Asian Geographic - 08.2018

NATIVE NARRATIVE

Indonesia’s lingua franca defies the odds. Instead of selecting the

vernacular of its Dutch colonisers or a majority local tongue, it’s among the

few countries that have elevated an indigenous dialect to official status

A Universal Second Language

Indonesia: Top 10 Dialects

1. Javanese – 84.3 million | 2. Sundanese – 34 million | 3. Madurese – 13.6 million | 4. Minangkabau – 6.5 million


2. Musi – 3.9 million | 6. Minahasan – 3.8 million | 7. Buginese – 3.5 million | 8. Banjar – 3.5 million


3. Acehnese – 3.5million | 10. Balinese – 3.3 million

2. WEST JAVA

3. EAST JAVA

10. BALI

MALUKU

NORTH MALUKU

8. SOUTH

KALIMANTAN 7. SOUTH

SULAWESI

6. NORTH SULAWESI

RIAU ISLANDS

5. SOUTH

SUMATRA

4. WEST

SUMATRA

9. ACEH

1. JAVA

SUMATRA

KALIMANTAN

SULAWESI

NUSA TENGGARA

language