supplementary letters è, é, ë, ô, and ö, making a total of 31 letters in its orthography.

 
Hikayat Prang Sabi

The table below shows the Acehnese consonant phonemes and the range of their realizations.[7]

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal plain m n ɲ ŋ
post-oralized (mᵇ) (nᵈ) (ɲᶡ) (ŋᶢ)
Plosive voiceless p t c k ʔ
voiced b d ɟ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ h
voiced z
Approximant l j w
Trill r

Notes:

  • Syllable-final orthographic ⟨k⟩ always represents /ʔ/ save in certain recent loans
  • /z/, /f/, and /ʃ/ are borrowed sounds, and are often replaced by d and the clusters ph and ch, respectively
  • The nasals /m/, /n/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/ are realized as post-oralized nasals (also called "funny nasals") before oral vowels and consonants.[8][9] They are distinct from the nasal–plosive sequences /mb/, /nd/, /ɲɟ/, /ŋɡ/, e.g. in [banᵈa] 'port' vs [mandum] 'all'.[10]

Grammar

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Acehnese features a split ergative system. Intransitives that align with the agent of a transitive verb (Sa) always show agreement by a proclitic (1). Meanwhile, intransitives that align with the patient of a transitive verb (Sp) may optionally show agreement by an enclitic (2). Volitionality is the determining factor for whether an intransitive verb is Sa or Sp.[11]

(1)

Jih

he

ka=ji=jak.

INCHO=3=go

Jih ka=ji=jak.

he INCHO=3=go

"He has gone."

(2)

Gopnyan

he

ka=saket=geuh.

INCHO=sick=3

Gopnyan ka=saket=geuh.

he INCHO=sick=3

"He is sick."

Writing system

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Formerly, the Acehnese language was written in an Arabic script called Jawoë or Jawi in the Malay language. The script is less common nowadays.[citation needed] Since colonization by the Dutch, the Acehnese language has been written in the Latin script, with the addition of supplementary letters. The diacritical letters are é, è, ë, ö and ô.[12] The sound /ɨ/ is represented by ⟨eu⟩ and the sound /ʌ/ is represented by ⟨ö⟩, respectively. The letter 'ë' is used exclusively to represent the open-mid back unrounded vowel sound which forms the second part of diphthongs. The letters f, q, v, x, and z are only used in loanwords.

Vowels[13]
Grapheme Phoneme
(IPA) 		Open syllable Closed syllable
a /a/ ba /ba/ 'carry' bak /baʔ/ 'at, tree'
e /ə/ le /lə/ 'many' let /lət/ 'pull out'
é /e/ baté /bate/ 'cup, betel tray' baték /bateʔ/ 'batik'
è /ɛ/ bè /bɛ/ 'smell' bèk /bɛʔ/ prohibitive 'don't' (e.g. bèk neupajoh boh gantang lôn 'don't you eat my fries')
ë /ʌ/ huë /huʌ/ 'pull' huëk /huʌʔ/ 'choke'
eu /ɯ/ keu /kɯ/ 'front' keuh /kɯh/ 'so (e.g. nyan keuh), pronominal affix for second person (e.g. droe-keuh)'
i /i/ di /di/ 'in, from' dit /dit/ 'few, small amount'
o /ɔ/ yo /jɔ/ 'afraid' yok /jɔʔ/ 'shake'
ô /o/ rô /ro/ 'spill' rôh /roh/ 'enter'
ö /ʌ/ pö /pʌ/ 'fly' pöt /pʌt/ 'pluck, pick'
u /u/ su /su/ 'sound, voice' sut /sut/ 'remove, detach'
Consonants[13]
Grapheme Phoneme
(IPA) 		Extra notes
b /b/
c /c/
d /d/
f /f/ Used in foreign words. Usually replaced with p (/p/).
g /ɡ/
h /h/
j /ɟ/
k /k/, /ʔ/ at the end of a syllable.
l /l/
m /m/
mb /mb/
n /n/
nd /nd/
ng /ŋ/
ngg /ŋɡ/
nj /ɲɟ/
ny /ɲ/
p /p/
q /q, k/ Used in foreign words. Usually replaced with k (/k/).
r /r/
s /s/
sy /ʃ/
t /t/
v /v/ Used in foreign words. Usually replaced with b (/b/).
w /w/
x /ks/ Used in foreign words. Usually replaced with ks (/ks/).
y /j/
z /z/ Used in foreign words.

Literature

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Acehnese language is rich with literature. The oldest manuscript written in Acehnese is Hikayat Seumau'un from 1658 CE. Most Acehnese literatures consist of poetic works, very little written in prose form.[14]

Dialects

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At least ten Achehnese dialects exist: Pasè, Peusangan, Matang, Pidië, Buëng, Banda, Daya, Meulabôh, Seunagan, and Tunong.[15] At least three major dialects exist: Baet Lambuot, Mesjid Punteut and Panthe Ketapang.[16] Baet Lambuot dialect spoken in Aceh Besar regency.[17] Mesjid Punteut dialect spoken in Simpang Ulim district, East Aceh regency.[17] Panthe Ketapang dialect spoken in Jaya district, Aceh Jaya regency.[17]

Geographical dialects: Aceh Besar,[18][19] Pidie,[18][19] Peusangan,[18] Pasai,[18] East Aceh (Aceh Timur)[18][19] and West Aceh (Aceh Barat),[18][19] North Aceh (Aceh Utara),[19] Bireun,[19] Aceh Jaya[19]

West coast dialects (dialek pesisir barat): Tunong, Seunagan, Meulabôh, Daya.[20]

Dialects
Acehnese  
Banda Aceh‑‑Aceh Besar dialects 

Banda Aceh dialect

Aceh Besar dialect

Pidie dialect (in Pidie and Pidie Jaya regency)

 

Pasai/Pase dialect (in North Aceh regency)

 

Meulaboh/Barat‑Selatan dialect

 

West coast dialects 

Tunong dialect

Seunagan dialect

Meulabôh dialect

Daya dialect

North Aceh dialects 

Peusangan dialect

East Aceh (Aceh Timur) dialect 

 

West Aceh (Aceh Barat) dialect 

 

Dialects

Vocabulary

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Pronouns

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Acehnese[21] Indonesian English translation
kèë aku I
ulôn, ilôn, lôn, ilông, lông saya I (polite)
ulôn tuan, lôn tuan saya I (most polite)
kamoë kami we (exclude)
geutanyoë, tanyoë kita we (include)
jih, jih nyan, si nyan dia he/she/it
gop nyan beliau he/she/it (polite)
droëneuh nyan beliau he/she/it (most polite)
awak nyoë/nyan mereka they
ureueng nyoë/nyan mereka they (polite)
kah kau you
gata kamu you (for younger)
droëneuh Anda you (polite)
awak kah kalian you (plural)
awak droëneuh kalian you (plural) (polite)
ureuëng droëneuh kalian you (plural) (most polite)

Numerals

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Acehnese[22] Indonesian English translation
sa satu one
dua dua two
lhèë tiga three
peuët empat four
limöng lima five
nam enam six
tujôh tujuh seven
lapan delapan eight
sikureuëng sembilan nine
siplôh sepuluh ten

Interrogative words

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Acehnese[23] Indonesian English translation
peuë, puë apa what
soë siapa who
pajan kapan when
töh, siré yang mana which
pat di mana where
panè dari mana from where
ho ke mana to where
padum, padit, padup berapa how many
pakri, paban, pakriban, kiban, kriban bagaimana how
pakön kenapa why
seupo milik siapa who is the owner

Sample text

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The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Acehnese, along with the original declaration in English.

  • Acehnese text sample:
Latin script[24]
"Bandum ureuëng lahé deungon meurdéhka, dan deungon martabat dan hak njang saban. Ngon akai geuseumiké, ngon haté geumeurasa, bandum geutanjoë lagèë sjèëdara. Hak dan keumuliaan."
  • The original English version of the text:[25]
"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."
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  •  
    Hikayat Akhbarul Karim
  •  
    Hikayat Banta Beuransah
  •  
    Hikayat Prang Sabi

References

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  1. ^ a b Acehnese at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)  
  2. ^ Qanun Aceh Tentang Bahasa Aceh (Qanun 10). People's Representative Council of Aceh. 2022.
  3. ^ Durie (1988a:104)
  4. ^ Sidwell, Paul (2006). "Dating the separation of Acehnese and Chamic by etymological analysis of the Aceh-Chamic lexicon" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 36: 187–206. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2012-10-22.(, Alternate Archived 2014-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, )
  5. ^ Sidwell, Paul (2005). "Acehnese and the Aceh-Chamic Language Family" (PDF). Pacific Linguistics. 7: 211–246. doi:10.15144/PL-569.211. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  6. ^ Pillai & Yusuf (2012:1031), citing Asyik (1987:17)
  7. ^ Asyik (1982:3)
  8. ^ Durie (1985:24)
  9. ^ Asyik (1982:2), citing Lawler (1977)
  10. ^ Long & Maddieson (1993) "Consonantal evidence against Quantal Theory", UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics 83, p. 144.
  11. ^ Durie, Mark (1988). "Preferred argument structure in an active language", Lingua 74: 1–25. Cited in Donohue, Mark (2008). "Semantic alignment systems: what's what, and what's not". In Donohue, Mark & Søren Wichmann, eds. (2008). The Typology of Semantic Alignment. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 36
  12. ^ "Ejaan Bahasa Aceh". November 12, 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Acehnese language and alphabet". omniglot.com.
  14. ^ Durie, Mark (1996). "Framing the Acehnese Text: Language Choice and Discourse Structures in Aceh". Oceanic Linguistics. 35 (1): 113–137. doi:10.2307/3623033. ISSN 0029-8115. JSTOR 3623033.
  15. ^ Sulaiman, B. (1981). Kedudukan dan Fungsi Bahasa Aceh di Aceh. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa.
  16. ^ Tim Balai Bahasa Banda Aceh (2012). Inilah Bahasa-Bahasa Di Aceh (PDF). Banda Aceh: Balai Bahasa Banda Aceh. pp. 22–23.
  17. ^ a b c "Aceh - Peta Bahasa", kemdikbud.go.id
  18. ^ a b c d e f Sulaiman, Budi (1979). Bahasa Aceh (PDF). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. p. 4.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Rahma, Siti (2020). Penuturan Bahasa Aceh di Kalangan Masyarakat Sibreh Kecamatan Sukamakmur (PDF) (S.Hum thesis). Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry. pp. 25–28.
  20. ^ Berri, Muhammad Nabil (2008). Ejaan Bahasa Aceh (PDF). p. 2.
  21. ^ "Kata Ganti Orang dalam Bahasa Aceh". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  22. ^ "Angka/Bilangan". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  23. ^ "Kata Tanya". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  24. ^ "Peunyata Umum Hak-hak Azasi Manusia Ban Sigom Dônja" [Universal Declaration of Human Rights]. OHCHR (in Acehnese).
  25. ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights: English". OHCHR.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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Acehnese edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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