Kuantan
Rantau Kuantan
Bahaso Kuantan بهاسو كوانتان
Pronunciation	[ba.ha.soku.an.tan]
Native to	Indonesia (Riau)
Region	Kuantan Singingi Regency
Ethnicity	Kuantan
Native speakers	(114,261 cited 1980)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian disputed: Malayo-Sumbawan orGreater North Borneo Malayic Minangkabau (disputed) Kuantan
Dialects	Baserah Cerenti Lubuk Jambi Taluk Kuantan
Writing system	Latin (Indonesian alphabet) Jawi
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	None
Regencies and cities in Riau where the Kuantan language is spoken by the majority of the population

TheKuantan language (Kuantan:Bahaso Kuantan,Jawi: بهاسو كوانتان), also known asRantau Kuantan, is aMalayic language primarily spoken by the Kuantan people, a subgroup of theMinangkabau people residing inKuantan Singingi Regency, southwesternRiau,Indonesia. The classification of this language is disputed, with some considering it a dialect of Riau Malay and others ofMinangkabau, due to its similarity to the Minangkabau spoken in neighboringWest Sumatra. TheMinangkabau community classifies Kuantan as a dialect of Minangkabau, while the vast majority of Kuantan speakers reject this and instead consider it a dialect ofRiau Malay.^[2] Indonesia’sAgency for Language Development and Cultivation, under theMinistry of Primary and Secondary Education, officially categorizes Kuantan as a Minangkabau dialect spoken in Riau,^[3] though its classification is inconsistent, as it is also sometimes listed as a Malay dialect.^[4] Nevertheless, the language bears a strong resemblance to Minangkabau, particularly in its phonology, grammar, and lexicon, and remains mutually intelligible with certain Minangkabau dialects.

The Kuantan language is an integral part of daily communication among the Kuantan people. It is also used in religious sermons, engagement ceremonies, and weddings, where traditional customs are expressed in the language.^[5] Alongside Kuantan,Indonesian, the national language, is widely spoken within the Kuantan community. Indonesian is the primary language in official settings, such as government institutions and schools.^[6] Most Kuantan people are bilingual in both Kuantan and Indonesian, using the latter as alingua franca when communicating with non-Kuantan speakers. In semi-formal settings, such as markets, Kuantan people commonly engage incode-switching andcode-mixing between Kuantan and Indonesian during conversations.^[7] Even in schools, where Indonesian is the primary language of instruction, students often code-switch and code-mix between Kuantan and Indonesian when communicating with their peers and even with teachers.^[8]

The classification of the Kuantan language remains disputed; however, it is generally recognized as aMalayic language. Speakers of Malayic languages are spread fromBrunei, Indonesia,Malaysia, Singapore,Southern Thailand, to the southernmost part of thePhilippines. Malay is a member of theAustronesian family of languages, which includes languages fromTaiwan, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia.Malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken inMadagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarilymutually intelligible to any extent, their similarities are often quite apparent. In more conservative languages like Malay, many roots have come with relatively little change from their common ancestor,Proto-Austronesian. There are manycognates found in the languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities.^[9]

The status of the Kuantan language remains a subject of debate. Most studies classify it as either a dialect ofRiau Malay orMinangkabau. While the Minangkabau community considers the Kampar language a dialect of Minangkabau, this view is contested by most Kuantan speakers, who assert that it is a dialect of Malay.^[2] The Indonesian government's classification of the Kuantan language is also inconsistent, sometimes labeling it as a dialect of either Minangkabau or Riau Malay. For example, in the bookStruktur Bahasa Melayu Dialek Kuantan 'Structure of the Kuantan Malay Dialect', theAgency for Language Development and Cultivation, under theMinistry of Primary and Secondary Education, classifies it as a dialect of Malay.^[1] Many studies and research also classifies the Kuantan language as a dialect of Riau Malay. Hamidy (2002) for example identified six dialects of Riau Malay, distinguished primarily by intonation and lexical differences:^[10][11][12]

• Dialect of isolated communities
• Petalangan
• Rokan
• Rantau Kuantan
• Kampar
• Riau Coastal

However, many studies and censuses also classify the Kuantan language as a dialect of Minangkabau. For example, the 1930 Dutch-era census categorized theKoeantanners as Minangkabau.^[13] Additionally, the 2017 bookBahasa dan Peta Bahasa di Indonesia (Languages and Language Maps in Indonesia), also published by the Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, classifies Kuantan as a Minangkabau dialect. According to the book, Kuantan is one of several Minangkabau dialects spoken in Riau, alongside Rokan, Basilam, Indragiri, and Kampar.^[14] To this day, some studies continue to classify Kuantan as a dialect of Minangkabau.^[15]

Regardless of its classification, the language spoken by the people of Kuantan Singingi Regency closely resembles Minangkabau spoken in neighboringWest Sumatra. There are no communication barriers between Minangkabau speakers and the people of Kuantan Singingi, as both groups continue to maintain their respective linguistic identities in daily life.^[16] Although the languages of these two communities, now separated by provincial boundaries, exhibit differences in phonology, morphology, and syntax, they remain highlymutually intelligible. These differences do not compel either group to alter their accent or dialect when interacting. In fact, some dialectal variations of the Kuantan language are identical or strikingly similar to certain Minangkabau dialects.^[16]

The Kuantan language is primarily spoken inKuantan Singingi Regency in southwesternRiau, near the border withWest Sumatra. In Kuantan Singingi, most of the local community uses the Kuantan language for daily communication. The Kuantan language is also used in religious teachings, engagement ceremonies, and weddings.^[5] Their customary laws are conveyed in the Kuantan language. The Kuantan language also plays a vital role in preserving and promotingoral literature. As in other parts of Indonesia, oral traditions are deeply rooted in the Kuantan region, where proverbs and wise sayings have flourished.^[6] In traditional ceremonies, these are conveyed through poetic exchanges and proverbial expressions, with the Kuantan language playing a central role. The most prominent art form iskayat, a style of singing accompanied by drums or tambourines, both traditional musical instruments of the Kuantan region.Kayat is performed during circumcision ceremonies, wedding celebrations, andpacu jalur festivals. Another traditional Kuantan art form israrak, which featurescelempong, drums, and gongs.^[6] During these ceremonies, Kuantan speakers would usually use a more literary variant of the language instead of the everyday colloquial form.^[17]

Most people in Kuantan arebilingual, speaking both Kuantan and Indonesian. Many migrants who have settled in Kuantan have also become fluent in the Kuantan language, although the variety they speak is generally more influenced byIndonesian.^[18] When interacting with other ethnic groups, the Kuantan people mostly use Indonesian, the national language and lingua franca, as a means of communication. Indonesian is the preferred language in official settings, such as government institutions and schools, while the Kuantan language is more commonly used in informal and semi-formal contexts. The Kuantan language is generally not used as the main language of instruction in schools; instead, Indonesian is used as the medium of instruction.^[5] Despite this, students oftencode-switch orcode-mix between Indonesian and Kuantan in schools, particularly when speaking with friends or even teachers.^[8] A similar phenomenon can be observed in the market, where traders frequently code-switch between Kuantan and Indonesian when conversing with buyers.^[7] Due to the growing use of Indonesian in the region, it is becoming increasingly common for the Kuantan people to code-mix between Indonesian and Kuantan, even during traditional Kuantan ceremonies.^[19]

The Kuantan language has several dialects, with four major ones: Baserah, spoken in the Kuantan Hilir, Kuantan Hilir Seberang, Pangean and Logas Tanah Darat. Cerenti, spoken in Cerenti and Inuman. Lubuk Jambi, spoken in the Kuantan Mudik, Hulu Kuantan, Pucuk Rantau and Gunung Toar and Taluk Kuantan, spoken in the Kuantan Tengah, Sentajo Raya and Benai.^[20] The Taluk Kuantan dialect is considered theprestige dialect, as it is spoken in the regency capital of Kuantan Singingi. Each of these dialects has its own subdialects, which may exhibit slight variations in lexicon and phonology The phonological system of the dialects and isolects in Kuantan Singingi Regency is highly diverse. This is evident in the varied use of allophones or sound variants for a phoneme, which are consistently realized differently across isolects.^[21] For example, one notable phonological difference is that some dialects use the vowel /e/, while others use /ɛ/ as an alternative realization of /e/.^[22] However, these dialects are generallymutually intelligible, and most Kuantan speakers can understand one another, even when speaking different dialects.^[23][20] Below are some lexical and phonological differences of some words across the various Kuantan dialects, along with the Indonesian and English translation:

The Kuantan language, like many otherregional languages in Indonesia, lacks a standardized phonological system. Nevertheless, many of the phonological system designed for the Kuantan language is loosely based on standardIndonesian orthography, especially the system created by the IndonesianMinistry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.

The Kuantan language has six vowels. These vowels are /i/, /e/, /ə/, /a/, /u/, and /o/.^[24] Some dialects of Kuantan also use the vowel /ɛ/ instead of /e/.^[22]

Notes:

• In writing,/e/ and/ə/ are both represented as⟨e⟩.

The Kuantan language has 18 consonants.^[25]

Notes:

• In writing, the following phonemes are represented as thus:
  • /ŋ/ is⟨ng⟩
  • /ɲ/ is⟨ny⟩
  • /t͡ʃ/ is⟨c⟩
  • /d͡ʒ/ is⟨j⟩
  • /ʔ/ is⟨k⟩
  • /j/ is⟨y⟩

The Kuantan language has a total of 10diphthongs, which are used as follows:^[26]

Along withMinangkabau,Indonesian,Malay, and other related languages, the word order in the Kuantan language is typicallysubject-verb-object (SVO). While there are notable exceptions, the grammar structure of the Kuantan language shares many similarities with Indonesian and Malay.

Similar to otherMalayic languages, there areaffixes in the Kuantan language. There are four types of affixes in the Kuantan language:prefixes,suffixes,infixes, andcircumfixes. The table below provides examples of affixes used in the Kuantan language, along with their allomorphs, meanings, and usage:

As in other Malayic languages, the Kuantan language usesreduplication. Reduplication in the Kuantan language can occur through full reduplication of the base form or reduplication with affixation.^[38]

Full reduplication involves the complete repetition of the base form. When the base form is a noun, it indicates plurality. When it is a verb, it expresses an action done carelessly. When it is an adjective, it conveys intensity. When it is a numeral, it signifies a collective group.^[39] Reduplication with affixation occurs in verbs, adjectives, and numerals, and its function is closely tied to the grammatical category of the base form. In verbs, it indicates a continuous action and can also express reciprocity. In adjectives, it conveys a superlative meaning. In numerals, it signifies the entirety of what is represented by the base form.^[40]

Examples of full reduplication are shown below:

• sayuar 'vegetable'→sayuar-sayuar 'many vegetables'
• lari 'to run'→lari-lari 'to run around carelessly'
• ketek 'small'→ketek-ketek 'small things'
• duo 'two'→duo-duo 'groups of two'

Examples of affixed reduplication are shown below:

• ganti 'to change'→baganti-ganti 'to change multiple times'
• dokek 'close'→badokek-dokek 'to be close to each other'
• putia 'white'→saputia-putianyo 'as white as possible'
• limo 'five'→kalimo-limonyo 'all five'

Nouns in the Kuantan language consist of basic nouns and affixed nouns. Basic nouns stand alone and are not derived from other words. Affixed nouns, on the other hand, are formed by adding prefixes, suffixes, or circumfixes to words from different classes, such as verbs or adjectives. These affixes modify the meaning of the root word, allowing for the creation of new nouns with specific meanings.

Examples of basic nouns are shown below:

• bosi 'iron'
• mato 'eye'
• muko 'face'
• toluar 'egg'

Examples of affixed nouns are shown below:

• makan 'to eat' +-an→ makanan 'food'
• main 'to play' +-an→ mainan 'toy'
• pa- + torang 'bright' +-an → panorangan 'lighting'
• ke- + bodo 'stupid' +-an → kebodoan 'stupidity'

Verbs in the Kuantan language also consist of basic verbs and affixed verbs. Basic verbs stand alone and do not require additional elements. Affixed verbs, on the other hand, are formed by adding affixes to words from different classes, such as nouns or adjectives, to create new verb forms. Common affixes used to form verbs in Kuantan includema-,di-,ta-,pa-,ba-, and-i. Verbs can also be divided into transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.^[41]

Examples of basic verbs are shown below:

• jalan 'to walk'
• jumpo 'to meet'
• gantuang 'to hang'
• bao 'to bring'

Examples of affixed verbs are shown below:

• pa- + lebar 'wide'→ palebar 'to widen'
• ba- + kawan 'friend'→ bakawan 'to become friends'
• di- + sayang 'to love' +-i→ disayangi 'to be loved'
• ka- + tiduar 'to sleep' +-an → katiduaran 'to fell asleep by accident'

In the Kuantan language,adjectives can be modified with intensifiers likebonar ‘very’.^[42] Examples of adjectives are shown below:

• rancak 'pretty'
• panjang 'long'
• ronda 'low'
• godang 'big'

In the Kuantan language,numerals are typically followed by classifiers.^[43] The following are examples:

• sabua toluar 'an egg'

• limo bua pisang 'five bananas'
• duo ikuarikan 'two fishes'
• sapucuak surek 'a letter'

Much of the vocabulary in the Kuantan language is derived fromMinangkabau. Although there are some variations compared to the Minangkabau spoken inWest Sumatra, speakers of both languages can still understand each other due to their shared vocabulary.^[16] Due to Indonesian's status as the national and official language of education, the Kuantan language has increasingly absorbed loanwords fromIndonesian, similar to other regional languages across Indonesia.^[19] This has led tocode-mixing, where Indonesian and Kuantan words are used together in conversation depending on the context. However, the growing influence of Indonesian poses a threat, as many traditional Kuantan words are gradually being replaced by their Indonesian equivalents. The table below provides examples of common Kuantan vocabulary used on a daily basis along with their standard Minangkabau, Indonesian, and English equivalents.

Like otherMalayic languages, the Kuantan language was historically written inJawi, a modified form of theArabic script locally known asArab-Melayu 'Arab-Malay'. The Jawi script played a significant role in religious and cultural traditions in Kuantan Singingi, particularly in the writing of poetry and traditional stories. One notable example isKayat, a traditional oral performance art of the Kuantan community that conveys folk tales through poetic forms such aspantun,syair, and rhythmic prose with strong Islamic influences.^[44] Originally written in Jawi,Kayat was later transcribed and reinterpreted by knowledgeable individuals or religious scholars skilled in chanting, reinforcing its association with both religious understanding and artistic appreciation.^[44] Jawi was also used for communication between traditional Malay kingdoms in Kuantan Singingi and traditional institutions (lembaga adat). For example, thePagaruyung Kingdom inWest Sumatra historically used the Jawi script to correspond with its protectorates in Kuantan.^[45] The use of Jawi declined significantly with the arrival ofDutch colonization, as theLatin script was introduced and gradually became dominant. This decline continued into the present day with the adoption ofIndonesian as the official language and the primary medium of education, both of which are written in the Latin script.

• Kuantan Singingi Regency
• Minangkabau language
• Kampar language
• Mukomuko language
• Pesisir language
• Jamee language

• Ruswan; M.S., Suwardi; Almadani, Latifah; S., Nursyam (1986).Struktur Bahasa Melayu Dialek Kuantan [Structure of the Kuantan Malay dialect](PDF) (in Indonesian). Jakarta:Agency for Language Development and Cultivation.
• Saputra, Syahrial De (2007).Kebudayaan Perbatasan: Melayu Kuantan Singingi [Border Culture: The Malays of Kuantan Singingi] (in Indonesian). Tanjungpinang: Center for the Preservation of History and Traditional Values, Department of Culture and Tourism.ISBN 9789-7912-8114-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Riswara, Yanti (2007),"Diasistem Lafal Silabe Akhir dalam Isolek-Isolek di Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi" [Final Syllable Pronunciation System in Isolects of Kuantan Singingi Regency],Bunga Rampai: Hasil Penelitian Bahasa dan Sastra (in Indonesian),Pekanbaru: Balai Bahasa Riau, pp. 201–230,ISBN 978-979-792-089-0

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