Acehnese or Achinese (Jawoë: 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, Indonesia. Besides Indonesian used as the official language.^[2]

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 Atjehnese is the Dutch spelling and an outdated Indonesian one.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

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]

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 a variety of the Malay language)

West-South Coast

1. Aceh Jaya
2. West Aceh
3. Nagan Raya
4. Southwest Aceh (except in Susoh District where the Aneuk Jamee language is spoken)
5. South Aceh (mixed with Kluet language and Aneuk Jamee)

Oral monophthong vowels in Acehnese are shown in the table below.^[6]

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.

The table below shows the Acehnese consonant phonemes and the range of their realizations.^[7]

Notes:

• 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-stopped nasals (also called "funny nasals") before oral vowels and consonants.^[8][9] They are distinct from the nasal-stop sequences /mb/, /nd/, /ɲɟ/, /ŋɡ/, e.g. in /banᵈa/ 'port' vs /mandum/ 'all'.^[10]

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.^[11]

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.^[12] 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.

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.^[14]

At least ten Achehnese dialects exist: Pasè, Peusangan, Matang, Pidië, Buëng, Banda, Daya, Meulabôh, Seunagan, and Tunong.^[15] At least three major dialects exist: Baet Lambuot, Mesjid Punteut and Panthe Ketapang.^[16] Baet Lambuot dialect spoken in Aceh Besar regency.^[17] Mesjid Punteut dialect spoken in Simpang Ulim district, East Aceh regency.^[17] Panthe Ketapang dialect spoken in Jaya district, Aceh Jaya regency.^[17]

Geographical dialects: Aceh Besar,^[18][19] Pidie,^[18][19] Peusangan,^[18] Pasai,^[18] East Aceh (Aceh Timur)^[18][19] and West Aceh (Aceh Barat),^[18][19] North Aceh (Aceh Utara),^[19] Bireun,^[19] Aceh Jaya^[19]

West coast dialects (dialek pesisir barat): Tunong, Seunagan, Meulabôh, Daya.^[20]

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:

Latin script^[24]

"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."

• The original English version of the text:^[25]

"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."

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