Minangkabau language

Minangkabau Baso Minangkabau
Spoken in:	Indonesia, Malaysia
Region:	West Sumatra (Indonesia), Riau (Indonesia), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia)
Total speakers:	6,500,000
Language family:	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian Sunda-Sulawesi Malayic Malayan Para-Malay Minangkabau
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	min
ISO 639-3:	min
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Minangkabau language (autonym: Baso Minang(kabau); Indonesian: Bahasa Minangkabau) is an Austronesian language, spoken by the Minangkabau-people of West Sumatra, in the western part of Riau and in several cities throughout Indonesia by migrated Minangkabau, who often trade or have a restaurant. It is also spoken in a part of Malaysia.

Due to great grammatical similarities between the Minangkabau language and Malay, there is some controversy regarding the relationship between the two. Some see Minangkabau as a dialect of Malay, while others think of Minangkabau as a proper (Malay) language.

Malaysia

Besides West Sumatra and western Riau, Minangkabau is also spoken in Malaysia, by some descendants of migrants from the Minang-speaking region in Sumatra (Ranah Minang, or Land of the Minang). Significant numbers of the early migrants settled in what is now the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan. The language is also a lingua franca along the western coastal region of the province of North Sumatra, and is even used in parts of Aceh, where the language is called Aneuk Jamee.

Dialects

The Minangkabau language has several dialects, sometimes differing between nearby villages (e.g. separated by a river). In everyday communication between Minangkabau people of different regions, the Padang-dialect (Baso Padang or Baso Urang Awak "our (people's) language") is often used and has become a kind of standard.

Examples

Baso Minangkabau:	Sarang kayu di rimbo tak samo tinggi, kok kunun manusia (expression)
Indonesian:	Pohon di rimba tidak sama tinggi, apalagi manusia
English:	The trees in the jungle are not (all) of the same height, let alone the people.
Baso Minangkabau:	Co a kongcek baranang co itu inyo (expression)
Indonesian:	Dia berenang seperti katak
English:	He swims like a frog. (doing something without having a goal)
Baso Minangkabau:	Indak buliah mambuang sarok disiko!
Indonesian:	Tidak boleh membuang sampah di sini!
English:	It is not allowed to dump rubbish here!

Literature

• Tata Bahasa Minangkabau, Gerard Moussay

(original title La Langue Minangkabau, translated from French by Rahayu S. Hidayat), ISBN 979-9023-16-5.