History of Sundanese language

Sundanese language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian language family which is part of the Austronesian language family, thus, Sundanese is one of the derivatives of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian reconstruction whose ancestor is Proto-Austronesian.^[1][2] The earliest evidence of the use of Sundanese in written form can be traced from the a collection of inscriptions found in the Kawali region, Ciamis which is thought to have been made in 14th century. Meanwhile, Sundanese in spoken form is believed by some to have been used long before the inscriptions were made.^[3]

In its history, Sundanese language has undergone several periodization or developments. The development of linguistics is in line with the development of Sundanese culture which has cultural contact with other cultures. Experts usually divide the periodization of the Sundanese language into two main stages, namely Old Sundanese and Modern Sundanese whose linguistic characteristics can be clearly distinguished.^[4] Meanwhile, according Hendayana (2020:217–218), The development of the Sundanese language can be divided into three periods, namely:^[5]

1. Old Sundanese (Buhun)
2. Classical Sundanese (Switch)
3. Modern Sundanese (Kiwari)