The Simeulue language is spoken by the Simeulue people of Simeulue off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.[1][2]

Simeulue
Long Bano
Native toIndonesia
RegionSimeulue, Aceh, Sumatra
EthnicitySimeulue people
Native speakers
(undated figure of 30,000)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3smr
Glottologsime1241

Names edit

Simeulue is also called Mae o, which literally means 'Where are you going?'. Ethnologue also lists Long Bano, Simalur, Simeuloë, and Simulul as alternate names.

Varieties edit

Simeulue is spoken in five of eight subdistricts (kecamatan) of Simeulue Regency. It includes two dialects.[3]

Sikule, related to Nias, is spoken in Salang, Alafan and Simeulue Barat in northern Simeulue, while Jamu (also called Kamano), related to Minangkabau, is spoken in the capital city of Sinabang and has become the lingua franca of the island.

Phonology edit

Consonants[5]
Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Plosive p b t d c ɟ k g ʔ
Fricative s h
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Approximant w r, l j
  • The phonemes /d c ɟ g j ɲ/ do not appear word-finally.
  • /ɲ/ also does not appear word-initially.
Vowels[5]
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid-high e ə o
Mid-low ɛ ɔ
Low a

Additionally, the following diphthongs have been observed: /au/, /ai/, /ɔi/.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Simeulue at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)  
  2. ^ "Tsunami 1907: Early Interpretation and its Development" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26.
  3. ^ "Simeulue" (PDF), asiaharvest.org
  4. ^ Candrasari, Ratri. "Language Vitality of Leukon" (PDF). Eurasian Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 13 (6): 234–243.
  5. ^ a b Faridan, Abdullah; Ajies, A. Murad Em; Usman, Umar; Nuriah, T. A. (1981). Struktur bahasa Simeulue (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.

Further reading edit