Rejang language (Sumatra)
| Rejang | |
|---|---|
|
Baso Jang Baso Həjang |
|
| Native to | Indonesia |
| Region | |
| Ethnicity | Rejangese |
|
Native speakers
|
350,000 (2000 census) |
| Historically Kaganga script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | reja1240 |
Rejangese (Rejangese: Baso Jang/Baso Həjang, pronounced as basɔ ɟaŋɡ/basɔ dʒaŋɡ, basɔ həɟaŋɡ/basɔ hədʒaŋ ) is an Austronesian languages predominantly spoken by the Rejangese people in southwestern height of Sumatra (Bengkulu), Indonesia. There are five dialects, spread from mountainous region to the coastal region of Bengkulu, including the Cu'up dialect, the Lebong dialect, the Payang dialect, the Rawas dialect, and the Utara dialect (Pəsisia).
Rejangese was written with the Rejang script for a long time. The script is thought to pre-date the introduction of Islam to the area in the 12th century CE, although the earliest attested document has been dated to the mid 18th century. It is traditionally written on bamboo, buffalo horn, bark or copper plates. It was only recently that the Latin alphabet was introduced as a way of writing the language.
Rejangese is not obviously close to other Malayo-Polynesian languages in Sumatra. McGinn (2009) classified it among the Bidayuh languages of Borneo, closest to Bukar Sadong. It may be that it is related to the newly described language Nasal, but that is speculative at this point.
The following is a sample text in Rejangese, of the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (by the United Nations):
Gloss (word-to-word):
Translation (grammatical):
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