| Indonesian Arabic | |
|---|---|
| Local Arabic | |
| Bahasa Arab Indonesia العربية الاندونيسية | |
 Arabic speakers in Talise,Palu c. 1920 | |
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | Area with a significant population of Arabs descent andpesantren |
| Ethnicity | Arab Indonesians Santri (formal) |
Native speakers | 60,000 (2010)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Arabic script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| IETF | ayh-ID |
 The location of Indonesian Arabic usage in the enclave is marked with a blue circle; it is primarily found in the eastern part of Java | |
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Indonesian Arabic (Arabic:العربية الاندونيسية,romanized: al-‘Arabiyya al-Indūnīsiyya,Indonesian:Bahasa Arab Indonesia) is avariety of Arabic spoken inIndonesia. It is primarily spoken by people ofArab descents and by students (santri) who study Arabic at Islamic educational institutions orpesantren. This language generally incorporates loanwords fromregional Indonesian languages in its usage, reflecting the areas where it is spoken.
From a historical perspective, Arabic language andculture have been known since theintroduction ofIslam to theMalay Archipelago, or better known inClassical Arabic asالجزائر الجاوي,al-Jazaʿir al-Jawi,lit. 'Java Archipelago',[4][5] which means that long beforeIndonesia's independence, Arabic was already becoming familiar to theindigenous peoples. When examining the relationship between Arabic and Islam in Indonesia, it is clear that Arabic culture and language have had a significant influence on the life of the society and the culture ofIslam in Indonesia. For example, in terms of the language used daily by the people, Arabic is one of the foreign elements that has contributed a substantial amount of vocabulary to the native languages in Indonesia, including standardIndonesian, the official language of Indonesia.[6] The development of the Arabic occurred due to the arrival of Arab andPersian traders in Indonesia over a long period. It is known that Arabic language and literature are estimated to have been present in Indonesia since the early 7th to 8th centuries AD and began to develop rapidly during the 9th to 12th centuries AD. This theory is supported and agreed upon byHamka, van Leur, andT.W. Arnold.[6]
The Arabic spoken in Indonesia is generally used by people of Arab descent and Islamic students (santri), primarily based onHadhrami Arabic brought by Arab traders fromHadramaut, Yemen. This language has a unique feature, which is the mixture of vocabulary from Arabic and Indonesian, as well as other regional languages.[7][8] This is notably different from theModern Standard Arabic used by 21st-century Arab expatriates. The language is commonly used in Islamic educational institutions or pesantren and in villages inhabited by people of Arabs descent, often referred to asKampung Arab 'Arab village'.[9][10]
Arabic in Indonesia is generally spoken by Arab descendants inBogor (Empang and Cisarua),Surabaya (Ampel),Bangkalan (Kamal),Jakarta,Gresik,Pekalongan,Kediri,Pasuruan (Bangil),Bondowoso,Banjarmasin,Surakarta,Palembang,Palu (Talise),Ambon,Martapura,Yogyakarta, and other areas with a significant Arab-descendant population in Indonesia.[11][3] Even the Arab descendants and their language are also found inFakfak, a small town on the west coast ofPapua, the easternmost island of Indonesia, their presence there can be traced back to the 1800s, where their Arabic surnames became their trademark.[12]
Currently, the number of speakers is approximately half of the Arab descendants, or perhaps even less. This number does not include thesantri who use it as a formal language. Based on rough estimates, this language had about 60,000 speakers in 2010. Rather than maintaining their Arabic language, younger generations typically prefer to useMalay-based creole languages, where they actually play a significant role in contributing Arabic vocabulary, but it is then adapted to local pronunciation. A prominent example isBetawi, where the majority of Arab descendants in urban Jakarta currently use this language.[13] Indonesian Arabic also has a big influence on the Condet dialect, a dialect of Betawi language, where Arabic vocabulary is mostly found, more pronounced than other Betawi dialects. Also with someMalay influence.[14][15]Arabic-Malay script (Jawi) was also quite often used by the indigenous people of Condet inEast Jakarta, especially during theDutch colonial era.[16]
Because of its influence on the native languages in the areas where it is used and its considerable influence on theofficial language, Indonesian, also because of the fluent assimilation of its speakers since long ago.[17] Indonesian Arabic began to mix with native languages in Indonesia to form Para-Arabic or Pseudo-Arabic varieties, because the grammar mostly deviates from Arabic rules and looks very small, but its influence can be seen especially in terms of the vocabulary used, especially also mixed with the native languages that are more dominant in the region. Thiscode mixing then formed amixed language used by groups of Arab descendants who assimilated with theindigenous peoples.[18] For example, in the Klego subdistrict in Pekalongan, the Arab people there speak Arabic with influences fromJavanese grammar and a broader vocabulary.[19][20]
There are two varieties of Arabic that are usually used in Indonesia, namely Amiyah or colloquial Arabic, especially by Arab descendants in Indonesia in daily communication among their communities.[21] Also Fusha, which is standard Arabic which is usually used by students in formal activities at Islamic boarding schools, or also by Arab descendants, for example in their worship or formal activities.[22][23] From the results of the acculturation between Arabic of Fusha and Amiyah, as well as their everyday language, at theDarussalam Gontor Modern Islamic Boarding School, have created their own Gontor Arabic dialect which is used by the students there.[2] Apart from that, there is also the Martapura Arabic dialect which is used by Arab descendants in Martapura,South Kalimantan. It is heavily influenced by theBanjar language in its language, especially its loanwords and pronunciation, and is also influenced by Indonesian.[3]
It has been revealed that the use of Arabic is significantly influenced by syntax inIndonesian, particularly amongsantri inpesantren. Phrases such aslâ mâdza-mâdza (لا ماذا ماذا, meaning 'it's okay') ormaujûd-maujûd faqath (موجود موجود فقط, meaning 'seriously') are examples of syntacticerrors in Arabic among santri that result in word reduplication. In reality, when looked at word by word in Indonesian, these examples are not incorrect, but when combined, they become less accurate and hard to understand, and they cannot be found in other varieties of Arabic, as these expressions do not exist in their language. The correct expression inModern Standard Arabic for 'it's okay' islâ ba’sa (لا بأس) orlaisa musykilah (ليس مشكلة). Meanwhile, the expression 'just there' essentially responds to something considered a joke or something unusual, and it can be translated into Modern Standard Arabic aslaqad mazahta (لقد مزحت, meaning 'you are just joking') orhâdzaâ sya’un jadîd (هذا شيء جديد, meaning 'this is something new').[24]
The inaccuracy in using expressions like these in this variation of Arabic is certainly influenced by Indonesian, or more precisely, bycolloquial Indonesian. Another possible cause could be a lack of understanding of Arabic rules and knowledge about them, or it could be because such expressions have become common in forming Arabic sentences among santri. Native speakers of other Arabic varieties might consider or view this as Arabic with poor pronunciation and grammar.[24] This also includes, for example, changes in pronunciation and sound in Arabic vocabulary that are adapted to local pronunciation in Indonesia, as in the case of Colloquial Arabic-Javanese.[19]
Arabic is recognized as aforeign andminority language in Indonesia, without the status of anofficial orregional language.[25][26] But it remains an important language in Indonesia, especially byIndonesian Muslims there, where Arabic is considered as one of their religious language used in prayers and recitation of the Quran.[27] The position of Arabic is also considered important for theIndonesian government, especially in relation to diplomacy with foreign countries, especiallyArabic-speaking countries. Arabic also played an important role indiplomacy between Indonesia and Egypt, especially in the early period ofIndonesian independence and Egypt's support for it. Mastery of Arabic, especially by accomplished diplomats such asAgus Salim, was key to building close diplomatic relations and gaining international support.[28]
Ferguson (1970) inThe Role of Arabic in Ethiopia: a Sociolinguistic Perspective explains that the area where Arabic is used includes Morocco in the west to thePersian Gulf, across theRed Sea to Ethiopia and Somalia in theHorn of Africa, then to theGujarat in India and a small part ofXinjiang in China, up to theSoutheast Asian region including Indonesia. In Indonesia, based on its geographical varieties, Arabic is grouped into:[29]
Other varieties also cover areas outside Java, such as in Sumatra, the Palembang variety, which is influenced byPalembang.[30] Also the Banjar-speaking regional variety in Kalimantan, especially in Banjarmasin and Martapura.[3] Apart from that, other geographical variations were also found, such as Bangkalan to Sumenep with Madurese influences, as well as the Kangean variety withKangean,Bugis, and Madurese influences.[29][31] Also the Empang andCisarua varieties inBogor which are influenced bySundanese.[32]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Sementara itu, bangsa Arab menyebut tanah air kita dengan Jazair al-Jawi (Kepulauan Jawa)
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