Batak languages

Batak languages
Spoken in	North Sumatra ( Indonesia )
speaker	5.9 million ( SIL , 2000)
Linguistic classification	Austronesian languages Malayo-Polynesian languages Northwest Sumatran Languages Batak languages
Language codes
ISO 639-3	btz (Batak Alas-Kluet) btd (Pak-Pak Dairi) btx (Batak Karo) bts (Simalungun) akb (Angkola) btm (Batak Mandailing) bbc (Batak Toba)

Batak languages

Batak languages are a language group spoken by the Batak people in northern Sumatra . It belongs to the northwest Sumatra branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages within the Austronesian languages . In the past, the Batak languages ​​were written in the Batak script , today the Latin script is mostly used. There are two main language groups, Northern Batak and Southern Batak . Simalungun was previously considered to be an intermediate stage between northern Batak and southern Batak, but recent studies suggest that it is more of a part of the southern Batak group.

Individual languages

• Northern Batak:
  • Pak-Pak Dairi or Batak Dairi (1,200,000 speakers ( SIL , 1991))
  • Batak Karo (600,000 speakers ( SIL , 1991))
  • Batak Alas-Kluet (classification unclear) (195,000 speakers ( SIL , 2000))
• Southern Batak (Toba):
  • Simalungun (1,200,000 speakers ( SIL , 2000))
  • Angkola (750,000 speakers ( SIL , 1991))
  • Batak Mandailing (1,100,000 speakers ( SIL , 2000))
  • Batak Toba (2,000,000 speakers ( SIL , 1991))

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Batak languages at Ethnologue (17th edition, 2013)
2. ↑ Comparative Austronesian dictionary Vol. 1. by Darrell T. Tryon, Shigeru Tsuchida et al. P. 421ff