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Languages
and Dialects
There
are about 500 languages and dialects spoken
in the archipelago. There normally belong
to the different ethnic groups of the population.
Some of the distinctly different local languages
are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese,
Sasak, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese,
Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several
Irianese languages. To make the picture
even more colorful, these languages are
also spoken in different dialects.
The
Lingua Franca
The
national language of Indonesia is "Bahasa
Indonesia". Originally it was the Malay
language mainly spoken in the Riau Islands.
In its spread throughout the country, its
vocabulary and idioms have been enriched
by a great number of local languages. To
keep pace with religious, social and cultural
progress, many words and terms have been
derived from foreign languages, including
Dutch, Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic and, later,
Portuguese. Although Bahasa Indonesia has
become the lingua franca, local languages
and dialects continue to be spoken and will
not be abolished.
