Sundanese is a way to talk.
Many people use it on an island called Java. People use it to share stories. It can be written in many ways.
It helps people show respect. Do you know how to say hello?
Sundanese is a way to talk.
Many people use it on the island of Java. It helps people show respect. You can use special words to be polite.
People can write it in many ways. They use the Latin alphabet today. Long ago, they used old scripts. Some people even use it in other lands. It is a very important way to share stories.
Sundanese is a way of speaking.
About 32 million people speak it. Most live on the island of Java in Indonesia. They live in a place called Tatar Sunda. Some people also speak it in other lands like Japan or Australia.
People have used many ways to write Sundanese. Long ago, they used the Old Sundanese script. Later, they used the Pegon script for religious books. Today, most people use the Latin alphabet.
Sundanese is also a way to show respect. The language has different levels of politeness. There is a formal way called basa hormat. This way uses very polite words. There is also a neutral way called basa loma. People use this way for books and news. Some words change based on who you talk to. For example, the word for house changes. You might say rorompok for your own home. You say bumi for someone else's home. This helps people show kindness to others.
Sundanese is a beautiful way of speaking used by many people.
About 32 million people speak it as their main language. This group makes up about 15% of all people in Indonesia. Most speakers live in the western part of Java. This area is often called Tatar Sunda. Because people move to new places, Sundanese is spoken far away too. You can find speakers in places like Japan, Australia, and Taiwan.
Speaking Sundanese is also a way to show great respect. The language uses different levels of politeness called registers. People use a respectful style called basa hormat to be kind. They use a neutral style called basa loma for everyday things. This neutral style is used in newspapers and books. Some words change depending on who you are talking to. For example, you say rorompok for your own house. You say bumi when talking about someone else's house.
Writing Sundanese has changed many times through history.
The oldest documents used the Old Sundanese script. Later, people used the Pegon script for religious books. After Europeans arrived, the Latin alphabet became common. Today, most Sundanese stories are written with Latin letters. However, many local governments still use the Standard Sundanese script. You can see this script on road signs in West Java. Some areas like Lembang still use the Pegon script too.
Sundanese has a very long and interesting history. Until the year 1600, it was the official language for many kingdoms. These included the kingdoms of Sunda, Galuh, and Pajajaran. Long ago, the language was influenced by Sanskrit. You can see this in very old stone carvings. These carvings used a script called Pallava. Experts believe the language reached the Dieng Plateau a long time ago. They think the name Dieng comes from an Old Sundanese word.
The language has many different sounds and rules. There are seven main vowels used in Sundanese. To make words plural, speakers often add a special sound inside a word. This is called an infix. For example, the word for child is budak. To talk about many children, the word becomes barudak. This is a unique way the language works. Sundanese is related to other languages in the Malayic group. It also shares similarities with languages spoken on the island of Borneo.
Sundanese is an Austronesian language spoken primarily on the island of Java. It is the native tongue of approximately 32 million people. This group represents about 15% of the total population of Indonesia.
Most speakers reside in the western third of Java, an area known as Tatar Sunda. However, the language has spread far beyond this region. Due to migration, Sundanese speakers can be found in Lampung, South Sumatra, and West Kalimantan. They also live in places like Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. Linguists like Robert Blust classify Sundanese as closely related to Malayic languages. It also shows high lexical similarities to languages in Borneo, such as the Land Dayak or Kayan–Murik languages.
The language possesses a complex system of social hierarchy called registers. This system is known as tatakrama basa. Historically, there were six distinct levels of formality. These included basa kasar (rough), sedeng (medium), lemes (polite), lemes pisan (very polite), kasar pisan (very rough), and basa panengah (intermediate). Following the 1988 Congress of Sundanese Language in Bogor, these were simplified. Today, the system is generally divided into two main parts: basa hormat and basa loma.
Basa hormat is a respectful variant used to show politeness. Basa loma is a neutral, fair, and familiar style. This loma variant serves as the standard for written Sundanese in magazines, newspapers, and books. In the Priangan dialect, a third level called cohag exists. This is a very rough level used only during anger or extreme intimacy.
Specific vocabulary changes depending on the level of respect being used. For example, the word for "want" is arék in the loma style, but becomes badé in the lemes style. The word for "read" changes from maca to maos. The language even distinguishes between the speaker and the listener when discussing one's own belongings. A speaker might use rorompok to refer to their own house. However, they would use the word bumi to refer to someone else's house. This level of detail helps maintain social harmony and respect between people.
Writing systems for Sundanese have evolved through many historical stages.
The earliest known documents were written in the Old Sundanese script. After the arrival of Islam, many people began using the Pegon script. This script was primarily used for religious purposes in pesantrens, or Islamic boarding schools. Following the arrival of Europeans, the Latin script became the dominant writing system. Today, most Sundanese literature uses the Latin alphabet. However, the Standard Sundanese script remains important. Local governments in West Java and Banten promote its use on road signs and in public places.
The history of Sundanese is tied to the great kingdoms of Java. Until 1600 AD, it served as the state language for several kingdoms. These included Salakanagara, Tarumanagara, Sunda, Galuh, Pajajaran, and Sumedang Larang.
During these eras, the language was heavily influenced by Sanskrit. This influence is visible in the Ciaruteun inscription, which used the Pallava script. Old Sundanese was used for state affairs, art, and daily life. Many religious manuscripts were written in the Old Sundanese script. These include the Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian Manuscript and the Carita Parahyangan.
Sundanese is organized into several distinct regional dialects. These are often named after the locations where they are spoken. The Western dialect is found in Banten and parts of Lampung. The Northern dialect is spoken in the northwestern coastal areas of West Java. The Southern or Priangan dialect covers a large area, including Bandung and Garut. This Priangan dialect is the most widely spoken version. It is the form taught in elementary through senior-high schools in West Java and Banten. Other dialects include the Mid-east dialect in Cirebon and the Northeast dialect in Kuningan and Brebes.
The phonology of the language includes seven distinct vowels. These are a, é, i, o, u, e, and eu.
The language also uses 18 consonants, though foreign influences have added more. A unique grammatical feature is the use of infixes to create plural forms. An infix is a sound inserted into the middle of a word. For example, the word for child is budak. To make it plural, the infix "ar" is added to create barudak. If the word starts with a vowel, the infix becomes a prefix, such as in the word aralus. This system allows for precise communication regarding quantity and respect.
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