About the Sundanese Language

In which countries is the Sundanese language spoken?

Sundanese is spoken in the Indonesian provinces of Banten and West Java, as well as parts of Central Java. It is also spoken by small numbers of ethnic Sundanese people living in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

What is the history of the Sundanese language?

The Sundanese language is an Austronesian language spoken by an estimated 30 million people living in West Java and Banten provinces in Indonesia. It is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Javanese, and has been the language of court literature since the 14th century. The earliest known writings in Sundanese date back to the 11th century AD, and it is thought that the language has been around for at least 1,500 years. Sundanese is part of the western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of languages, and is related to Javanese and Balinese. Sundanese is used for everyday communication, as a language of commerce, and as a medium for art and culture, expressed through traditional dance, shadow puppetry (Wayang Golek), and the popular folk style music known as Kecapi Suling. The language has also been used for centuries in educational settings, with old manuscripts often written in Sundanese or in a mixture of Sundanese and Javanese.

Who are the top 5 people who have contributed the most to the Sundanese language?

1. Sunandari, known as the “Mother of Sundanese Poetry,” was a celebrated Sundanese poet who is credited with introducing the Sundanese language to poetic form in the 1700s.
2. A.A. Maramis (1914-1995), a writer, translator, and linguist, considerably expanded the body of knowledge on the Sundanese language and established the first Sundanese academy for language education.
3. Dardiri M. Arief (1917-1996), a prominent poet, translated important works from Javanese into Sundanese, contributing to the development of modern literary Sundanese in the 20th century.
4. Prof. Dr. H. Koesmanto (1929-2016), anactivist and scholar, established the Faculty of Letters at Bandung University, dedicated to language and literature of all types, and authored many books and journal articles on the Sundanese language.
5. Suryadi (b. 1934), a renowned Sundanese poet and public figure, has written extensively in both Sundanese and Indonesian, and is highly respected for his works on the tradition and culture of the Sundanese people.

How is the structure of the Sundanese language?

The Sundanese language is an Austronesian language spoken by about 39 million people primarily in the western part of the island of Java in Indonesia. It belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family and is closely related to Javanese, Madurese and Balinese.
Sundanese is a SVO (subject-verb-object) language. Verbs agree with their arguments in terms of person, number, and gender. Nouns are not inflected for case and there are no definite or indefinite articles. There are three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and two numbers (singular and plural). Sundanese has a fairly sophisticated set of verbal affixes, including several tense markers and other aspectual markers. The language also employs word order as a means of expressing meaning.

How to learn the Sundanese language in the most correct way?

1. Find a native Sundanese speaker and interact with them regularly. It is best to have a conversation partner with whom you can practice the language and help each other learn.
2. Purchase some books or audio materials about the language and start learning on your own. Good resources include grammar books, textbooks, workbooks and audio recordings.
3. Enroll in language classes or private tutoring sessions that can provide more personalized instruction and feedback.
4. When you’re ready, take a trip to Indonesia and try to immerse yourself in the language. This way, you can learn the language by listening and participating in conversations with native speakers.
5. Utilize online resources such as websites, forums and social media to converse with native speakers and find additional materials to help with your learning.