Minangkabau is similar toMalay. The relationship between the languages is characterized in different ways. Some see Minangkabau as an early variety of Malay, while others think of Minangkabau as a distinct (Malayic) language.[3]
Minangkabau is one of a few languages that generally lacksverb forms and grammatical subject-object distinctions.[4][page needed]
The Minangkabau language is still commonly spoken amongst the Minangkabau people, and it is used amongst the widespreadMinangkabau diaspora. The Minangkabau language is deemed as "informal" in the urban regions ofPadang, with theIndonesian language being preferred instead in formal institutions. Youth in the city frequently uses a mixture of conversational Minang andIndonesian slang.
Minangkabau language in Arabic script on Minangkabau royal seal from the 19th century
Minangkabau is the native language of theMinangkabau people ofWest Sumatra.[2] There are approximately 5.5 million speakers of the language. It is also spoken in the western part ofRiau, the southern and western coast ofAceh, the northern part ofBengkulu andJambi.[2] Along the western coastal region ofNorth Sumatra, the language is also alingua franca. The language is used and calledAneuk Jamee in parts ofAceh.
Besides Indonesia, Minangkabau is also spoken in Malaysia, by some descendants of migrants from the Minang-speaking region in Sumatra (Ranah Minang,Tanah Minang, or Land of the Minang). Significant numbers of the early migrants settled in what is now the Malaysian state ofNegeri Sembilan; thisNegeri Sembilan Malay, known asBahaso Nogori / Baso Nogoghi, is now a distinct language, more closely related to Malay than to Minangkabau. More recent immigrants are known asMinang.
The Minangkabau language has several dialects, sometimes differing between nearby villages (e.g. separated by a river). The dialects are Rao Mapat Tunggul, Muaro Sungai Lolo, Payakumbuh, Pangkalan-Lubuk Alai, Agam-Tanah Datar, Pancungsoal, Kotobaru, Sungai Bendung Air, and Karanganyar.[5] In everyday communication between Minangkabau people of different regions, the Agam-Tanah Datar dialect (Baso Padang orBaso Urang Awak 'our [people's] language') is often used and has become a kind of standard.
TheTapan language, spoken in the town of Tapan in southernWest Sumatra province, is a recently discoveredMalayan language which has been proposed as related to but not part of Minangkabau. Together, Tapan and Minangkabau would form a Greater Minangkabau subgroup.[6] The two languagesTapan andMuko-Muko form aLunangic subgroup within theMinangic (Greater Minangkabau) language group.[6][7]
The Minangic subgroup is characterized by the following word-final sound changes.[7]
^Nadra, Reniwati, and Efri Yades, Daerah Asal dan Arah Migrasi Orang Minangkabau di Provinsi Jambi Berdasarkan Kajian Variasi Dialektikal (2008)
^abKurniati, S., Putri, Y. P., Wichmann, S., & Gil, D. (2011). Tapan: An Exploration in Malayic Subgrouping. Paper presented at the15th International Symposium on Malay Indonesian Linguistics (ISMIL 15).
^abGil, D. & McKinnon, T. (2015). Excrescent Nasals in Malayic Dialects of Western Sumatra. Paper presented at the13th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (13-ICAL).
^Adelaar, K. Alexander (1992).Proto-Malayic: The Reconstruction of its Phonology and Parts of its Lexicon and Morphology. Pacific Linguistics, Series C, no. 119. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, the Australian National University.
Marjusman Maksan, Yulina Kasim, Tamsin Medan, Syamsir Arifin, Basri, A. Razak Sikumbang, 1984,Geografi Dialek Bahasa Minangbakau, Jakarta, Pusat Pembinaan Dan Pengembangan Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, 1984.
Tata Bahasa Minangkabau, Gerard Moussay (original titleLa Langue Minangkabau, translated from French by Rahayu S. Hidayat),ISBN979-9023-16-5.
