Belitung Malay

Belitung Malay
Sedentary Belitung Malay
بهاس بليتوڠ, base Belitong
Pronunciationba.sə beli.toŋ
Native toIndonesia (Bangka Belitung)
RegionBelitung
EthnicityBelitung Malay, Belitung Chinese, etc.
Native speakers
313,047 (2023 estimate)[1]
Austronesian
Latin (Indonesian alphabet)
Jawi (historical)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologsede1248
  Areas where Belitung Malay is primarily spoken
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Belitung Malay (base Belitong, Jawi: بهاس بليتوڠ), or Sedentary Belitung Malay, is a Malayic language spoken in Indonesia, specifically on the island of Belitung in the Bangka Belitung Islands of Sumatra. The language is primarily spoken by the native Malay people of Belitung, as well as by ethnic Chinese who have inhabited Belitung for centuries, using it as a second language alongside their native Hakka. This language is distinguished from Loncong language, a Belitung Malay variety spoken by nomadic sea gypsies from Belitung. Additionally, it is spoken by migrants from other parts of Indonesia residing in Belitung, including Javanese and Sundanese, as well as by the Belitung diaspora living in various regions across Indonesia. Belitung Malay serves as the lingua franca among the people of Belitung, encompassing not only Malays but also other ethnic groups living in the island. It is predominantly used in informal settings such as family gatherings or marketplaces. In contrast, standard Indonesian is preferred for formal situations, including government offices and schools, reflecting its status as the official and national language of Indonesia. Code-switching between Belitung Malay and standard Indonesian is common in the Belitung community, particularly in informal and semi-formal contexts. Other ethnic groups, such as the Chinese, also frequently code-switch and code-mix between Hakka and Belitung Malay.

Belitung Malay is a vernacular Malay variety that shares linguistic features with peninsular Malay, Eastern Sumatra Malay, and the Malay variety of West Kalimantan.[2] Belitung Malay exhibits a closer resemblance to the Malay spoken in Sumatra and Kalimantan than to standard Jakarta Indonesian, particularly in terms of phonology and lexicon. The language has received significant influence from other languages, such as Hakka, Dutch and Arabic, as well as Javanese and standard Indonesian.[3][4] Belitung Malay has absorbed Javanese loanwords due to Belitung's historical rule by the Palembang Sultanate, where the court language, Palembang Malay, was influenced by Javanese.[5] Additionally, Indonesian, as the official language, has also become a source of loanwords. While Belitung Malay includes words not found in standard Indonesian, the two languages are generally mutually intelligible.

  1. ^ "Visualisasi Data Kependudukan - Kementerian Dalam Negeri 2023" (Visual). www.dukcapil.kemendagri.go.id. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ Miyake et. al. 2022, p. 2.
  3. ^ Lastri, Sulastri Nur (2013). Terjadinya penyerapan leksikon asing ke dalam Bahasa Melayu Belitung ditinjau secara etimologi [The occurrence of the absorption of foreign lexicon into Belitung Malay examined from an etymological perspective] (Thesis) (in Indonesian). University of Indonesia.
  4. ^ Pontoh, Manzhuur Daanisy Ahmad Thaahir; Kabul, Assa Rahmawati (2023-02-09). "Kata serapan dari bahasa Hakka dalam leksikon bahasa Indonesia" [Loanwords from Hakka in the lexicon of the Indonesian language.]. SEMIOTIKA: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra dan Linguistik (in Indonesian). 24 (1): 118–132. doi:10.19184/semiotika.v24i1.31095. ISSN 2599-3429.
  5. ^ Ricklefs, M.C. A history of modern Indonesia since c. 1300. p. 139.

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