Acehnese language

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 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 to	Indonesia
Region	Aceh, Sumatra
Ethnicity	3.37 million Acehnese (2010 census)[1]
Native speakers	2.8 million (2010 census)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Chamic Acehnese
Writing system	Latin script Jawi script
Official status
Official language in	Indonesia Aceh (co-official with Indonesian)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	ace
ISO 639-3	ace
Glottolog	achi1257
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

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 Atjehnese is the Dutch spelling and an outdated Indonesian one.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

Classification and related languages

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

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

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:

• The stop /t/ is slightly retroflex.^[8]
• 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.^[9][10] They are distinct from the nasal–plosive sequences /mb/, /nd/, /ɲɟ/, /ŋɡ/, e.g. in [banᵈa] 'port' vs [mandum] 'all'.^[11]

Grammar

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.^[12]

(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

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.^[13] 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 schwa sound which forms the second part of diphthongs. The letters f, q, v, x, and z are only used in loanwords.

Vowels^[14]

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^[14]

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

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.^[15]

Dialects

At least ten Achehnese dialects exist: Pasè, Peusangan, Matang, Pidië, Buëng, Banda, Daya, Meulabôh, Seunagan, and Tunong.^[16] At least three major dialects exist: Baet Lambuot, Mesjid Punteut and Panthe Ketapang.^[17] Baet Lambuot dialect spoken in Aceh Besar regency.^[18] Mesjid Punteut dialect spoken in Simpang Ulim district, East Aceh regency.^[18] Panthe Ketapang dialect spoken in Jaya district, Aceh Jaya regency.^[18]

Geographical dialects: Aceh Besar,^[19][20] Pidie,^[19][20] Peusangan,^[19] Pasai,^[19] East Aceh (Aceh Timur)^[19][20] and West Aceh (Aceh Barat),^[19][20] North Aceh (Aceh Utara),^[20] Bireun,^[20] Aceh Jaya^[20]

West coast dialects (dialek pesisir barat): Tunong, Seunagan, Meulabôh, Daya.^[21]

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

Pronouns

Acehnese[22]	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

Acehnese[23]	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

Acehnese[24]	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

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^[25]

"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:^[26]

"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."

Gallery

• 
  Hikayat Akhbarul Karim
• 
  Hikayat Banta Beuransah
• 
  Hikayat Prang Sabi