Malay, Central

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A language of Indonesia

ISO 639-3
pse
Alternate Names
Bengkulu, Besemah, Enim, Lintang, Midden Maleisch, Ogan, Pasemah, Semendo, Serawai
Population

590,000 (2000 census).

Location

South Sumatra Province. East down Lematang and Ogan river valleys; south of Muaraenim town, east and southeast of Lahat town. Bengkulu Province; central Bukit Barisan highlands west to Indian Ocean along Bengkulu coast.

Language Maps
Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification
Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayo-Chamic, Malayic, Malay
Dialects

Benakat, Bengkulu, Enim, Kikim, Kisam, Lematang Ulu, Lintang, Ogan, Pasemah, Rambang, Semenda, Serawai. Lexical similarity: 75% with Kaur [vkk], 80% between Pekal [pel] and some dialects such as Pasemah and Bengkulu.

Language Use

Vigorous. Home, village, commerce, religion. All ages. Positive attitudes. Most also use Indonesian [ind].

Language Development
Indonesian [ind] preferred for educational and religious materials, but L1 for cultural stories and songs. Mixed preference for health and agricultural materials. Not currently used as a written language in most dialects. Taught in primary schools. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1995.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Malay, Central
Other Comments

Muslim.