Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Simeulue language

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Native to
  
Indonesia

ISO 639-3
  
smr

Region
  
Aceh, Sumatra

Glottolog
  
sime1241

Native speakers
  
(undated figure of 30,000)

Language family
  
Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian Northwest Sumatran Northern Barrier Islands Simeulue

The Simeulue language is spoken by the Devayan people of Simeulue off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Contents

Names

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

Simeulue is spoken in 5 of 8 subdistricts (kecamatan) of Simeulue Regency. It includes 2 dialects.

  • Defayan: spoken in the 4 eastern subdistricts of Teupah Selatan, Simeulue Timur, Teupah Barat, and Teluk Dalam
  • Simolol (prestige dialect): spoken around Kampung Aie, Simeulue Tengah

    • Simeulue is also spoken on Babi Island and the Banyak Islands.

    Sikule, related to Nias, is spoken in Alafan on the western end of Simeulue, while Jamu (also called Kamano), related to Minangkabau, is spoken in the capital city of Sinabang.

    References

    Simeulue language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA