Gayo_language

Gayo language

Gayo language

Austronesian language spoken in Sumatra, Indonesia


Gayo (alternatively rendered as Gajo) is an endangered Austronesian language spoken by some 275,000 people in the mountainous region of the Indonesian province Aceh on the Northern tip of the island of Sumatra, specifically around the Central Aceh, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues regencies. It is classified as belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, but is not closely related to other languages. Ethnologue lists Bukit, Dëret, Lues, Lut, and Serbejadi-Lukup as dialects.

Quick Facts Native to, Region ...
The map of Gayo language in Northern Sumatra.

Gayo is distinct from other languages in Aceh. The art and culture of the Gayo people is also significantly different compared with other ethnic groups in Aceh.

In 1907, G.A.J. Hazeu wrote a first Gayo–Dutch dictionary for the colonial authorities of the Dutch East Indies.[2]

Phonology

More information Bilabial, Alveolar ...
More information Front, Central ...

References

  1. Gayo at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. Gajosch-Nederlandsch Woordenboek, by G.A.J. Hazeu, Landsdrukkerij Batavia 1907. It is available online as a Google scan.
  3. Eades, Domenyk; Hajek, John (2006), "Gayo", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 36 (1): 107–115, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002416

Further reading



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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Gayo_language, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.