Sundanese language

Sundanese Language

The Sundanese language is spoken by the Sundanese people in western Java. About 32 million people use it as their first language. That’s around 15% of the people in Indonesia. Sundanese speakers call their language "Basa Sunda."

Sundanese is one of many languages in Indonesia. It has special scripts, like the Sundanese script and the Pegon script. The language is closely related to the Malayic languages. Experts think it also shares similarities with languages spoken in Borneo, like the Land Dayak languages and the Kayan–Murik languages.

Sundanese is mainly spoken on the west side of the island of Java, in an area known as Pasundan. It is also spoken in parts of western Central Java, such as Brebes and Cilacap Regency. Many place names in these areas still have Sundanese origins.

Sundanese has several dialects, named by where the people live. The Priangan dialect is the most common type of Sundanese and is taught in schools in West Java and Banten.

Sundanese uses different writing systems. The oldest writings used the Old Sundanese script. When Islam arrived, the Pegon script was introduced for religious texts. Later, the Latin script became common after Europeans arrived. Today, most Sundanese books use the Latin alphabet.

Here are some basic words in Sundanese:

• I = Aku
• You (one person) = Anjeun
• He = Dina
• She = Dina
• We (you and me) = Kita
• We (people in general) = Kami
• You (more than one person) = Anjeun
• They = Mereka

These words help you start talking with people in Sundanese!