PLANCONG.COM – How Many Languages Are Spoken In Indonesia. What is Indonesia known for? Indonesia is one of those countries everyone dreams with visiting. You may have heard about Bali Mt Bromo or Komodo, but there are many other things Indonesia is known for and today we are going to tell you all of them. Before we get started.
Over 300 different native languages are spoken in Indonesia. While Bahasa Indonesia is spoken as a mother tongue by only 7% of the total population, it is the national language and is used by 200 million people as their second language.
If you have the goal of learning to speak with the people of Indonesia, we advise you to just learn Indonesian, as there are more than 700 languages and you could go crazy trying to learn them all. Plus, most of the people speak Indonesian.
Other important language is the Javanese, around 85 million people speak it every day. Last of all, don´t worry if you a tourist, because although not everyone can speak English, there are many people who can, and you will always find someone who will try to help you.
Languages in Indonesia are classified into nine categories: national language, locally used indigenous languages, regional lingua francas, foreign and additional languages, heritage languages, languages in the religious domain, English as a lingua franca, and sign languages.[5] Of these, Javanese is the largest language by the number of native speakers.
Bahasa Indonesia is the official language of Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,508 islands that is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, with a total population of nearly 242 million. Over 300 different native languages are spoken in Indonesia. While Bahasa Indonesia is spoken as a mother tongue by only 7% of the total population, it is the national language and is used by 200 million people as their second language. In order to facilitate communication among the Indonesian people, Bahasa Indonesia is commonly used for business and administrative purposes as well as by education institutions and mass media throughout the country.
Bahasa Indonesia is written with the Latin alphabet, and the lexicon is rich with borrowed vocabulary from many languages such as Sanskrit, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, and Chinese.
Mastery of the language opens opportunities for students to enjoy literary works by the world-class prose author Pramoedya Ananta Toer as well as by post-Suharto writers such as Ayu Utami. It also will also allow students who study Indonesia through history, anthropology, comparative literature, or other fields to deepen their understanding and expand the scope of their studies.