Jump to content

Acehnese language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Aceh language)
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

Acehnese (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 in Yan District, Kedah. Acehnese is used as the co-official language in the province of Aceh, alongside Indonesian.[2]

Name

[edit]

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 Atjehnese is the Dutch spelling and an outdated Indonesian one.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]

[edit]
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

[edit]

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 Tamiang Malay)

West-South Coast

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

Phonology

[edit]
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
Nasal vowels
Front Central Back
Close ĩ ɯ̃ ũ
Open-mid ɛ̃ ʌ̃ ɔ̃
Open ã
Hikayat Prang Sabi

The table below shows the Acehnese consonant phonemes and the range of their realizations.[7][8]

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 s ʃ h
Approximant l j w
Trill r

Notes:

  • The following stop and liquid sound combinations with /h/, as /_h/; are heard as aspirated /pʰ, tʰ, cʰ, kʰ/ or murmured /bʱ, dʱ, ɟʱ, ɡʱ/; /lʱ, rʱ/.
  • The fricative /s/ is described by Durie as "a laminal alveo-dental fricative with a wide channel area".[9]
  • The stop /t/ is slightly retroflex.[10]
  • Syllable-final orthographic ⟨k⟩ always represents /ʔ/ save in certain recent loans
  • Arabic phonemes such as /z/, /f/, and /q/ are often nativised to /d/, /pʰ/, and /k/ respectively. Arabic /ʃ/ and /x/ varies, /ʃ/ can be realised as /c/, /cʰ/, or /s/, and /x/ can be realised as /kʰ/, /k/, or /h/.
  • The phoneme /pʰ/ is often articulated as the affricate /ɸ/, Acehnese speakers realise the phoneme /f/ as /ɸ/, both in Arabic and modern loans.[9]
  • The nasals /m/, /n/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/ are realized as post-oralized nasals (also called "funny nasals") before oral vowels and consonants.[11][12] They are distinct from the nasal–plosive sequences /mb/, /nd/, /ɲɟ/, /ŋɡ/, e.g. in [banᵈa] 'port' vs [mandum] 'all'.[13]

Grammar

[edit]

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.[14]

(1)

Jih

he

ka=ji=jak.

INCHO=3=go

Jih ka=ji=jak.

he INCHO=3=go

"He has gone."

(2)

Gopnyan

he

ka=sakét=geuh.

INCHO=sick=3

Gopnyan ka=sakét=geuh.

he INCHO=sick=3

"He is sick."

Writing system

[edit]

Since the Dutch colonization, the Acehnese language has been written in the Latin script. Formerly, the Acehnese language was written in an Arabic script called Jawoë (جاوي‎; Acehnese pronunciation: [ɟawɔə]) or Jawi in the Malay language. The script is less common nowadays.[15]

The current Latin spelling system (Indonesian: Ejaan Bahasa Aceh yang Disempurnakan, lit. 'Improved Spelling of the Acehnese Language') is based on the Indonesian spelling system, Ejaan yang Disempurnakan,[16][17] while its diacritics are based on the spelling system used by Snouck Hurgronje to write Acehnese,[a] which is why the spelling system is also called the Snouck's Spelling System.[18]

In addition to the modern 26 letter basic Latin alphabet,[b] Acehnese uses the supplementary letters è, é, ë, ô, and ö, making a total of 31 letters in its orthography.[19] Acehnese also features vowel nasalization, which is marked with an apostrophe ⟨’⟩ preceding the vowel.[16][20]

Vowels[21]
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 /ə/ huë /huə/ 'pull' huëk /huəʔ/ '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[21]
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

[edit]

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.[22]

Before the Dutch colonial period, almost all Acehnese literature was in the form of poetry, either as hikayat or nazam. Very few works were in prose, one of which was Kitab Bakeu Meunan, a translation of the book Qawaa'id al-Islaam. After the arrival of the Dutch, Acehnese prose works began to emerge in the 1930s, such as Lhee Saboh Nang, written by Aboe Bakar and De Vries. Following that, more prose works appeared, although poetry in the form of hikayat continued to dominate.

The first encyclopedia in Acehnese, the Acehnese Wikipedia, was launched on August 12, 2009 [23][24] A prose translation of the Quran in Acehnese was published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on December 13, 2018.[25] As of now, there is no newspaper published in Acehnese. In 2020, the first Acehnese-language magazine, Majalah Neurôk, was launched, initiated by an Acehnese cultural figure, Ayah Panton.[26] Google Translate added the Acehnese language translation feature on June 27, 2024.[27]

Dialects

[edit]

At least ten Acehnese dialects exist: Pasè, Peusangan, Matang, Pidië, Buëng, Banda, Daya, Meulabôh, Seunagan, and Tunong.[28] At least three major dialects exist: Baet Lambuot, Mesjid Punteut and Panthe Ketapang.[29] Baet Lambuot dialect spoken in Aceh Besar regency.[30] Mesjid Punteut dialect spoken in Simpang Ulim district, East Aceh regency.[30] Panthe Ketapang dialect spoken in Jaya district, Aceh Jaya regency.[30]

Geographical dialects: Aceh Besar,[31][32] Pidie,[31][32] Peusangan,[31] Pasai,[31] East Aceh (Aceh Timur)[31][32] and West Aceh (Aceh Barat),[31][32] North Aceh (Aceh Utara),[32] Bireun,[32] Aceh Jaya[32]

West coast dialects (dialek pesisir barat): Tunong, Seunagan, Meulabôh, Daya.[33]

Dialects
Acehnese
Banda Aceh‑‑Aceh Besar dialects

Banda Aceh dialect

Aceh Besar dialect

West coast dialects

Tunong dialect

Seunagan dialect

Meulabôh dialect

Daya dialect

North Aceh dialects

Peusangan dialect

Dialects

Vocabulary

[edit]

Pronouns

[edit]
Acehnese[34] Indonesian English translation
kèë aku I
ulôn, lôn, lông saya I (polite)
ulôn tuwan, lôn tuwan saya I (most polite)
kamoë kami we (exclude)
geutanyoë, tanyoë kita we (include)
jih 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)
ureuëng droëneuh kalian you (plural) (polite)

Numerals

[edit]
Acehnese[35] 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

[edit]
Acehnese[36] 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 berapa how many
pakri, paban bagaimana how
pakön kenapa why

Sample text

[edit]

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:
Original text[37]
"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."
Using standard spelling
"Bandum ureuëng lahé deungön meurdéka, deungön martabat ngön hak nyang saban. Ngön akai geuseumiké, ngön até geumeurasa, bandum geutanyoë lagèë cèëdara. Hak ngön keumuliaan."
  • The original English version of the text:[38]
"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."
[edit]
  • Hikayat Akhbarul Karim
    Hikayat Akhbarul Karim
  • Hikayat Banta Beuransah
    Hikayat Banta Beuransah
  • Hikayat Prang Sabi
    Hikayat Prang Sabi

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ While the current diacritics are mostly based off of Shouck's system, Shouck's system lacks the needed letters to differentiate /ʌ/ and /ɔ/ due to the dialect that Shouck studied has merged these phonemes, while most dialects of Aceh retained the distinction.
  2. ^ The letters f, q, v, x, and z are exclusively used in loanwords, they are often replaced with ph, k, b, ks, and d respectively.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Acehnese at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  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, p. 11.
  9. ^ a b Durie 1985, p. 12.
  10. ^ Asyik, Abdul Gani (1987). A Contextual Grammar of Acehnese Sentences (Complementation) (Thesis thesis). hdl:2027.42/161507.
  11. ^ Durie (1985:24)
  12. ^ Asyik (1982:2), citing Lawler (1977)
  13. ^ Long & Maddieson (1993) "Consonantal evidence against Quantal Theory", UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics 83, p. 144.
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ Bania, Allif Syahputra; Akob, Bachtiar (2025). "Preserving the Jawi script in Aceh: Assessing literacy, cultural heritage, and modern paradigm challenges". Journal of USK: 1.
  16. ^ a b Bakar, Aboe; Sulaiman, Budiman; Hanafiah, M. Adnan; Ibrahim, Zainal Abidin; Syarifah H., Syarifah H. (1995). Kamus Aceh Indonesia 1 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. pp. vii.
  17. ^ Durie 1985, p. 26.
  18. ^ Abubakar, S. Pd berkata (2016-05-04). "Cara Menulis Tanda Diakritik dalam Bahasa Aceh". portalsatu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  19. ^ "Ejaan Bahasa Aceh". November 12, 2008.
  20. ^ Durie 1985, p. 27.
  21. ^ a b "Acehnese language and alphabet". omniglot.com.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ "Akhirnya, Wikipedia Berbahasa Aceh Lahir". acehkita.com. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "12 Agustus jadi Hari Kelahiran Wikipèdia bahsa Acèh". seputaraceh.com. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Riwat, Nat (13 December 2018). "Kemenag Luncurkan Alquran Terjemah Bahasa Aceh". uin.ar-raniry.ac.id. Retrieved 10 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Dani, Subur (14 October 2020). "Neurok, Majalah Berbahasa Aceh Pertama Diluncurkan". aceh.tribunnews.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ Heriansyah, Dedy (9 July 2024). "Terjemahan Bahasa Aceh Sudah Tersedia di Google Translate". Radio Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 10 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ Sulaiman, B. (1981). Kedudukan dan Fungsi Bahasa Aceh di Aceh. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa.
  29. ^ Tim Balai Bahasa Banda Aceh (2012). Inilah Bahasa-Bahasa Di Aceh (PDF). Banda Aceh: Balai Bahasa Banda Aceh. pp. 22–23.
  30. ^ a b c "Aceh - Peta Bahasa", kemdikbud.go.id
  31. ^ a b c d e f Sulaiman, Budi (1979). Bahasa Aceh (PDF). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa. p. 4.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ Berri, Muhammad Nabil (2008). Ejaan Bahasa Aceh (PDF). p. 2.
  34. ^ "Kata Ganti Orang dalam Bahasa Aceh". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  35. ^ "Angka/Bilangan". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  36. ^ "Kata Tanya". Portal Belajar Bahasa Aceh (in Indonesian). 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  37. ^ "Peunyata Umum Hak-hak Azasi Manusia Ban Sigom Dônja" [Universal Declaration of Human Rights]. OHCHR (in Acehnese).
  38. ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights: English". OHCHR.

Bibliography

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Acehnese edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acehnese_language&oldid=1300033220"