Betawi language
Encyclopedia
The Betawi language is the spoken language
of the Betawi people in Jakarta
, Indonesia
. It is the native language of about 2,700,000 people (1993). It is a Malay-based creole
, and closely related to Malay language
. Betawi vocabulary have large amount of Hokkien
Chinese, Arabic, and Dutch
loanwords. The first person pronoun gue (I or me) and second person pronoun lu (you) also with numerical such as cepek (a hundred), gopek (five hundred), and seceng (a thousand) clearly demonstrate Hokkien dialect, while the words ente (you) and ane (me) clearly derived from Arabic.
Today Betawi dialect is a popular informal language in Indonesia and used as the base of Indonesian slang. The name Betawi stems from Batavia
, the official name for Jakarta during the era of the Dutch East Indies
.
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of the Betawi people in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is the native language of about 2,700,000 people (1993). It is a Malay-based creole
Malay-based creole languages
The Malay language, through its history has experienced both pidginization and creolization. This occurred mostly through inter-island trading and interaction where people from various ethnic groups, languages and backgrounds met....
, and closely related to Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. Betawi vocabulary have large amount of Hokkien
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
Chinese, Arabic, and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
loanwords. The first person pronoun gue (I or me) and second person pronoun lu (you) also with numerical such as cepek (a hundred), gopek (five hundred), and seceng (a thousand) clearly demonstrate Hokkien dialect, while the words ente (you) and ane (me) clearly derived from Arabic.
Today Betawi dialect is a popular informal language in Indonesia and used as the base of Indonesian slang. The name Betawi stems from Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, the official name for Jakarta during the era of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
.